reading, watching & listening to

While there are arguments for and against the impact of the individual – Carlyle vs. Tolstoy – we all benefit from taking an optimistic view of this question and acting as if individuals can make a very big difference.

a really well done ELI5 explainer on AI training models. read this closely and you’ll learn a lot about how the incentives of the commercial web impact the quality of the training data.

Smaller, slower distribution could mean better content, better relationships, and better businesses — doubtless at smaller scales than what was hoped from BuzzFeed, Vice, etc., but then those didn’t work out. The benefits of cultivating and controlling your own distribution are mutual comprehension between a publication and its consumers; feelings of loyalty and trust; and perhaps an ability to survive in the long term, building a more durable institution.

fascinating short read on status, sorting and prestige in sports (and everywhere else). The people you might expect to be the most competitive are often the most welcoming, and vice versa.