Trial, Triumph, and the Art of the Possible: The Moving Story Behind Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” a Lifetime of Sorrow in the Making
A hymn of rage, a hymn of redemption, and a timeless love letter to the possible.
Ten shelves · 50 essays
The Reading Room
I.
Tech
Import AI 479: Spacewar; low-latency tasks versus LLMs; Genie 4
What do LLMs think about vision models?
Where the Musk money flows
Increasing Trump comments on body appearance
Pluralistic: Autodoxing (02 Nov 2026)
II.
Culture
Trailer for season four of The Gilded Age, which started...
Trailer for season four of The Gilded Age, which started yesterday. I love this show for reasons that are unclear to me.…
Readwise announces Readwise Books. “We’ve built Readwise...
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?
Curiosity is a cure for certainty. It’s also the enemy of humility, modesty, and self-doubt. Adam Phillips explains
III.
Life
The Art of Being Alone: May Sarton’s Stunning 1938 Ode to Solitude
"There is no place more intimate than the spirit alone."
Meteor of Joy: The Young People’s Chorus of New York City Sings Bird Divinations
Albert Camus on the Three Antidotes to the Absurdity of Life
Music and the Body: Richard Powers on the Power of Song
Halloween’s Lost Heroes: Michael Pollan on Radical Gardening and the Insurgent Botanical Origin of the Broomstick in Flying-Witch Legends
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
Not a Good Use of My, or Your, Time, But: CHART OF THE DAY
Democrats leading in Senate races in Michigan, Texas, Maine, Ohio, Kansas, and Iowa, with a D +11 generic ballot behind…
Three Points About AI Safety
Don’t Abolish Business Schools. Make Them Accountable for Impact as well as Value
Expensive Pharmaceuticals for Targeted Diseases
Oligarchy is on the Ballot
VI.
Finance
Adviser links: a borrowing binge
Mondays are all about financial adviser-related links here at Abnormal Returns. You can check out last week’s links incl…
The "profit dollar" period is here
Trends in sentiment matter
Talk Your Book: Diversifying the AI Trade
Women are their own enemies
VII.
History
The Art of Blaming Israel For Everything
Notes Toward an Autopsy of Anti-Zionism
The future of Britain in 7 maps
Brotherist Without Being a Brother
The history of Britain in 7 maps
Intifada Everywhere All at Once
VIII.
Philosophy
Does Christianity Make Sense?
Reviewing Gavin Ortlund’s book. Or, more precisely, using the excuse of reviewing Gavin Ortlund’s book to provide a comp…
Intelligence and Attention
“AIs Without Minds” Without Convincing Arguments
Suggested Readings
Hell is Suspicious
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
Mark Solms: Consciousness Isn't in the Cortex
SPONSORS:
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”
Scott Aaronson: “I Heard That a Robot Solved the Math Problem You Worked On”
Culture · Feature
The Ten Best Captain Picard Episodes of Star Trek
In the wake of Patrick Stewart’s death the other day, I watched a couple episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation — the two-part series finale All Good Things… in fact.1 Wanting to add more Picard-centric episodes to my watchlist, I did some research. There are several lists out there of the episo...
From the Stacks
Browse the full archive → Five rediscoveries from the back issues, rotated by the day
Read slowly. There is no hurry.