Against Usefulness

# Summary The author, a venture investor, describes encountering Folk Computer, an innovative open-source physical computing system that reimagines programming by replacing traditional screens with a room-based interface where code runs on paper and multiple people collaborate using projectors, cameras, and physical objects. Created by researchers from Bret Victor's Dynamicland lab, the system represents "useless" foundational research—work driven by curiosity rather than market demand—that the author argues is essential for future useful companies to build upon. The piece reflects on how breakthrough technologies often emerge from independent thinkers pursuing unconventional questions rather than optimizing existing paradigms.