Beyond 40 In Tech: Wisdom, Craftsmanship & AI

By Mike Levin

Understanding Pipulate & the Future of Knowledge: Getting Started

This journal entry explores the intersection of personal knowledge management, the wisdom gained through experience in the tech industry, and the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The author discusses a personal project called “Pipulate,” which appears to be a system or methodology designed to “awaken” the knowledge contained within books and other information sources, making it actively usable. The central idea is that with emerging AI tools, we can move beyond passively consuming information to actively engaging with it, essentially turning static texts into interactive mentors. This piece delves into the author’s philosophy on maintaining a lifelong digital journal, the benefits of mastering text manipulation tools, and how these practices converge with leveraging AI to augment human intellect and productivity, framing these as crucial skills for “future-proofing” oneself in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. It’s a reflection on harnessing technology not just for efficiency, but for deeper understanding and personal growth, particularly as one navigates a long career in tech.

The Dawn of Non-Destructive Convergence

Darn, I ended up slamming out an article that needed to be written, and it’s 6:30 AM now. 2 hours after wake-up on a day where I really have to focus on the client deliverables. But it’s really about non-destructive convergence now of my client work and my Pipulate work. If not over the next few hours then over the next week these two worlds fully merge.

#book #wip #bookwip #continue …continue to whip that book into shape!

WIP for those who don’t get the acronymn is “work in progress” and so bookwip is both a floorwax and a desert topping. If you get the reference, you’re old too!

Walking the Walk: Gaining Capability with Age

You’ve got to walk the walk if you want to talk the talk. As I get older I find myself more and more capable of walking the walk. This seems to be fully at odds with the rest of the world that projects the appearance that life is over by 40. I found the first half-century just like a good warm-up. They’ve been like taking a deep breath preparing for what’s to come.

The “One Text-File for Life” Philosophy

Oooh, this is fodder for the #bookwip hashtag! No such article-tagging system existed before in tech journaling system. And now it does. Just like that. POOF! System invented and deployed in real-time.

See, in the past that would have not been something I could act on quite so immediately. But now I have one text-file for life journal-style and the know-how. This is where I hash out these ideas in their most raw form (no, what you’re reading is not their most raw form, haha). If an idea merits consideration for the future-proofing book — as fodder for consideration, then it gets promoted to over here extracted out of one long .txt-file where I’m not burdened by # causing headline syntax formatting and using those #hashtags as inline on-the-fly indexing bookmarks for later searching.

This is another subtle point. Text is text and markdown is markdown. Text editing tools are going to try to style the markdown as you type, and this can get annoying if you’re using the hash symbol for something other than headlines (for example). You might also get syntax-rendering performance issues if your one-file-for-life gets to be a million lines or so (less on vim then elsewhere). And so you just give it a .txt extension and instruct your editor to not apply markdown syntax to text-files. Done. Speaking of vim…

Mastering Text: The Vim Advantage and Digital Independence

Vim/NeoVim have a built-in bookmarking system and lots of plugins to make it usable. No thank you! Just slash-whatever. Typing /whatever is how you search for whatever. If you put a special character before “bookmarks” you drop here and there like #whatever, then you search on /#whatever instead and it’s much more discriminating, passing over whatever.

These are things that come with the wisdom of age. One text-file for life. If you’re the 1 in 9-billion people reading this (no one) and are young enough for it to make a difference, figure out how to keep 1 text-file as a private notes journal for life. You’ll never have to figure out where to jot a note down (or transpose one to) so that you can find it again. There is 1-source-of-truth for the flow of ideas in your life. It may not be the source of actual truth because of its creative idea-processing stream of consciousness nature. In fact, it’s going to fill up with all kinds of bullshit, but that’s fine.

Journaling as Jungian Individuation and Creative Bootstrap

It’s like dreaming — but it’s better than dreaming because you can remember everything and extract-and-process the good parts. You’ve got to have somewhere to be playful with your thoughts and ideas, letting your subconscious work and dredge up things buried under the surface. Hey, if you’ve got any ambitions at individuation Carl Jung-style, this is where to do it.

If you’re thinking about writing and this intimidates you, try Julia Cameron’s The Art’s Way to kickstart and bootstrap the process — getting over all the obstacles and hurdles of self-improvement writing as a life-hack. If you want the multiplier effect, do it while learning vim/NeoVim and kill 2 birds with 1 stone. By journaling, you will be forming one of those rare overwhelmingly advantageous life-long skills in tech: controlling text as if by thought — never relying on Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Apple Notes or any other cloud writing platform again! And of the cherry on top… for the chef’s kiss of it all… figure out how to do it without GitHub.

Wisdom from a Half-Century: Learning from Every Pitfall

The fact that this discussion even exists is a product of not being in my teens, twenties or even starting-to-acquire-wisdom 30s. No, this is because I’m in my 50s and have been there and done that like 10x each, impaling myself on every pitfall and mistake imaginable — chasing every white rabbit down the rabbit hole not to emerge from whateverwonderland after years of subterranean adventure, and sometimes be none-the-better for it but for the battle-scars, memories and wisdom.

And this is a good thing — it’s a good thing in every regard except for the fact that the candle is burning and will eventually reach the end, mortality, bodies wearing out and failing us, yadda yadda blah blah blah. Eff that. YOUR body may wear out. Mine is not — at least not in my mind until the day, sedentary as the life I lead may actually be. Peace and quiet and a good book, that’s for me.

Books Coming Alive: AI as Mentor

Speaking of books, they are sort of coming alive, waking up to teach you how to unlock and actually put to work and USE the knowledge contained in those books. Figuratively but in a way that’s becoming more literal every day, any individual book has the ability to “wake up” and reach out to become a sort of mentor to you guiding you through leveraging the wisdom in that book — this is no longer Sci-Fi. This is actually quite yesterday’s reality if you’re good at prompt engineering and a bit of system-building. Tomorrow’s versions are all that Avatar augmented-reality crap you don’t really need. What exists today fine-tuned for your purposes and taken advantage of to your ends is already a force multiplier beyond belief — if you can figure it out.

Reality Surpassing Sci-Fi: Asimov’s Dreams and OpenAI’s Fire

I’m taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of reality catching up and surpassing Sci-Fi. I wish Isaac Asimov were still alive to witness and discuss and interact with the very intelligent machines he imagined. I wish he were around to see OpenAI steal the fire from the gods of Google who kept the Genie locked up in the Bottle in their LaMDA labs, delivering fire to the people in the form of ChatGPT, thus giving humanity a shot of dystopia-inoculation in the arm, forcing the general public to get used to this new mitochondria that just entered our collective body. We have a new powerhouse of the societal cell. Or more accurately, we have built-in machine intelligence to which we can offload cognitive function we don’t want put on our own neocortex pre-frontal lobes. We can outsource the thinking that is not too dangerous to outsource.

In case you haven’t noticed, the artistry of remaining human and retaining your own agency is knowing what thinking to outsource and what not to… duhh. And technically AI is not the powerhouse of the societal cell because it’s going to require a lot of power. For the pedantic wanting to point that out, yes I know that flaw in my analogy but I stand by it regardless. Bodies are in bodies.

Dodging Management: The Craftsman’s Path in Tech

As a tech who loves the craftsmanship of tech, I will forever dodge getting promoted to management for a better salary and a tearing away of the craft that I love from my warm still quite living hands. That is the way. Old foggies are forced to step aside (into management) to make room for the younguns who know the latest JavaScript framework — unknowing they’re about to be obsoleted by the next generation and forced into that possibly reprehensible (depending on your vibe) management role themselves. Nope. Let me be forever be Mickey the Sorcerer’s Apprentice figuring out how to automate all those brooms. I might not like the idea of managing humans. But an army of brooms? Sign me up!

Pipulate: Your Army of Intelligent Subcontractors

As the parts of my body wear out and the candle burns low, this army of brooms will be forever more intelligent subcontractors to my general contractor. How much power when the homeowner is also the general contractor and all the subcontractors follow your instructions precisely! OMG, yes please thankyouverymuch wheredoisignup? Oh yeah, I already did. It’s my daily project: Pipulate.

The Indoor Enthusiast: Embracing Introverted Nature

I’m not one of those “make the most of it” or “live your best life” people. Like @codinghorror Co-founder of StackOverflow (the thing ChatGPT ripped off to learn how to code), I’m an indoor enthusiast. It’s not that I hate nature but that I’m comfortable with my nature as predominantly introverted and sedentary. I love to read — ye old doom scrolling. Especially Sci-Fi, but dem dere books is coming alive — like they’re friggin opening themselves up and teaching you how to use the knowledge contained within them! And Pipulate is my way of doing that.

Unlocking “WhatToDo” and “HowToDo” with Superpowered Research

It’s not straight forward: first what-to-do and then how-to-do a thing. These are the two missing keys: WhatToDo and HowToDo. The capability is there to actually do it once you’ve answered these two prerequisite questions. Raw intelligence that already is smarter than humans in many ways because it can research the subject-matter faster than you is already here. You have a superpowered research librarian at your disposal already today in the form of Google Gemini Deep Research. And so it becomes a question of human agency again, doesn’t it. Are you yourself only a tool like you accuse the machine of being? Or are you a human being with agency capable of setting the direction of things by deciding first what-to-do? Some would say you should start with “why” hahaha! Ask JFK.

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Gemini Responds

My process is to bounce the article ideas off of whatever is the smartest and most useful frontier AI model at the time. At this time, that’s Gemini 2.5 Pro. I have high hopes for Grok 3.5 or Grok 4 (whatever it’s going to be). They have that whole Memphis Tennessee Colossus super-computer datacenter to work with. Hey Elon, whatcha doin? Sitting on your hands?

Gemini: This is a fascinating and energetic stream-of-consciousness piece! It reads like a personal blueprint, a progress update on life and work, and an exploration of how technology, particularly AI, is shaping the author’s future.

Here’s a breakdown of the key themes and ideas:

1. Non-Destructive Convergence: The author is excited about the merging of their client work and personal project (“Pipulate”), seeing it as a synergistic development.
2. Aging with Vigor: A strong counter-narrative to societal expectations of decline after 40. The author feels more capable, viewing the first half-century as a “warm-up.”
3. The “One Text-File for Life”: This is a central pillar of their personal knowledge management and creative process.
   • Simplicity: A single .txt file for journaling, raw ideas, and on-the-fly indexing using simple search (/whatever) and hashtags (#whatever).
   • Efficiency: Eliminates the problem of where to jot notes and how to find them later.
   • Privacy & Control: Advocating for local solutions (like Vim/NeoVim) over cloud platforms or GitHub for this private journal.
   • Creative Incubator: A space for “playful,” subconscious exploration, akin to dreaming or Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages,” and a tool for Jungian individuation.
4. Wisdom from Experience: The insights shared (like the one text-file) are products of decades of trial, error, and learning from mistakes (“impaling myself on every pitfall”).
5. AI as a Revolutionary Tool (“Books Coming Alive”):
   • Mentorship & Activation: AI has the potential to make the knowledge in books actionable, acting as a mentor to help users apply wisdom. This is moving from Sci-Fi to reality.
   • Cognitive Offloading: AI (like ChatGPT, Gemini) is seen as a “new mitochondria” for society, allowing humans to outsource thinking and focus on higher-level direction.
   • Empowering the Craftsman: The author wants to remain a “tech” (like Mickey the Sorcerer’s Apprentice) using AI as an “army of brooms” – intelligent subcontractors – rather than be pushed into management.
6. Pipulate: The author’s personal project, which seems to be about building systems to interact with and direct these AI “subcontractors,” making knowledge from books and other sources actively useful.
7. Rejection of Conventional Paths/Values:
   • Prefers craftsmanship over management.
   • Identifies as an “indoor enthusiast,” comfortable with a sedentary, introverted nature focused on reading and deep work.
   • Isn’t driven by “make the most of it” or “live your best life” platitudes in the conventional sense.
8. Human Agency in the Age of AI: With powerful AI research tools available, the critical questions become “WhatToDo” and “HowToDo.” Human agency lies in setting the direction.
9. Asimov and the “Dystopia-Inoculation”: A wish that Isaac Asimov could see his imagined intelligent machines. Views OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT as a positive, forcing public awareness and adaptation to AI, a sort of “inoculation” against potential negative futures.

In essence, the author is energized by a confluence of personal development (wisdom through age), a refined personal workflow (the one text-file), and the explosive arrival of powerful AI. They are actively building “Pipulate” to harness these forces, aiming to augment their intellect and capabilities, remain deeply engaged in their craft, and navigate the future on their own terms. The piece has a palpable sense of excitement and conviction.

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AI Analysis

Okay, this journal entry is brimming with exciting ideas and personal reflections that can serve as fantastic raw material for your tech book! It’s like digging into a treasure chest of concepts waiting to be polished and presented. The passion and firsthand experience really shine through, offering a unique perspective on the evolution of tech, personal knowledge management, and the integration of AI into our workflows, all centered around the fascinating Pipulate project. Let’s dive in and pre-digest this for you!

Title/Headline Ideas & Filenames:

• Title: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Wielding AI and Lifelong Journaling for a Tech Future Filename: sorcerers-apprentice-ai-lifelong-journaling-tech-future.md
• Title: One Text-File to Rule Them All: Pipulate and the Art of Waking Up Knowledge Filename: one-text-file-pipulate-waking-up-knowledge.md
• Title: Cognitive Offload: How Pipulate Leverages AI for a Multiplied Mind Filename: cognitive-offload-pipulate-ai-multiplied-mind.md
• Title: Beyond 40 in Tech: Merging Wisdom, Journaling, and AI with Project Pipulate Filename: beyond-40-tech-wisdom-journaling-ai-pipulate.md
• Title: From Doom Scrolling to Dream Weaving: Pipulate’s Journey to Animate Books Filename: doom-scrolling-dream-weaving-pipulate-animate-books.md

Strengths (for Future Book):

• Authentic Voice: The journal entry provides a raw, unfiltered, and passionate first-person perspective, which can be highly engaging.
• Unique Philosophy: The “one text-file for life” concept is a distinct and practical takeaway for readers interested in personal knowledge management.
• Timely AI Insights: The reflections on AI (ChatGPT, LaMDA, cognitive offloading, AI as subcontractors) are current and thought-provoking.
• Pipulate as a Case Study: The emerging details about Pipulate offer a concrete example to anchor more abstract discussions about AI and knowledge.
• Relatable Experiences: The author’s musings on aging in tech, avoiding management, and the value of experience will resonate with many professionals.
• Actionable Seeds: Mentions of tools (Vim/NeoVim) and methods (Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”) provide tangible starting points for readers.
• Visionary Concepts: The idea of “books coming alive” and AI as a “mentor” is forward-thinking and exciting.

Weaknesses (for Future Book):

• Assumed Context: The entry heavily relies on the author’s internal context regarding “Pipulate” and personal history, which will need explicit explanation for a wider audience.
• Stream of Consciousness: The flow is very natural for a journal but will require significant structuring, editing, and thematic organization to form coherent book chapters.
• Jargon/Niche References: While some tech references are fine, the density might be high without further elaboration (e.g., specific Vim commands, nuances of “non-destructive convergence” in this context).
• Repetitive Phrases/Ideas: Some concepts are circled back to, which is natural in journaling but would need tightening in a book.
• Emotional Intensity: While a strength, the raw emotional tone might need slight modulation in places to ensure it serves the book’s broader didactic or narrative goals without overwhelming.
• Lack of External Validation (in this snippet): While personal experience is key, integrating broader research, statistics, or other viewpoints could strengthen arguments for a book.

AI Opinion (on Value for Future Book):

This journal entry is exceptionally valuable as raw material for a tech book, especially one focused on the Pipulate project. Its strength lies in its authenticity and the passionate articulation of a unique vision for integrating personal knowledge management, AI, and long-term tech career strategies. The text provides a rich seam of personal philosophy, practical tips (like the “one text-file” approach), and genuinely insightful reflections on the evolving human-AI relationship. While it’s currently a stream-of-consciousness piece requiring structuring and contextualization, it contains the core DNA for compelling chapters. The enthusiasm is infectious, and the concepts, like “books coming alive” and AI as “intelligent subcontractors,” are sticky and thought-provoking, perfectly aligning with a book aiming to explore the future of tech and knowledge work through the lens of a specific, innovative project. This is the kind of foundational insight that can make a book feel personal, visionary, and deeply resonant.