commit 3f6261e3017fd4b991d3f807a89af2c25aab005f
parent 9c48e8c3510954130aca5932cc9b08815d779115
Author: FIGBERT <figbert@figbert.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:42:17 -0800
Add Rocket review
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diff --git a/content/reading/rocket.md b/content/reading/rocket.md
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+title = "More from Tarpenning"
+date = 2024-12-16T19:40:00-08:00
+[extra]
+book = "Rocket"
+author = "Marc Tarpenning"
+finished = 2024-12-15
+rating = "★★★☆☆"
++++
+
+I stumbled onto [Altamira] during my usual daily web surfing, though
+exactly how I can't quite remember nor discern from my browser history.
+What I do remember is that I was there for [In The Dark]. [Rocket] was a
+delightful surprise. It's not hard to discern from [my previous writing]
+that I think Marc Tarpenning is a smart fellow. I was quite excited to
+discover another opportunity to hear what he has to say. I'm also a
+sucker for bespoke hardware, e-ink screens, and reading books by people
+you've met.
+
+After reading, I can affirm that *Rocket* is an altogether pleasant
+experience. The fundamental insights about "measure twice, cut once"
+that I have already written about apply just as well to NuvoMedia as
+they did to early Tesla: Tarpenning writes that they "never varied the
+plan" for what they were going to build. His focus on business
+models—later important to proving that a market for high-end electric
+vehicles might exist—is also present, reflected at NuvoMedia in the
+discussion they had around the role of publishers and internet
+distribution in the world of e-books.
+
+*Rocket* places a stronger emphasis on a specific method for narrowing
+down addressable problem-space than the talk of his that I attended. The
+methodology is described succinctly as follows:
+
+> Our thesis, if you will, was looking for products that didn't exist,
+> that the technology was just getting good enough to enable.
+
+The examples Tarpenning provides illuminate fun alternate histories that
+never quite made it.
+
+The form that this book takes is also quite notable: it is barely longer
+than 50 pages in total, heavy in font but light and thin in the hand. It
+would not be out of place as an article or a blog post somewhere on the
+net. I am a strong proponent of the pamphlet as an art form, so I don't
+begrudge the physical manifestation of *Rocket*. I did not, however,
+enjoy the layout: were the Federalist Papers written in interview
+format?
+
+[Altamira]: https://altamira.studio
+[In The Dark]: https://altamira.studio/store/p/itd
+[Rocket]: https://altamira.studio/store/p/rocket
+[my previous writing]: @/posts/marc-tarpenning-on-innovation.md
