Mind the gap blog: Insights, ideas, and inspiration for the tech-savvy and curious.

Choose to build rather than destroy.

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 17:53:00 +0200

TL;DR: When lost in destructive thoughts, redirect them toward what you’d like to build instead.

Writing this post as a note to myself.

“Re-build”

I’ve been suffering from anxiety for as long as I can remember, and as I grew up, things got dramatically worse. My anxiety turned into a depression that right now feels like the biggest thunderstorm I’ve ever come across—albeit with the occasional blue skies. Navigating this storm to leave it behind isn’t just a challenge, it feels like a life-or-death passage. I can only hope I’m not moving with the thunderstorm, and that there is in fact a way out of it. Therapy is my navigation app, and I’m starting to think it’s lost signal.

Manifesto. (Fuck the VCs.)

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 22:44:29 +0200

I authored last year a manifesto for the “Fuck the VCs” project: a platform committed to challenging the status quo of the venture capital industry by creating the first open source investment community.

The principles outlined in the manifesto resonate deeply with the broader themes that I explore here on my blog, particularly the ideals and ethics of open source. I truly enjoyed writing the Manifesto and figured its principles extend way further than the FTVCs initiative. It’s a call to action for creating a more equitable and sustainable future through collaborative, human-centered innovation. It feels very personal to me and I would read it anytime I am feeling low or need to remember why I do the things I do. I am excited to share it with you all here.

The future of work.

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 20:00:29 +0200

We work because we are humans. Looking back at humanity’s history, the evolution of our modes of subsistence shows how central the modes of production and the organisation of human labor are in providing for our material needs.

Humans work in order to give meaning to their lives. We work in order to consciously, intentionally shape our surroundings. We work as a socially organised way to expand.

We work in order to create value.

Principle of equitable empowerment.

Sun, 05 Nov 2023 20:51:29 +0200

Knowledge must be freely accessible to all, providing the foundation for informed autonomy and enabling the collective intelligence necessary to address systemic issues and develop collective ambition. Communities must have the freedom to self-organise, and societal structures should facilitate serendipitous innovation and resilience, ensuring that every individual has the same opportunity to contribute to and benefit from the collective effort to solve our biggest problems and achieve their own mission. Structures should be here to empower, not to disable.

Common tragedies: Funding Open Source vs Saving the planet.

Sun, 22 Oct 2023 10:00:29 +0200

In my last post —Why Open Source isn’t Profitable—, I explain the Curse of Competition as a sort of Tragedy of the Commons: because open-source intellectual property is free to access, all economic agents will exploit it without giving back (a.k.a. as the free riders issue). If the resource is finite, then its value will tragically be destroyed by this unrestrained consumption.

With the same analysis, we can explain how and why our current dominant economic system will eventually consume all of the available natural resources and destroy all living species. That is, unless proper regulations were to be globally adopted (Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action, Elinor Ostrom, 1992).

Why Open Source isn't profitable.

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 10:00:29 +0200

In a Capitalist economy, Open Source has no (direct) value.

Open source is not profitable

Let’s start with a few definitions:

the price is the exchange value of a good or a service in a socio-economic context,
the production cost is what it costs to build a good or deliver a service,
added value is the price minus the production cost.

Open-source software delivers an added value close to or below zero. As the price for using it is zero so is the added value, no matter the production cost.

Dying isn't as sad as Not living.

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 19:20:29 +0200

Leaving this here for posterity:
“Dying isn’t as sad as Not living.”
—Valentin Viennot, 2023

I know; death is a sad and probably not the most exciting topic for a post. But you needed to read it. In fact, this post is more about life than death. It’s more of a wake-up call, an invitation even.

I’m a firm believer that our life choices are investments that shape the value and meaning we extract from life itself. Yes, we’re all going to die; get over it. But surely, you don’t want to leave this world with a life unlived. There’s no perfect time to start investing it wisely and bravely.

All we do is invest.

Sun, 21 May 2023 10:00:29 +0200

All we are doing is investment. Taking the bus to meet a friend? That’s an investment. Quitting your job to work at another company? That’s investing. Skipping the gym? Bad investment, but still one. Going to bed early? Probably a good investment. So let me give you my best investment advice: spend your time wisely. Imagine you are a millionaire and you are placing your entire fortune into 24 chunks of money every day.

The Open Market series.

Fri, 19 May 2023 15:00:29 +0200

Welcome to the maze of ideas that’s been occupying my mind, only now finding their way to the surface, and to you. I believe that Open Source is now facing an existential crisis and requires a sustainable funding model, and that a decentralized crypto market can provide that solution.

This upcoming series of posts truly fits with the vision of the Mind the gap blog. I’ll be writing about a topic close to my heart —Open Source funding—, and directly contributing to my own mission: enhancing individual and collective human intelligence. The series will be a complex puzzle made up of many pieces and deep reflections I’ve been nurturing for a while.

How to colorize black & white pictures.

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 11:00:29 +0200

If you’re looking to bring a stack of old family photos back to life, check out Ubuntu’s demo on how to use OpenVINO on Ubuntu containers to colorize monochrome pictures. This magical use of containers, neural networks, and Kubernetes is packed with helpful resources and a fun way to dive into deep learning!

A version of Part 1 and Part 2 of this article was first published on Ubuntu’s blog.

Wordle-ing our way: CNN experiment to solve wordle grids.

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 10:00:29 +0200

Are you a fan of Wordle, the addictive word puzzle game? Have you ever wondered what is the best word to play first? In this blog post, I’ll explore the use of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to solve Wordle grids with a success rate of over 80%.

I should clarify that I’m not a data scientist – while I have a passion for machine learning and have completed a few courses on the subject, I am not an AI expert. My understanding of the topic is limited, and I only decided to use CNNs for this experiment because that’s what I had learned in university. Please keep this in mind as you read through the post.

Welcome to the mind the gap blog.

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 23:00:29 +0200

Hi everyone,

I’m Valentin, a passionate inventor using technology to make the world a better place. I am on a mission to increase both individual and collective intelligence, and to inspire and challenge you to think critically. This blog will mix thoughts, experiments, and ideas on a various topics, including tech, design, and society.

I grew up with a natural curiosity and a desire to solve problems with my ideas and inventions. This eventually led me to pursue an engineering degree in Communication Systems and now to work as a Product Manager for the company behind Ubuntu where I’m contributing to bringing free software to the widest audience.