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.

Language builds meaning by combining your inner experiences.

Hate can be suppressed temporarily, but cannot be contained for too long.

A very gentle introduction to how large language models almost capture human experience through language.

Intrinsic motivation is always better than extrinsic motivation. But not as good as it is when one is motivated both intrinsically and extrinsically.

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.

More reflections from foureteen years at Google.

At long last, this blog "outgrew"^[1] Hugo and I had to go looking for a new static site generator.

Working with a poorly thought-out, or overengineered technology stack, or an overly bureaucratic organization is also a form of proof-of-work.

If you don't know what a refridgerator is nor what an elephant is you are likely to think that opening the door, putting the elephant in, and closing the door is a viable strategy for putting an elephant in the refridgerator.