Good read about some early GUI design at Xerox. The origin of the hamburger icon that is practically everywhere. The thought process behind creating icons for a graphical interface that would be meaningful to people who had never seen a graphical interface before … which was everyone. A nod to random decisions made without much thought at 8:30 on a Tuesday that end up putting a tiny dent in the universe.
But also, this:
I learned very quickly that I don’t wear a three-piece suit to PARC: it was t-shirts and shorts, kilts … one guy walked around with a parrot on his shoulder. Everyone had bean-bags in their office, and neon signs, and incense. Think California in the 1970s.