OpenAI Updates Its Model Spec
The Model Spec is potentially OpenAI’s most important document.
Ten shelves · 50 essays
The Reading Room
I.
Tech
[Note] Blogsmaxxing
I glanced at my blogging stats and noticed that, with 559 posts so far this year (including this one), this has been my…
Google cherrypicks small data for Gemini ad
I discovered a sound that leaks your exact location (and it's everywhere) - YouTube
October sponsors-only newsletter
II.
Culture
The philosopher Bernard Williams refused every ism. That made him hard to pin down. And hard to refute
The philosopher Bernard Williams refused every ism. That made him hard to pin down. And hard to refute
The last Shakespearean. The professional literary specialist is an increasingly endangered species
In defense of the dilettante. Unfairly dismissed as a dabbler, he is in fact a tonic for our overspecialized world
Disgust and desire. In the 16th century, a woman might carry a peeled apple in her armpit until it absorbed her scent, then give it to her lover
How did the journal Telos, champion of Marcuse and Gramsci, produce two editors who would serve in Trump’s State Department?
III.
Life
Four useful questions
When I have a problem, Johanna—a.k.a. my wife—typically solves it by asking me one of four questions.
Polyvagal Theory and the Neurobiology of Connection: The Science of Rupture, Repair, and Reciprocity
The Art of Advancing with Age: Bertrand Russell on What Makes a Fulfilling Life
Trial, Triumph, and the Art of the Possible: The Moving Story Behind Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” a Lifetime of Sorrow in the Making
The Art of Being Alone: May Sarton’s Stunning 1938 Ode to Solitude
IV.
Design
Planning with Agents: Divided Worlds, Boundary Objects, and Thicker Interfaces
Why we need richer, thicker interfaces and better boundary objects for collaborative planning with agents
August 2026
In Memoriam, Encountering World War I, and Thinkable Horrors
One Developer, Two Dozen Agents, Zero Alignment
Gas Town’s Agent Patterns, Design Bottlenecks, and Vibecoding at Scale
V.
Economics
Anomalous Corporate Earnings Numbers?: CHART OF THE DAY
A 4%-point rise in inflation over the next year or so? Or a big shift in wealth from labor to capital? Or has firm accou…
Thoughts on Owning a Self-Driving Tesla
Moment of Truth
What to Make of the Latest Fall in Oil Prices
The economics of tips
VI.
Finance
Risks to AI Capex from Overestimating Demand
The sensible response is to build resilience rather than to predict.
How Are U.S. Household Finances Doing?
Research links: being manipulated
How Many Americans Are Millionaires?
It’s not you, it’s your AI
VII.
History
Why Italy ruled Europe but couldn’t rule itself
How geography shaped the country we know today (in 7 maps)
The Art of Blaming Israel For Everything
The future of Britain in 7 maps
Brotherist Without Being a Brother
The history of Britain in 7 maps
VIII.
Philosophy
Sand Gods, Foom, and p(doom) (with Séb Krier)
Why Séb Krier is very AGI-pilled but rejects many popular narratives about the AI revolution, from godlike superintellig…
Do we need to take reincarnation seriously? – Part I
AI Consciousness Debate: Michael Huemer vs. Simon Goldstein
Does Christianity Make Sense?
Intelligence and Attention
IX.
Psychology
Sometimes It Hurts to Ask
But you should probably do it anyway
Separating the art from the artist
Aligned, but with whom?
Cornell 7, Illicit Activities, Violence Interventions
Fake it ‘til you make it (and then keep faking it)
X.
Science
He Won the Fields Medal. He Says AI Beats Him.
Richard Borcherds and Eric Weinstein on AI and mathematics
Mark Solms: Consciousness Isn't in the Cortex
Mark Solms: Consciousness Isn't in the Cortex
Off-grid data centers have 60-80% higher emissions
Scott Aaronson: “I Heard That a Robot Solved the Math Problem You Worked On”
Life · Feature
Love in the Time of Dinosaurs
In 1824, studying a set of large fossil bones discovered in a quarry near Oxford two centuries earlier, the English theologian, geologist, and paleontologist William Buckland kept looking at the fragment of the lower jaw. Something didn’t add up. As he examined it more closely, he realized these wer...
From the Stacks
Five rediscoveries from the back issues, rotated by the day
Read slowly. There is no hurry.
- I. Design
January 2026
- II. Economics
CROSSPOST: DAN DREZNER: The Op-Eds About Higher Education Need to Stop Until We Figure Out What the Hell Is Going On With the Op-Ed Contributors
- III. Finance
EBITDA, EBITA, or EBIT? What 39 Years of Data Say About the Best Measure of Operating Income
- IV. History
Intifada Everywhere All at Once
- V. Philosophy
Private Law For AIs