In the past few weeks I’ve been diving into the online genealogical open data that is available, triggered by a conversation with Y about some of her schoolwork that deals with ancestry and namesakes.
In parallel E did her own deep dive, with some vibe coding assistance, working her way to transform her WordPress site into a static website. This included new workflows to be able to post directly from her notes and note taking apps across multiple devices.

The contrast between the two efforts stands out to me. That contrast is the direction of the arrow of time.

It is fascinating to see the patterns from historic traces my ancestors have left behind, and the stories that emerge from them. I’ve seen wealth, poverty, crime, war, disease, entire careers in the stories spread out over 275 years and more. It is easy to loose oneself in some more data, to find if I can add one more generation further back in time to the overview. The challenge increases as you progress: every generation there’s by definition double the number of people to find (unless you stick to one particular paternal or maternal line and don’t branch out to siblings at all). Finding previously undiscovered connections gives a little kick, similar to weaving a new connection in the now. Yet it yields nothing in terms of the now. No new agency, no new perception of identity, no new capabilities moving forward, no new (creative) artefacts for others to build upon or enjoy. Despite the fascinating stories I uncovered and the more nuanced sense of my family’s history I acquired.

E’s effort, of similar duration and intensity, is way more forward looking. She reduced dependencies on dynamic tools, increased the speed of her website, and learned a lot along the way, such as using git, and automating workflows that involve her devices, her VPS and remote services. She acquired new capabilities and understanding when it comes to creating one’s own digital autonomy. Something she was already helping others with, and now has put a more solid understanding underneath. She made it easier for herself to express herself on her website, reducing the friction in getting her own stories and writings out. New confidence in executing on ideas she already had for a long time. Her side interest is forward looking, constructive, activist.

My father after his (early) retirement mostly spend time on things that were looking into the past. Genealogy in the 1990s, collecting educational resources and material from the early 1900s, the local historic society of the village he was born.

E and I have often remarked how important it is to us to have friends and connections across different age groups, not be stuck in our own cohort and/or older. I have a sense that the side interests you spend time on and their direction of perspective, their arrow of time, help determine if that is easier or harder to do.

The framing is important here too. You can look at internet technology and say you want to go ‘back’ to the way some of those tools were in the 1990s and the zeroes. Or you can say, how can I use the key affordances and principles of what worked before to create something that allows new agency, that can help construct what comes next?

I think I prefer my side interests, and have for most of my life, with the arrow of time pointing forward.