https://www.anildash.com/2026/01/09/how-markdown-took-over-the-world/
"Nearly every bit of the high-tech world, from the most cutting-edge AI systems
at the biggest companies, to the casual scraps of code cobbled together by
college students, is annotated and described by the same, simple plain text
format. Whether you’re trying to give complex instructions to ChatGPT, or you
want to be able to exchange a grocery list in Apple Notes or copy someone’s
homework in Google Docs, that same format will do the trick. The wild part is,
the format wasn’t created by a conglomerate of tech tycoons, it was created by
a curmudgeonly guy with a kind heart who right this minute is probably
rewatching a Kubrick film while cheering for an absolutely indefensible sports
team.
But it’s worth understanding how these simple little text files were born, not
just because I get to brag about how generous and clever my friends are, but
also because it reminds us of how the Internet
really works: smart people
think of good things that are crazy enough that they
just might work, and
then they give them away, over and over, until they slowly take over the world
and make things better for everyone."
Via Christoph S.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
