Shashan Pande — Journal https://shashanpande.com/journal/ Short reads on technology, history, space, food, credit and learning, by Shashan Pande. en-us Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 MUJI sells no brand, and that's the brandhttps://shashanpande.com/journal/muji-sells-no-brand-and-that-s-the-brand/https://shashanpande.com/journal/muji-sells-no-brand-and-that-s-the-brand/Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000How a supermarket's plain private label turned leaving things out into a product strategy, and what I take from it.AI & ProductsHistory & Culture Dots made me ask a bigger question: what makes AI useful?https://shashanpande.com/journal/dots-llms-and-curiosity/https://shashanpande.com/journal/dots-llms-and-curiosity/Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000What I’m learning about language models, messy web data, and the gap between a bigger model and a better product.AI & ProductsTechnology The most interesting part of a folding phone might be the hinge.https://shashanpande.com/journal/iphone-hinge/https://shashanpande.com/journal/iphone-hinge/Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000A tiny mechanism with a very large job: making a complicated product feel effortless.TechnologyAI & Products How does a watch know your fingers just tapped?https://shashanpande.com/journal/apple-watch-double-tap/https://shashanpande.com/journal/apple-watch-double-tap/Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000The delightful trick behind a gesture that never touches the screen.TechnologyAI & Products Your touchscreen is listening to an electric field.https://shashanpande.com/journal/touchscreen/https://shashanpande.com/journal/touchscreen/Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000What happens between your finger landing on glass and a button responding?TechnologySpace & Science An ancient tradition that is still a living conversation.https://shashanpande.com/journal/hinduism-living-history/https://shashanpande.com/journal/hinduism-living-history/Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Why Hinduism’s long history interests me more than a simple “oldest religion” label.History & Culture The Mahabharata refuses to make people simple.https://shashanpande.com/journal/mahabharata-bibek-debroy/https://shashanpande.com/journal/mahabharata-bibek-debroy/Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Why I admire the epic—and the scale of Bibek Debroy’s translation work.History & Culture Betelgeuse: a star with a terrible sense of human timing.https://shashanpande.com/journal/betelgeuse/https://shashanpande.com/journal/betelgeuse/Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000A red supergiant, a dramatic dimming, and why “soon” is a slippery word in astronomy.Space & Science Starship: the part after the launch is the part I keep thinking about.https://shashanpande.com/journal/starship/https://shashanpande.com/journal/starship/Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000The appeal of reuse, difficult engineering, and a very ambitious system.Space & ScienceTechnology Renewable energy gets interesting when the sun goes down.https://shashanpande.com/journal/renewable-energy/https://shashanpande.com/journal/renewable-energy/Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Generation is one part of the story. Timing, storage, and the grid are the rest.Space & ScienceTechnology Pane e Vino, Miami Beach: curiosity with a side of pasta.https://shashanpande.com/journal/pane-e-vino/https://shashanpande.com/journal/pane-e-vino/Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000My favorite Italian restaurant—and the craft behind the place.Food Learning to snowboard. Keeping the beginner part.https://shashanpande.com/journal/learning-to-snowboard/https://shashanpande.com/journal/learning-to-snowboard/Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000A personal note about starting something new, without pretending I’ve mastered it.Learning Sapiens, and the appeal of the very big question.https://shashanpande.com/journal/sapiens/https://shashanpande.com/journal/sapiens/Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000A book on my list, because I like it when subjects start talking to each other.History & CultureLearning