The Mark Groves Podcast #488: The Invisible Thing That’s Wearing You Out: Anjan Katta
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Dec 1, 2025 
Anjan Katta, an engineer and founder of Daylight Computer, reveals how screens stealthily hijack our biology and attention. He shares his personal journey that led to innovating tech designed for human physiology, tackling issues like flicker rates and blue light's impact on our health. They discuss the importance of reclaiming our attention and redesigning devices for a healthier relationship with technology. Anjan emphasizes e-paper's benefits and how it can enhance focus and reduce digital overstimulation, making reclaiming our time a modern spiritual rebellion.
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Basement Breakthrough
- Anjan Katta describes hitting rock bottom after late-night information binges and failing a course despite being the top student.
- That desperation in his parents' basement at 2 a.m. sparked the project to build a computer that respected human biology.
Design Your Defaults
- Change defaults and design to make healthier choices easier than resisting temptation.
- Small environmental tweaks (cookies on top shelf) reduce reliance on willpower and shape long-term behavior.
Live Paper: Calm Visual Computing
- E-paper (live paper) removes flicker and blue light and can function outside in sunlight, offering a calmer visual experience.
- Anjan spent six years solving material science and refresh-rate limits to make an e-paper tablet fast enough for general computing.