Act III: Flame
The map is not the territory. A picture of a flame is not a flame. A description of a neural network is not a brain. A simulation of thought is not a consciousness.
Act I: Meaning
Language builds meaning by combining your inner experiences.
Intermission - Q1 of 2025
Hate can be suppressed temporarily, but cannot be contained for too long.
Preface
A very gentle introduction to how large language models almost capture human experience through language.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: An anecdote
Intrinsic motivation is always better than extrinsic motivation. But not as good as it is when one is motivated both intrinsically and extrinsically.
Buffer Bloat
In networking, adding too much buffering to intermediate network devices introduce unnecessary delays. The trade-off is that bursty traffic will have the appearance of getting through faster. But in reality, the speed of the network is still the same. Data just takes longer to get through.
Fourteen Years
More reflections from foureteen years at Google.
I Moved This Blog To Eleventy
Proof of Work
Working with a poorly thought-out, or overengineered technology stack, or an overly bureaucratic organization is also a form of proof-of-work.