#365ways2026 — Public Fediverse posts

You Get to Build It Yourself

In some ways, this quote expresses a very Monday sort of sentiment, but I like that you can flip it from “must do” to “get to.”

“No one can build you the bridge on which you, and only you, must cross the river of life.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

* * *

Any Human Ever

Some days you come across something on the web that helps you remember why people thought it was a good idea in the first place. For today’s entry into that ledger, I present Any Human Ever.

Any Human Ever: one life from over 100 billion

So: what would happen if stories were drawn from actual data, randomized to give a valid representation of the human story? That’s the question that was stuck in my head, and that drove this project forward. If you could draw a life at random from all of human history, what would it look like? Roll the dice, and see a genuinely random life, depicted as well as the data allow. Do it again and again, and what kind of pointillist painting emerges from all those colorful drops of humanity?

I love this idea. Do statistics have their place? Absolutely. Is this perfect? Maybe not, but I spent some time in grad school arguing for the humanization of data, and that debate solidified my belief that one of the best ways to connect people to ideas is through stories.

Have fun exploring 100 billion of them.

* * *

Don’t Panic!

Oh look, I’m way behind today. Did I plan to get lots done? I did. Oh well!

“l often come back to a story I love about a wave panicking as it neared the shore, afraid it was about to disappear. Then, a smaller wave reminds it: You’re not a wave—you’re water. Plans will change. Your path will shift. And that shouldn’t be something to fear.” — Melinda French Gates

* * *