Hello There!

Atomic Noodle is an experiment, an inside joke, a sandbox, a mirror — and a confession of sorts. If you’re here to learn something about me, good luck. I’m a very simple person with way too many interests. It may look like I’m scattered, but I’m not. Connections abound. Everything, to borrow a cool phrase, is entangled.

I run on one fuel: why. What is never enough. When is just a timestamp. How is a recipe. But why — why is the crowbar that cracks open meaning.

I’ve always been fascinated by why people do the things they do — what motivates people to commit… or comply… all the way to the bitter end?

For People...

Everything we make should serve real people. Not abstract “users,” not marketing personas — people. They come to a website because they need to do something: find an answer, complete a task, make a decision. Our job is to make that simple.

Good design doesn’t shout. It doesn’t hide behind buzzwords or bury the point under marketing fluff. It just helps people get what they came for. Natural language, clear paths, and no friction.

A website should work like a tool — honest, reliable, and built for purpose. Every click should feel intentional. Every sentence should earn its place. When you build for people first, trust follows naturally.

Thanks Ghost Rider!

I’m passionate about eLearning. Shocking, right? What kind of person gets passionate about online learning? Nerds, maybe. But nerds usually nerd out on code, games, or data. Me? I nerd out on learning itself—what makes people want to learn, how they learn, and how design and psychology can make that process easier and more meaningful.

Is Chris Dumb?

That’s how it started. In second grade, I was in special education because I couldn’t read. Nobody knew why. The assumption was simple: Chris is dumb.

I wasn’t dumb. I was bored. “Jack and Jill”? Couldn’t care less about that pail. Repetition, letter tracing, phonics drills—none of it connected. I didn’t see the point.

Then I found comic books. Ghost Rider, to be exact—a flaming skeleton on a motorcycle who fought Dracula with a move called the Penance Stare. Suddenly, I cared about reading. I wanted to read.

Two months later, I was reading at a fifth-grade level. By the start of third grade, twelfth-grade level.

Engagement isn’t optional. It’s neurological.

From Comics to Cognitive Theory

That spark became an obsession—figuring out why I learned when I cared, and how emotion, relevance, and utility flip the switch from boredom to focus.

That obsession grew into what I now call Radiant Learning—an instructional design philosophy that leverages emotional resonance to deepen engagement and retention.

When learning connects with personal relevance, emotion primes the brain’s memory systems. The affective and cognitive pathways light up together—what I call dual encoding. The result? stronger retention, faster recall, and meaningful, applicable knowledge.

Learners don’t just comply; they choose to engage. And that choice makes all the difference.