experimental-history.com
Infinite midwit
photo cred: my dad The better AI has gotten, the less anxious I’ve become. A few years ago, when the computers first started talking, it was reasonable to believe that we would soon be in the presence of omnipotent machines. For someone like me, whose job is to produce words on the internet, it seemed like only a matter of time before I would have to fill my pockets with stones and wade into the sea. But we’ve gotten a closer look at our electric god as it has slouched toward San Fra...
Help I'm being persecuted
photo cred: my dad If they labeled it explicitly, one of the biggest categories on Substack would be called something like, “People Pretending to Be Persecuted”. Browse any genre and you’ll find writers touting their exile from polite society with titles like “DR. BOB’S POLITICALLY INCORRECT HOEDOWN” and “The Cancelled Gardener”. I know people have been c… Read more
The one science reform we can all agree on, but we're too cowardly to do
photo cred: my dad If you ever want a good laugh, ask an academic to explain what they get paid to do, and who pays them to do it. In STEM fields, it works like this: the university pays you to teach, but unless you’re at a liberal arts college, you don’t actually get promoted or recognized for your teaching. Instead, you get promoted and recognized for your research, which the university does not generally pay you for. You have to ask someone else to provide that part of your salary...
Underrated ways to change the world, vol. II
photo cred: my dad Underrated Ways to Change the World is one of my most-read posts of all time, I think because people see the state of the world and they’re like, “Oh no, someone should do something about this!” and then they’re like “But what should I do about this?” Every problem seems so impossibly large and complicated, where do you even start? You start by realizing that nobody can clean up this mess single-handedly, which is fine, because we’ve g...
I know your secret
photo cred: my dad 1. A few months ago, I got to interview a bunch of bloggers at a writing retreat. I discovered that they all had one thing in common: each one was in possession of a secret. I don’t mean that they, like, murdered their boyfriend and got away with it, or that they’re sexually attracted to mollusks. I mean that they had all tapped some ve… Read more