Load-Bearing People
Uses the 2016 left-pad npm incident to define 'load-bearing people' and the fragility they mask.
2026-09-06 · 7 pieces
A selection to read and return to.
Uses the 2016 left-pad npm incident to define 'load-bearing people' and the fragility they mask.
Draws on a four-year, 760-hour ethnographic study of how leadership anxiety derails transformation.
Traces the architectural decisions, including a three-phase commit and Spokes, behind Git hosting at scale.
Argues that agency, leverage, and taste set the most effective engineers apart more than raw skill.
Catalogs a personal set of recurring problem-solving techniques distilled from clever solutions.
Explains how identifying the single highest-leverage question reframes complex problems.
Explains how to recognize product/market fit by turning gut feeling into measurable signals.
Allow Google Analytics to measure visits and reading-link clicks using cookies. Optional; the site works without it. Privacy details