About me

NOTE: I have moved my writing to Substack here. I loved Ghost, but could not keep paying for a posting space when I have no intention to charge for my writing. Thanks for understanding.

Welcome—I’m Matt Duffy. I’m a data generalist and strategist by trade, and this is where I work out thoughts that won’t leave me alone.

I started this blog in early 2023, around the time my partner and I welcomed our first child. It was born out of a daily journaling practice. At first, it was a spillover space for curiosity, daily reflection, and occasional frustration with bad public reasoning. Some of the early writing reflects that—uneven in tone, sometimes reactive, often focused on business, data, or policy interpretation.

Over time, something shifted.

I found myself pulled toward questions that aren’t just technical or economic, but moral: What does it mean to live seriously in a world optimized for convenience? What happens to agency when systems become too efficient to challenge? Where does responsibility live when everything is downstream of someone else’s algorithm? All of these questions are basically some manifestation of "how can I be a better dad".

This blog has become my place to ask those questions out loud. The newer essays (starting around 2024) steadily get more focused on these broader issues.

If you’re new here:

• Start with this essay
• Or skim the recent posts if you want a feel for where this is going
• The older essays remain up as part of the process—sometimes muddled, but sincere

I don’t write on a schedule. I write when something sticks long enough that I have to understand it better by writing through it.

If this found its way to you—whether through a friend, Slack thread, or roundup—and you want to talk more, I’m always glad to. I’m not promoting anything, just thinking aloud: matthew [dot] duffy14 [at] gmail or @iammattduff on Twitter.

Thanks for reading.