Argument - The central object of study in informal logic; a series of statements (premises) intended to determine the degree of truth of another statement (the conclusion)
Enthymeme - An argument in which one premise is not explicitly stated, a common feature of real-world reasoning
Criteria for Argument Evaluation
Fallacy - The use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning in the construction of an argument that may appear to be well-reasoned if unnoticed
Category mistake - The broader application of informal logic and other skills (like analysis and self-reflection) to decide what to believe or do
Technical writing - A type of writing where the author is writing about a particular subject that requires direction, instruction, or explanation
Divio Documentation System - A framework that proposes that all documentation should be explicitly structured according to its purpose, into four distinct types: tutorials, how-to guides, technical reference and explanation
Obsidian - A free and flexible application for private thoughts, allowing users to store notes on their device, connect ideas, and organize knowledge with a customizable interface through plugins and themes
Zettelkasten - A system of note-taking and personal knowledge management for research, study, and writing, consisting of small, interconnected items of information stored on slips or cards
Memos - An open-source, self-hosted note-taking tool built for quick capture that is markdown-native and lightweight
Content Management Systems (CMS)
Content management system - A computer software used to manage the creation and modification of digital content
SharePoint - A web-based collaboration and document management platform that enables organizations to securely store, share, and manage content
Nextcloud - The industry-leading, fully open-source, on-premise content collaboration platform
WordPress - A free and open-source content management system written in hypertext preprocessor language and paired with a MySQL or MariaDB database with supported HTTPS
Wiki Systems
Wiki software - A collaborative software that runs a wiki, which allows users to create and collaboratively edit pages or entries via a web browser
Markdown - A lightweight markup language for creating formatted text using a plain-text editor
CommonMark - A rationalized version of Markdown syntax, with a spec and BSD-licensed reference implementations in C and JavaScript
GFM (GitHub Flavored Markdown) - A formal specification, based on the CommonMark Spec, that defines the syntax and semantics of GitHub's dialect of Markdown
mdterm - A terminal-based Markdown viewer written in Rust that renders Markdown files with syntax highlighting, styled formatting, and interactive navigation
Grip - A command-line server application that renders local README files before you push them to GitHub
Markdown Guide - A free and open-source reference guide that explains how to use Markdown
DocUtils - An open-source text processing system for processing plaintext documentation into useful formats, such as HTML, LaTeX, man-pages, open-document, or XML
reStructuredText - An easy-to-read, what-you-see-is-what-you-get plaintext markup syntax and parser system
Asciidoc - A lightweight markup language for writing notes, documentation, articles, books, ebooks, slideshows, web pages, man pages and blogs
Asciidoctor - A fast, open source text processor and publishing toolchain for converting AsciiDoc content to HTML5, DocBook 5 (or 4.5) and other formats
Org Mode - An authoring tool and a TODO lists manager for GNU Emacs
nvim-orgmode - An Orgmode clone for Neovim written in Lua
Wikitext - The markup language that consists of the syntax and keywords used by the MediaWiki software to format a page
Style Guides
Microsoft Writing Style Guide - A guide for writers creating a variety of content types, including apps and websites
Google documentation style guide - The editorial guidelines for writing clear and consistent technical documentation for an audience of software developers and other technical practitioners
Red Hat documentation style guide - The guide that provides style guidelines for Red Hat product and cross-product solution documentation
Microsoft Terminology - A collection of rules that define language and style conventions for specific languages
Usability - The extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specified context of use
User interface design - A craft in which designers perform an important function in creating the user experience
Accessibility - The design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities
Accessibility Object Model (AOM) - A JavaScript API to allow developers to modify (and eventually explore) the accessibility tree for an HTML page
WAI-ARIA - The Accessible Rich Internet Applications suite of web standards
Prototyping
Paper prototyping - A widely used method in the user-centered design process, a process that helps developers to create software that meets the user's expectations and needs
Seven stages of action - An idealized description of the cognitive and physical steps an individual takes to achieve a goal
1: Forming the target.
2: Forming the intention.
3: Specifying an action.
4: Executing the action.
5: Perceiving the state of the world.
6: Interpreting the state of the world.
7: Evaluating the outcome.
Cognitive Processes
Attention - The cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things
Metacognition - An awareness of one's thought processes and an understanding of the patterns behind them
Interaction Principles & Laws
Principle of least astonishment - A general principle that states that the result of performing some operation should be obvious, consistent, and predictable, based upon the name of the operation and other context
Affordance - A property of an object that indicates how it can be used
Stroop effect - A demonstration of interference in the reaction time of a task
Fitts's law - A predictive model of human movement primarily used in human–computer interaction and ergonomics
Microsoft Typography - A comprehensive resource for font technology and typefaces, providing technical specifications, developer tools, and design guidelines for Microsoft products
Claude Design - A visual design tool that lets users collaborate with Claude to create polished designs, prototypes, slides, and marketing materials through natural conversation and iterative refinement
Figma Design - A powerful, collaborative design tool for teams
Responsive web design - An approach to web design that aims to make web pages render well on a variety of devices and window or screen sizes
Core Web Vitals - The subset of Web Vitals that apply to all web pages, should be measured by all site owners, and will be surfaced across all Google tools
TrueType - An outline font standard developed by Apple and Microsoft in the late 1980s as a competitor to Adobe's Type 1 fonts used in PostScript
OpenType - A scalable computer font format developed by Microsoft and Adobe as an extension of the TrueType format, supporting advanced typographic features and multi-platform compatibility
WOFF (Web Open Font Format) - A font format for use in web pages, developed by Mozilla and others, that provides a compressed wrapper for TrueType and OpenType fonts to improve web performance
Variable Fonts - An evolution of the OpenType font specification that enables a single font file to behave like multiple fonts by defining variations in weight, width, and other axes
Open Fonts
Noto Fonts - A global font collection for all modern and ancient languages
Orbitron - A geometric sans-serif typeface intended for display purposes
Libraries & Engines
FreeType - A freely available software library to render fonts
HarfBuzz - A widely used open-source text-shaping engine that converts Unicode text into the glyphs and positions required for proper rendering across various scripts and languages
Pango - An open-source library for laying out and rendering of text, with an emphasis on internationalization and support for complex scripts
Fontconfig - A library for configuring and customizing font access, used primarily on Linux and other Unix-like systems to provide consistent font matching and substitution
Rendering Technologies & APIs
ClearType - A subpixel rendering technology developed by Microsoft to improve the readability of text on liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) by utilizing the individual subpixels of each pixel
DirectWrite - A high-performance text-layout and font-rendering API from Microsoft that supports hardware-accelerated rendering and high-quality typography for modern applications
Team building - A collective term for various types of activities used to enhance social relations and define roles within teams, often involving collaborative tasks
Group dynamics - A system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within or between social groups
Research & Models
Google Rework: Understand team effectiveness - A research initiative identifying key dynamics like psychological safety, dependability, structure and clarity, meaning, and impact as crucial for successful group collaboration
GRPI Model - A foundational framework for designing and diagnosing team effectiveness, organizing the building blocks of a high-performing team into four layers: Goals, Roles, Processes, and Interpersonal Relationships
Interpersonal Communication Techniques
Storytelling - The social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment
Facilitation - The act of designing and running a successful meeting or workshop
Active listening - The practice of preparing to listen, observing what verbal and non-verbal messages are being sent, and then providing appropriate feedback for the sake of showing attentiveness to the message being presented
Negotiation - A dialogue between two or more parties to resolve points of difference, gain an advantage for an individual or collective, or craft outcomes to satisfy various interests
Corporate Principles & Values
Amazon's Leadership Principles - The set of core tenets Amazonians use daily to guide their discussions, decisions, and actions
GitLab Values - A set of guiding principles that define the company's culture and how its team members operate
Professional Manifestos
Manifesto for Software Craftsmanship - A declaration emphasizing the importance of well-crafted software, continuous value addition, professional community, and productive partnerships in software development
DESC feedback model - A communication tool for providing constructive feedback by describing the behavior, expressing the impact, specifying the desired change, and explaining the consequences
Mindfullness - The basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we're doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what's going on around us
Zen - A school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty
Flow - The mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity
Defence mechanism - Unconscious psychological processes that protect the self from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings related to internal conflicts and external stressors
Psychological resilience - The ability to cope mentally and emotionally with a crisis, or to return to pre-crisis status quickly
Occupational burnout - A work-related phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed
Cognitive bias - A systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment
Default mode network - A large-scale brain network; known for being active when a person is not focused on the outside world and the brain is at wakeful rest
Situation awareness - The understanding of an environment, its elements, and how it changes with respect to time or other factors
1: Perception of the elements in the environment.
2: Comprehension or understanding of the situation.
3: Projection of future status.
Vertical thinking - A problem-solving approach characterized by being selective, analytical, and sequential, often relying on rational assessment and external data
Lateral thinking - A manner of solving problems using an indirect and creative approach via reasoning that is not immediately obvious
Related Philosophies
Three Virtues - The qualities of a great programmer: Laziness, Impatience, and Hubris
Psychological safety - The belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes
Trust - The belief that another person will do what is expected
Collective intelligence - The shared or group intelligence that emerges from the collaboration, collective efforts, and competition of many individuals and appears in consensus decision making
Groupthink - A psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome
Bystander effect - A social psychological theory that states that individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when there are other people present
Dunbar's number - A suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships
Illustrative Concepts
Broken windows theory - A criminological theory that states that visible signs of crime, anti-social behavior, and civil disorder create an urban environment that encourages further crime and disorder, including serious crimes
Stone soup story - A European folk story in which hungry strangers convince the people of a town to each share a small amount of their food in order to make a meal
Market - A composition of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations or infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange
Inflation - An increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time
Prospect theory - A theory of behavioral economics and behavioral finance which states that people make decisions based on the potential value of losses and gains rather than the final outcome
Sunk cost - A cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered
Principal–agent problem - The conflict in priorities between a person or group and the representative authorized to act on their behalf
Information asymmetry - A situation in which one party in a transaction has more or better information than the other
Induced demand - The phenomenon that after supply increases, more of a good is consumed
Metcalfe's law - The value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system (n2)
Network effect - The phenomenon by which the value or utility a user derives from a good or service depends on the number of users of compatible products
Braess's paradox - The observation that adding one or more roads to a road network can slow down overall traffic flow through it
Nash equilibrium - A solution concept of a non-cooperative game involving two or more players in which each player is assumed to know the equilibrium strategies of the other players, and no player has anything to gain by changing only their own strategy
Pareto efficiency - A state of allocation of resources from which it is impossible to reallocate so as to make any one individual or preference criterion better off without making at least one individual or preference criterion worse off
Currency - A standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange
Interest - The payment from a debtor or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate
Central bank - An institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union
Revenue model - A framework for generating financial income
Financial capital - An economic resource measured in terms of money used by entrepreneurs and businesses to buy what they need to make their products or to provide their services
Venture capital - A form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential
Contracts
Credit - The trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately
Debt - An obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or otherwise return value to another party, the creditor
Discounting - A mechanism in which a debtor obtains the right to delay payments to a creditor, for a defined period of time, in exchange for a charge or fee
Bond - A type of security under which the issuer (debtor) owes the holder (creditor) a debt, and is obliged – depending on the terms – to repay the principal of the bond at the maturity date and pay interest over a specified time
Spot - A contract of buying or selling a commodity, security or currency for immediate settlement
Futures - A standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future
Option - A contract which conveys to its owner, the holder, the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying asset or instrument at a specified strike price on or before a specified date
Cryptocurrency - A type of currency which uses digital files as money
Blockchain - A distributed ledger with growing lists of records
Bitcoin - A decentralized digital currency that can be transferred on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network
Hashcash - A proof-of-work system used to limit email spam and denial-of-service attacks
Proof of work - A form of cryptographic proof in which one party proves to others that a certain amount of a specific computational effort has been expended
Financial accounting
Return on investment - The ratio between net income (over a period) and investment (costs resulting from an investment of some resources at a point in time)
Cash flow statement - A financial statement that shows how changes in balance sheet accounts and income affect cash and cash equivalents
Income statement - One of the financial statements of a company and shows the company's financial performance for a specific period of time
Balance sheet - A summary of the financial balances of an individual or organization
Net present value - A way of measuring the value of an asset that has cashflow by adding up the present value of all the future cash flows that asset will generate
EBITDA - A measure of a company's profitability of the operating business only, before any effects of indebtedness, state-mandated payments, and costs required to maintain its asset base