How Clever Engineers Stay Ahead of the Curve

Smart engineers always seem to know what's coming next. They do this by staying attuned to various signals from diverse sources.

How do you find out about new tech?

This is a question that came up recently during a chat with a friend (hello, Sean) - and for me at least, it's a tricky answer because I don't have one answer. My career path has been dictated by being vaguely aware of new trends in tools and tech at just the right time: from jQuery to React, create-react-app to gatsby to Next.js to Remix, to various focuses on the applied science of UX, I've been able to recognize and capitalize on new opportunities by keeping an eye out for signals that come from many sources.

All this to say: I don't ever really set out to find new things, really. I do, however, have a whole bunch of places that I loosely pay attention to, in order to learn from people smarter than me.

Broken into a few simple lessons, here's how I do it:

Don't rely on just one source. Lately I've been learning from smart people on social media platforms like Bluesky, Threads, and Mastodon, and keep an eye on GitHub, Reddit, and Hacker News. This breadth allows me to spot trends, and to collect more signals on new tools, tech (and sometime people!) who are gaining traction.

I occasionally explore new frameworks or technologies - even those that don't seem immediately relevant. These little spikes help me to pull from the best of this-and-that for larger projects down the line. For example: I really love the DX of building interfaces in React, and I like the SEO the Remix framework makes available -- and I'm a big fan of the database ORM used in Rails, called ActiveRecord. If I hadn't ever run rails new or npx create-remix@latest, I would have never known about these things.

The ability to link seemingly unrelated concepts can lead to innovative solutions. I learned about React way back when I was building my first company; at the time, it was the best way to create a web app that updated its interface without reloading the page. That was super helpful for the fitness IoT product we were building at the time.

I've developed these habits by watching people admire do the same thing. Your path will vary based on where you are in your career, your goals, and your interests -- and that's a good thing. The engineers who I have seen build great things tend have a few things in common, which are correlated to the habits I've outlined above:

The smartest engineers often have side projects to experiment with the latest technologies. These projects are perfect for testing out new tools that might not fit into their professional work, helping to build their brand and skills.

It's beneficial to learn from different fields and backgrounds. Whether it's speech science at Google or community building in startups, integrating diverse knowledge can be a tremendous asset.

Smart people don't just follow one path; they build a diverse, constantly updated network of knowledge sources. If you're working on growing into a successful career, consider building a diverse network of people who can help you learn and grow. For some of us, this may mean changing your social media habits - don't just chase endorphins: find ways to learn while you scroll, and then go out and build something.

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It's only fair if I share some of the brilliant folks I've learned from recently; here's some of what's been keeping my attention -

YouTuber Mitxela made an incredible fluid simulation pendant necklace from off the shelf and custom machined parts. What I love most about this project is that it shows a great series of prototypes and iterations, and the final product is a beautiful piece of wearable art. It gets meta (even meta meta) along the way, and is a great peek into an inventor's creative process.

I've been reading the Simple Sabotage Field Manual, a WWII-era handbook written by the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS), and declassified by the CIA in 2008. If you enjoy finding ways to make good trouble, you'll love it. Best of all—it's free.