Culture / Philosophy / History / Reading

The inner life we’re trading away bigthink.com

The inner life we’re trading away Christof Koch smiles as he recalls a 2025 WIRED piece he recently read. Journalist Sam Apple spent a weekend at a remote Airbnb retreat with three couples, exploring

Mar 27, 2026

Byte Magazine Archive 1975 to 1995 Comments

Mar 27, 2026

In 2019, MIT professor Patrick Winston gave a legendary 1-hour lecture called “How to Speak.” It ha

In 2019, MIT professor Patrick Winston gave a legendary 1-hour lecture called “How to Speak.” It has 18M+ views for a reason. His frameworks: • Your ideas are like your children • The 5-minute rule fo

Mar 27, 2026

I use Word when I'm writing, but it has never been as good as the old WordPerfect. I write longhand

I use Word when I'm writing, but it has never been as good as the old WordPerfect. I write longhand when I’m planning the story, but once the outline is finished I type. Here’s a page from my notebook

Mar 25, 2026

𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗞𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗔𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗼��

𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗞𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗔𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 Knuth is now 88 years old. He wrote The Art of Computer Programming start

Mar 25, 2026

Heading to Texas tomorrow to meet the amazing folks who created the greatest public school reading l

Heading to Texas tomorrow to meet the amazing folks who created the greatest public school reading list I have ever seen. All students read these texts in their entirety. This is how we save civilizat

Mar 24, 2026

Isaac Asmiov on the one rule he followed in writing: "I made up my mind long ago to follow one card

Isaac Asmiov on the one rule he followed in writing: "I made up my mind long ago to follow one cardinal rule in all my writing—to be clear. I have given up all thought of writing poetically or symboli

Mar 24, 2026

When PCs started becoming ubiquitous, many futurists imagined that everyone would become a programme

When PCs started becoming ubiquitous, many futurists imagined that everyone would become a programmer, programming their own custom software. Because why not? In principle they could, so why wouldn't

Mar 24, 2026

Famously (there is a beautiful Works in Progress piece on this) in 2016, Geoffrey Hinton told an aud

Famously (there is a beautiful Works in Progress piece on this) in 2016, Geoffrey Hinton told an audience in Toronto that medical schools should stop training radiologists, since AI would soon outperf

Mar 24, 2026

As I continue research for my Computing documentary, I am dismayed by the volume of AI slop through

As I continue research for my Computing documentary, I am dismayed by the volume of AI slop through which I must wade, vomitus chunks of misinformation amplified by mindless multitudes of agentic slop

Mar 23, 2026

John Taylor Gatto was named New York State Teacher of the Year. Upon receiving the award, he quit an

John Taylor Gatto was named New York State Teacher of the Year. Upon receiving the award, he quit and spent the rest of his life writing devastating critiques of the educational system he had mastered

Mar 22, 2026

Resolving boredom through our incessant attention to our devices has, according to New York Times be

Resolving boredom through our incessant attention to our devices has, according to New York Times bestselling author @arthurbrooks, also brought an end to our willingness to let our minds wander – inh

Mar 22, 2026

Just stumbled upon a 1000 good books for children list from 1914. Link in comments. https://t.co/7gp

Just stumbled upon a 1000 good books for children list from 1914. Link in comments. https://t.co/7gpzs3mQT0

Mar 22, 2026

"In 1994, American literary critic and Yale professor Harold Bloom published the book The Western Ca

"In 1994, American literary critic and Yale professor Harold Bloom published the book The Western Canon. In it, he defended the very concept of a "canon" by discussing 26 of its central writers. At th

Mar 20, 2026

How the children's books industry works: 1. People are way less likely to read children's books on

How the children's books industry works: 1. People are way less likely to read children's books on a Kindle. 2. Children's books generally have a longer shelf lives than adult books. If they're a hit,

Mar 19, 2026

I’m 100 percent convinced the Art Deco design of Hoover Dam is America’s greatest ever public projec

I’m 100 percent convinced the Art Deco design of Hoover Dam is America’s greatest ever public project and we’ll probably never come close again https://t.co/ytLIQZqNnh

Mar 19, 2026

This is a cool example of how you can use AI to help your writing—without relying on it for any actu

This is a cool example of how you can use AI to help your writing—without relying on it for any actual writing. From @jasminewsun https://t.co/wOZdULWpwG https://t.co/CE8tbzXDGM

Mar 18, 2026

I spent 5+ years curating The Book of Elon. The biggest unexpected outcome wasn’t an increase in kn

I spent 5+ years curating The Book of Elon. The biggest unexpected outcome wasn’t an increase in knowledge, but an increase in my imagination. Studying Elon’s ideas, companies, and products revived my

Mar 17, 2026

This animated globe by @tylermorganwall gives us a rather immersive view of global population. I par

This animated globe by @tylermorganwall gives us a rather immersive view of global population. I particularly love how clear the "empty hemisphere" appears. https://t.co/d4in1h35pO

Mar 17, 2026

if your specific niche is also "bizarre anecdotes about 1970s computer scientists" i have built your

if your specific niche is also "bizarre anecdotes about 1970s computer scientists" i have built your holy grail: just took a thousand oral histories from the @computerhistory museum and made them full

Mar 17, 2026

Make profits, share profits. Keep things simple. Real money, not fake money based on a fickle second

Make profits, share profits. Keep things simple. Real money, not fake money based on a fickle secondary or public market. Nearly all options expire worthless. And let them start earning the real thing

Mar 16, 2026

Writing rules and instructions for a tabletop game is very challenging. It’s like writing a legal

Writing rules and instructions for a tabletop game is very challenging. It’s like writing a legal contract where you have to capture every possible scenario, but must do so using brief and clear langu

Mar 15, 2026

In my new quest to train as a plumber-one of the most coveted jobs now, I' m creating plumbing vide

In my new quest to train as a plumber-one of the most coveted jobs now, I' m creating plumbing videos & lessons using @NotebookLM. Here is an amazing short video! Turns out to be more interesting than

Mar 15, 2026

Attic office for bookworms https://t.co/OpY9Hjbofr

Mar 13, 2026

This paragraph by C.S. Lewis, written in 1948, still hits hard: “If we are all going to be destroye

This paragraph by C.S. Lewis, written in 1948, still hits hard: “If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, wor

Mar 12, 2026

In 1995, Brian Tracy gave a 45-minute masterclass on becoming unstoppable. He broke down: • Why hum

In 1995, Brian Tracy gave a 45-minute masterclass on becoming unstoppable. He broke down: • Why humans keep going to the empty tunnel • The elephant that doesn't know it's free • Why nobody's ever thi

Mar 9, 2026

Somebody released a directory of 1,700+ dead startups (backed by YC) here is the link: https://t.co

Somebody released a directory of 1,700+ dead startups (backed by YC) here is the link: https://t.co/URIxJVUtIb all of them have deep analysis of product inside and full funding story (in short, 100% p

Mar 9, 2026

🚨 This Reddit thread is a fucking goldmine A founder sold his SaaS for $6M. Talked to 30 buyers be

🚨 This Reddit thread is a fucking goldmine A founder sold his SaaS for $6M. Talked to 30 buyers before closing. Bookmark this. Build accordingly. Here's what ACTUALLY mattered in the deal (not what y

Mar 8, 2026

I just spent the last 24 hours building... a free tool for you to create your very own handwriting f

I just spent the last 24 hours building... a free tool for you to create your very own handwriting font quickly in the browser (no logins, all local processing). This *entire* "SaaS" is a single-page

Mar 8, 2026

Rumi said “As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.” Clarity doesn't come before action.

Rumi said “As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.” Clarity doesn't come before action. It comes from action.

Mar 8, 2026

This is great. CS Lewis gives Writing advice in 1959. https://t.co/SDqWtWBMWV

Mar 7, 2026

Check out this multiplication chart drawn to scale from Anthony at The Chalkface! This version is so

Check out this multiplication chart drawn to scale from Anthony at The Chalkface! This version is so much more intuitive. Read more here: https://t.co/cPEG5zMSZQ https://t.co/cFxbn4VQiC

Mar 7, 2026

SERVICE-AS-A-SOFTWARE. That is the real opportunity for 90% of us. I keep watching smart people po

SERVICE-AS-A-SOFTWARE. That is the real opportunity for 90% of us. I keep watching smart people pour months into building beautiful UI applications that Anthropic and OpenAI are going to absorb in a s

Mar 7, 2026

"Books only have two smells. The smell of a new book, which is good, and the smell of an old book, w

"Books only have two smells. The smell of a new book, which is good, and the smell of an old book, which is even better." Ray Bradbury Good night https://t.co/0M9hgPdQ1w

Mar 7, 2026

Hayek’s essay “Why I Am Not a Conservative” Insightful and relevant to this day. You won’t regret r

Hayek’s essay “Why I Am Not a Conservative” Insightful and relevant to this day. You won’t regret reading (or rereading) it. https://t.co/sTlzOgqlGw

Mar 7, 2026

Blood pressure “normal” has been redefined dramatically in our lifetimes — and it raises real questi

Blood pressure “normal” has been redefined dramatically in our lifetimes — and it raises real questions about who benefits. In this older clip, the doctor traces the shifting guidelines: - 1970s: Trea

Mar 7, 2026

Someone needs to vibe code a Quickbooks alternative ASAP If there was one piece of software that ne

Someone needs to vibe code a Quickbooks alternative ASAP If there was one piece of software that needs to be disrupted, its quickbooks

Mar 6, 2026

My current pointless evening project (everyone should have one) is a real-time ASCII art engine wher

My current pointless evening project (everyone should have one) is a real-time ASCII art engine where you can walk through procedural worlds and interact with your surroundings. Zero purpose to this,

Mar 5, 2026

I would really love a service that took my read later and bookmarks list and mailed me a printed edi

I would really love a service that took my read later and bookmarks list and mailed me a printed edition every month. I haven't modeled it and assume it doesn't work as a business, but would maybe som

Mar 5, 2026

tiny beautiful things: turning your handwriting into font 1. write down a-z, A-Z, 1-9 and punctuati

tiny beautiful things: turning your handwriting into font 1. write down a-z, A-Z, 1-9 and punctuation on a piece of paper 2. give it to claude to create a font from 3. pull it into your next project h

Mar 5, 2026

AI ending interior design Nano banana 2 now can turn sketch floor plan into 4K 3D rendering with ac

AI ending interior design Nano banana 2 now can turn sketch floor plan into 4K 3D rendering with accurate dimension, take photos for each room, and 1-click furniture change used to cost $100k and mont

Mar 5, 2026

This is one banger of an explanation of the time-slit experiments. What I find interesting is that

This is one banger of an explanation of the time-slit experiments. What I find interesting is that #NotebookLM introduced additional explanation to the original source material. Very impressive indeed

Mar 5, 2026

If you suck at multi-tasking (I do) and run a business, you should learn about the Theory of Constra

If you suck at multi-tasking (I do) and run a business, you should learn about the Theory of Constraints. *There's a whole book on it but just watch a 10-minute Youtube video on it instead.

Mar 5, 2026

Apple’s AI plan is way DARKER and smarter than you think. And Gavin Baker just explained why. He s

Apple’s AI plan is way DARKER and smarter than you think. And Gavin Baker just explained why. He says the real bear case for this AI boom isn’t a bubble or a recession. It’s your iPhone. Baker says in

Mar 5, 2026

Fidelis: "We don't want to pay for this specialist care for this rare disease, because it's out of n

Fidelis: "We don't want to pay for this specialist care for this rare disease, because it's out of network and you don't have out of network benefits." Me: "You want to send me that denial in writing,

Mar 4, 2026

Most people think Claude Shannon invented information theory. That’s not quite correct. Twenty yea

Most people think Claude Shannon invented information theory. That’s not quite correct. Twenty years before Shannon’s famous 1948 paper, Ralph V. L. Hartley published a remarkable paper in the Bell Sy

Mar 3, 2026

Today, we're introducing Spectre I, the first smart device to stop unwanted audio recordings. We li...

Today, we're introducing Spectre I, the first smart device to stop unwanted audio recordings. We live in a world of always-on listening devices. Smart devices and AI dominate our world in business and

Mar 3, 2026

Today, we're introducing Spectre I, the first smart device to stop unwanted audio recordings. We li

Today, we're introducing Spectre I, the first smart device to stop unwanted audio recordings. We live in a world of always-on listening devices. Smart devices and AI dominate our world in business and

Mar 3, 2026

Today, we're introducing Spectre I, the first smart device to stop unwanted audio recordings. We li...

Today, we're introducing Spectre I, the first smart device to stop unwanted audio recordings. We live in a world of always-on listening devices. Smart devices and AI dominate our world in business and

Mar 3, 2026

If I had to start 40 pounds overweight with no muscle and my goal was to have abs and be jacked by t...

If I had to start 40 pounds overweight with no muscle and my goal was to have abs and be jacked by the end of 2026, here's everything I'd do: 1. Take creatine.

Mar 3, 2026