Seth Larson on making things

You’ve probably used code touched by Seth Larson - he’s the lead maintainer for one of the most widely-used Python libraries, urllib3, and he works on open-source security at the Python Software Foundation. But his personal blog is a different animal entirely, with delightful oddities like Hand‑drawn QR codes, Post Malone Oreos, and “Food JPEGs” mixed in.

As part of the Making things project (intro here), I wanted to ask Seth how he chooses what to make and how that contrasts with his open-source work. We met via video call and talked about idea catalogs, taking up space, and the “killer of creativity”. 

Bobbie Chen (BC): When anything is possible, how do you decide what to create?

Seth Larson (SL): I do less and less planning these days; I’d say I let ideas grow. 

My main “process”, if you could call it that, is to notice something, text it to myself, and keep a catalog of ideas. Most of these ideas don’t pan out. But over time, the most interesting ideas will accumulate lots of related links. 

I also like to go for a walk, leave the phone behind, and be in nature with my thoughts to see what comes out. 

Something that happened recently: I’m a fan of Post Malone, enough that multiple friends gave me the limited-edition Post Malone Oreos. I had also recently read about CSS bounding boxes, a specific web-layout feature. Naturally, I was inspired to create this custom website to send back as a gift. I love that kind of serendipity.

BC: If someone else can create something, why should you?

SL: People should take up space. I want people to do the stuff! 

I love to hear people’s stories and see their slice of life. I have a unique perspective, but I don’t think that’s because I’m super special - everyone is able to do this, because we’re all different.

On the internet, there’s an infinite amount of space. Take advantage of it. There’s this idea of a 1-9-90 ratio: only about 1% of people create new things, while 9% comment, and 90% only lurk. And I empathize with the idea of laying low or avoiding the spotlight, but I think people should take up space, too. 

I make a lot of things for myself, for fun. But there’s also certain topics where I know that if I post, certain people will always reach out. And that means a lot to me, connecting with them.

BC: You do a lot of work with the Python Software Foundation and open-source software in general. I know security is a job where nothing is ever really done, so… do you ever feel bad about working on side projects instead of work work? 

SL: Yes. (pause) 

I enjoy my work. Security is an enabler, and I know that my work impacts a lot of people. And at the same time, I want to get happiness from a variety of places. 

I know a lot of people feel this way about open-source or volunteer work. I’m a big fan of Volunteer Responsibility Amnesty Day, which my friend helped create. The idea is to give yourself permission to step back before you burn out. You should check it out, and check in with yourself.

BC: Do you have any advice for people thinking about creating?

SL: Listen to yourself and what you find wondrous. I started with making video games personally, but it can be anything. 

One interesting thing about getting started is that immediately people will think about social media algorithms and expectations. Day-to-day, that’s overwhelmingly what we see: social media algorithms.

Most people can’t even imagine a world without analytics, where we’re not tracking all these numbers. And deep down, if you think about it, you know that the first twenty or more posts might not get any attention at all. But pretty much everyone you admire goes through a beginning phase like that.

Analytics is the killer of creativity. Do your best to not know what the numbers mean.

BC: Like deleting Instagram posts if they don’t get enough views.

SL: Yes! And I’d add, you want to curate a personal body of work that you can keep coming back to. TikTok, Instagram Reels, most social media is inherently ephemeral. 

On your own site, people can click through. They can engage with everything else you’ve done, and see the connections between them. I love the opportunity to deep-dive when I find a new person whose stuff I like!

Seth Larson is taking up space and noticing the wondrous at sethmlarson.dev.

Check out the other interviews about making things with Amit Patel, Nolen Royalty, and Morry Kolman.