The magic ink paper was on top of HN 2 years ago[1]. I remember bouncing off it the first half dozen times I ran across it on the blogosphere. Eventually I focused, and boy was it worth it:
http://worrydream.com/MagicInk
It's still my #1 paper of all time, for both exposition and presentation (layout, typography, figures), and the paper I have quoted most often on my linkblog (http://akkartik.name/search_results?q=bret+victor)
I wanted to submit this to the recent thread on the future of UI (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1055194)
[1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8120. 19 points was a lot in those days.
Edit: searchyc tells me it was resubmitted 8 months ago with success (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=600799)
Not to knock the author, but this essay is basically a rehash of Edward Tufte’s ideas, with a couple examples from computer software, and his own BART schedule program as an extended case study. It’s interesting enough, but too long, unfocused, and disorganized (which is probably why you bounced off a half dozen times).
If you’re interested in the topic (information design), you’ll get more mileage just going straight to Tufte’s books. Scott McCloud’s book, which the author recommends, is also excellent.
Of course I've heard of and read Tufte! But he doesn't emphasize nearly as much the idea that you can use visual design to eliminate interactions. The closest I can think of is his critique of iPhone UI:
http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/iphone-video.adp
"which is probably why you bounced off a half dozen times"
I bounced off after the abstract, long before I could judge length, focus or organization.