Have you ever thought about the similarities between art and science? Or about how math is the language of the universe? No? Welcome to a perspective shift. Ultimately this episode is about making things better, not just different. But how we get there is through a thoughtful and entertaining discussion with the witty and philosophical Erin Weigel.
Erin Weigel wants us to make things better, not just different. But how do we get there?
Lou had a thoughtful and entertaining discussion with Erin, always witty and philosophical—and often funny as hell. Join them on a perspective-shifting conversation that bridges disciplines and challenges conventional thinking, all in the pursuit of genuine improvement.
Erin is the author of the recently published Design for Impact: Your Guide to Designing Effective Product Experiments. She brings a fresh, accessible, and humor-filled take on what may seem like a dry topic: experimentation. Erin digs into the role of experimentation in design, advocating for always defaulting to experiments even if they’re the quick and dirty kind.
Erin and Lou also cover the following:
- Wonky stuff like normal distributions, the central limit theorem, and what can be learned from outliers
- The power of experiments to unite multidisciplinary teams by getting away from opinions and finding the truth
- How professionals can use the principles of experimentation to navigate uncertainties and drive meaningful improvements
- Discerning the impact of changes made
What You'll Learn from this Episode:
- How Erin, with a fine arts background, became the principal designer at Booking.com and the Senior Group Product Design Manager at Deliveroo
- The fundamental similarities between art and science
- Why you should never skip the experimental phase
- How experimentation unites people across disciplines
- The difference between making things different and making them better
Quick Reference Guide:
0:32 - Introduction of Erin; similarities between art and science
4:05 - Barriers between art and science
5:58 - Statistics is fun!
12:37 - Defaulting to experimentation
18:06 - Break - 5 reasons to use the Rosenverse
20:36 - Experimentation as a uniting force
25:49 - Make things better, not just different
28:32 - Erin’s gift for listeners
Resources and Links from Today's Episode:
Design for Impact: Your Guide to Designing Effective Product Experiments by Erin Weigel: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/design-for-impact/
Ologies Podcast with Allie Ward: https://www.alieward.com/ologies
Rosenverse: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/rosenverse/
Factfulness: 10 Reasons We’re Wrong About the World and 10 Reasons Why Things are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling: https://www.amazon.com/Factfulness-Reasons-World-Things-Better/dp/1250107814
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode