Ben Little

He/They

Software Engineer and Mathematician

I'm a software engineer who's obsessed with building simple, correct, and understandable applications. My number one goal is to help people not only use but also understand computers.

For me, simplicity, correctness, and understandability are ethical imperatives. As a computer expert designing software for non-technical users, I acknowledge the power imbalance that is inherent to that relationship and accept responsiblity for the impact that my applications have on users.

Hire Me

I'm currently looking for employment and getting ready to start a consulting business (more info soon). For now you can check out my resume and cover letter below.

Resume/CV

Software Engineer, Mathematician, and Computer Scientist looking to make a positive social impact by building accessible and meaningful tools.

Cover Letter

I enjoy designing computer systems to meet human needs and am highly motivated by projects with social impact. My computing journey started 8 years ago when I first saw the potential of computer networks as tools for organizing and empowerment, if only we could move beyond centralized platforms like social media and search engines.

Blog

Storing data is a critical part of every application in one way or another. In this post I discuss some different types of data storage and their trade-offs in terms of resource use.

WASM and WASI

WebAssembly (WASM) and the WebAssembly System Interface (WASI) are likely to power the next generation of web applications. This is a brief note on what they are and how they might change the way we interact with data on the internet.

Distributed Intelligence

In a previous post I proposed some ideas for how to approach our relationship with data. In this post I continue that train of thought with a framework for designing networked applications from the viewpoint of decentralized and distributed sense-making.