(4 min read)
Hi all! Turns out my schedule was too crammed to finish Nutshell this month (here's the beta, if you forgot), so I'm pausing my Patreon for July. You will not be charged on August 1st.
In the meantime, here's this month's rewards!...
(3 min read β new talk, patreon housekeeping, upcoming projects, misc)
Hi folks, thanks for your patience! My Stanford mini-talk, on how to explain complex ideas accessibly, is out now!
It took me way longer than I'd thought to edit this video. My slides weren't recorded, so I had to edit them back in....
2022-06-30 16:12:13 +0000 UTC View Post(6 minute read)
You may have noticed in my last few Patreon posts, I gave probability estimates like "3 things released in May [80% probability]".
And you may have noticed all my estimates were off.
Welp. In May, I got approximately nothing done. I've been bouncing between friends' couches twice a week whilst traveling, and last-minute rescheduling because of friends having emergencies and/or getting Covid. (Don't worry, my friends are now mostly ok, but, big oof.)<...
2022-05-31 22:20:15 +0000 UTC View Post(quick update β 4 min read)
- - -
Hi all! This Patreon was un-paused on April 1st, because I am back from a 16-month-long burnout hiatus!
Shockingly, this past month was actually really good ββ not just re: "work productivity", but overall human flourishing. I'm currently traveling, seeing friends I haven't seen in 3 years, spontaneously trying new stuff, reading challenging books, playing
(12 min read total)
(silly animation: 2 min watch)
(what's-next idea-dump: 10 min read)
ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
HEY FOLKS! AFTER 16(?) MONTHS, I'M FINALLY BACK FROM BURNOUT-HIATUS π
I KNOW I'VE SAID THAT 3 TIMES BEFORE, BUT THIS TIME I MEAN IT
I'M UNPAUSING THE PATREON AND TAKING YOUR MONEY ON APRIL 1ST
OKAY enough caps lock, here's two burnout-hiatu...
2022-03-14 21:26:12 +0000 UTC View Post(Three main sections, that take 16 minutes / 6 minutes / 5 minutes to read.)
(32 minutes reading time in total, not counting links)
Hey all! I haven't done a What's Nicky Learning? post in a while. So here's a thought-dump of what I've been learning recently. (Alas, I did not get any publishable work done last month. This is 10% because the world has been... distracting... but honestly 90% it's just me anxiety-ruminating and media-binging as usual. ...
2022-03-02 21:51:32 +0000 UTC View Post
(16 min read)
(content note: mental health, lots of cussing)
Hi cats & kittens!
After 16 months of burnout-hiatus, I'm back and am not a better person! But I burnt through 16 months of savings so I'm taking your cash. (Well, starting next month. I paused the Patreon again on Feb 1st as a "grace period", since I'm introducing a refund/block policy & modifying the reward tiers. See "patreon housekeeping" at the end.)
I typed some bulletpoints to ou...
2022-02-02 17:55:24 +0000 UTC View PostHi all, sorry for the radio silence.
Long story short, I've been in a 2-month-long mental health sinkhole. I don't know what compels me to tell you this, but stupidly enough, it was precipitated by an interaction with a long-time Patron who I trusted & opened up to. I'm vague-posting to not reveal private details. I voluntarily gave that person a lifetime refund (with interest), & blocked them. Still, I feel gross and mistrustful.
To be honest, the interaction wasn't that ...
2021-12-29 17:27:52 +0000 UTC View Post(4 minutes reading time)
Hi all!
You may have noticed you were NOT charged on Nov 1st. I paused this Patreon again for 1 more month, because I'm still behind on my catgirl project. I got sunk-cost faith at this point.
Two fun updates, though:
[reading time: 2 minutes]
[optional survey: 7 minutes]
Hi folks!
After a year of burnout-hiatus, this Patreon will be un-paused on November 1st! That's when you'll be charged again. If you've changed your mind about financially supporting me, no worries! Sharing my stuff & subscribing to my 2021-09-29 21:01:18 +0000 UTC View Post
[Patreon-charging's still paused... but not for long? Read on!]
Hi all! My next project is almost done. It just needs a few curious authors to try it out... and that's where you come in!
π₯ NUTSHELL (BETA) π₯
π€ https://ncase.me/nutshell-beta/ π€
If you're an...
2021-09-17 20:25:21 +0000 UTC View Post[Patreon's still paused; you won't be charged until further notice]
Howdy! I prototyped this a year ago, but then I went on burnout-hiatus. But last week, I re-designed & polished it up so that you can get a sneak peek:
π₯ Nutshell! (or, βExpandable Explanationsβ) π₯
π·(w...
[This Patreon is still on hiatus, so you won't be charged until further notice]
(2 min read)
If you haven't heard, my pal Grant Sanderson (3Blue1Brown) is doing a "math explainer" contest! There's prizes, and the deadline's a week from now: August 22. (I, uh, really should've shared this earlier)
If you've not done math-explanation before, well, you're exactly who Grant's trying to encourage to give it a shot! Anything, from blog posts to ...
π2 min read
Hi all! I'm still on hiatus, so you weren't charged last month, and won't be charged until further notice.
Since I'm bad at emails, I finally wrote a Frequently Asked Questions page! As part of it, I wrote 1700+ words on tips for learning math, writing fiction & non-fiction, coding, game design, going indie, and mental health. I hope it's useful for some of y'all!
(4 min of reading, 6 min of music)
Note: this Patreon is still paused, and you wonβt be charged until further notice!
Hi new Patrons! Welcome, and my deepest thanks! <3 I assume most of you are here from the new Veritasium video. (If you havenβt seen it, my Fireflies was on their latest video on 2021-04-26 19:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
(2 minute read)
Hi all,
Hope you're okay! Seasonal Affective Disorder + winter lockdown is no joke.
Long story short, I'm extending my hiatus until "whenever" β this Patreon remains paused & you still won't be charged.
As I've said before, I've known for years that my current way of living/working is deeply unhealthy for me. And since the pandemic, I've lost most of my good habits & amplified my self-destructive ones. &nb...
2021-02-16 17:57:45 +0000 UTC View PostREMINDER: THIS PATREON IS PAUSED UNTIL MARCH 1ST 2021, or longer, since Iβm "on sabbatical", theoretically. Your hard-earned cash remains yours!
(reading time: 5 min)
First, a song!
I was part of a collaboration of 37 educators in STEM, singing a song about Gauss! It's for a charity fundraising event.
π΅ The Gauss Song (song's 4 min long, t...
2020-12-25 20:30:45 +0000 UTC View Post[Reminder: My Patreon's still paused! You weren't charged last month, and won't be until March 1st, 2021]
(reading time: 7 min)
Hi you β I sincerely hope you're staying safe, now that many countries are in a Covid 2nd (or 3rd) wave. It's good that the previous measures bought us time for better treatments, so it's less deadly than the 1st wave, but still... thi...
2020-10-05 20:10:55 +0000 UTC View Post
(2 minute read)
For the $2+ and $5+ backers, here's this month's Wall of Thanks and Polygon avatars! Also sent some of you a drawing of a duck, entitled, "Quack to School"
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Hi all!
On second thought, I'm starting my 6-month sabbatical now. Trying to finish my ne...
2020-09-01 01:59:25 +0000 UTC View Post
(reading time: 9 min)
(can't see GIF above? click here!)
Hi all! Sorry for the lack of updates. I didn't want to bother your inbox until I had something to show. Anyway, feast your eyes and UwU your face, coz here is...
π½ UwU Cam β Patron-Exclusive Alpha Version! π½
π₯ (works ...
(reading time: 7 minutes)
Alright, I'm back from my post-burnout break! I mean, I hope it's post-.
Quick housekeeping: Patreon added sales tax on July 1st, but you should be mostly unaffected since I don't offer "real" rewards. See FAQ for details. However, due...
2020-07-07 15:44:12 +0000 UTC View Post
This video actually came out 3 weeks ago, and I totally forgot to share it with you. For the five of you who know about me but not Grant Sanderson (3Blue1Brown), he makes friggin' amazing math videos, both detailed and accessible β showing the true elegant beauty of mathematics.
So I've no idea why he wanted to video-ify my non-math COVID-19 comics (made in collab with an epidemiologist & a privacy researcher), but I said yes!
Quick Announcement: Patreon's required by law to add sales tax starting July 1st β but y'all should be mostly exempt, since my "rewards" are stuff like gratitude, your name in credits, and exclusive posts like... this one! Check Patreon FAQ to see if your country/state's affected...
2020-06-02 12:01:07 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm still editing & polishing this thing very, very last minute! If you find typos & errors or weird UI, please comment below so I can fix 'em! Thank you! Aghhhhhhh!
. . .
Here you go, the most "deep dive" explorable I've ever made β epidemiology 101, the proposed COVID-19 interventions, and some best/worst-case-scenarios... explained with playable pictures:
π·...
2020-04-30 16:13:39 +0000 UTC View PostBefore the sneak peek, 2 quick things:
1. If you need to lower/cancel your pledge in this hard time, I completely understand. Seriously, take care of you first! I'm financially safe, thanks to all your past support π
2. Two months ago I said I'd be traveling on vacation in April, thus I would pause the Patreon. Obviously, I've not been traveling, nor on vacation. April's pledge will still be charged at the end of the month, just a heads up! 2020-04-29 00:18:34 +0000 UTC View Post
(4 minute comic + 4 minute update)
Thank you so much for your feedback on my previous comic (a collaboration with an epidemiologist) about why we need contact tracing to beat COVID-19.
Our new comic is about how.
A few of you (thanks Voyage Goya!) brought up a dang good concern: privacy. Does beating COVID-19 mean mass surveillance? Giving up ...
2020-04-10 21:14:31 +0000 UTC View PostIf you need to reduce or cancel your pledge, I understand. Lots of folks are out of work right now. Don't worry about me β I have enough in savings, thanks to your support over the years. <3 See you on the other side of this pandemic!
. . .
(reading time: 6 minutes)
What happens after the lockdown?
Even if you haven't heard of the March 16th Imperial College Report 2020-03-25 20:39:57 +0000 UTC View Post
Need a fun, easy crafts project to do at home while you're self-isolating from COVID-19?
Look no further! On the first week of my sabbati-cation, I found a quick & easy way to design 3D plushies... with Play-Doh & a paper towelβ½
π₯ Make Plushie Patterns with Play-Doh & Paper Towels π₯
(4 min read + downloadable pattern)
γ»γ»γ...
2020-03-12 13:56:19 +0000 UTC View Post
(reading time: 3 min)
(Pre-Script: Welcome new patrons from Hacker News! The Explorables site exists for years, hasn't been updated for months, then suddenly bam half-a-million views. I don't understand how the HN frontpage works. Anyway, back to the update...)
Thank you so so so much for your feedback on my last post! It's meaningful to know ...
2020-02-21 15:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
(reading time: 6 min)
I've got one specific problem, and one general problem.
Specific problem: I'm blocked.
My next project is a tool + tutorial to genderbend your voice (for trans/non-binary folk, plus voice actors & anyone who's curious).
The tool is complete. Has been for two weeks, actually. I'm blocked on the tutorial β how to shift your larynx, pharynx, lips & tongue, etc.
Specifically,...
2020-02-13 15:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post