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This Week on Seabird
I don't use chatGPT but "the goblins came back to haunt us" is such a funny (but hopefully not prescient) line. Interesting, accessible view into model training and rewards.
Where the goblins came from
How goblin outputs spread in AI models: timeline, root cause, and fixes behind personality-driven quirks in GPT-5 behavior.
openai.com
I've been following Derek Thompson's grappling with these themes over the past few years, and here he tries to unite them in one piece on the "Tragic Twenties": how so many things have come together to create a rogue wave of American unhappiness despite some relatively solid economic figures.
If America's So Rich, How'd It Get So Sad?
Or: How the 2020s broke our brains
derekthompson.org
Have you noticed a shrinking of public places to sit? I get it, no one wants a bunch of homeless people loitering around your business.
placesjournal.org
No.
The Chicken Thigh Is the Current Darling of the American Table. But Its Popularity Is Costing Us More Than We Realize.
Which cut will reign supreme?
slate.com
"Philosophers, in general, are used to disagreeing vehemently in the classroom and then gathering over a beer. Mathematicians aren’t. Usually, if they disagree, it means somebody royally messed up."
What Can We Gain by Losing Infinity? | Quanta Magazine
Ultrafinitism, a philosophy that rejects the infinite, has long been dismissed as mathematical heresy. But it is also producing new insights in math and beyond.
quantamagazine.org
A contrarian case for bringing back the chicken breast. By most standards an inferior cut of meat, but maybe you just need to challenge yourself to cook it right?
The Chicken Thigh Is the Current Darling of the American Table. But Its Popularity Is Costing Us More Than We Realize.
Which cut will reign supreme?
slate.com
I dropped my Measure 120 analysis before all the major papers so that it didn't color my opinion and because with Mortlandia you get quality *and* timeliness.
May 2026 Endorsements: Gas Tax
To pay, or not to pay, more for your gas during an oil supply shock
mortlandia.com
Fascinating history here on the role of literary agents and how an unsavory scammer sensed the opportunity to disrupt the "gentlemanly" practice of submitting manuscripts to only one publisher at a time, instead making the publishers compete on price for a sought after book.
Meet the Literary Agent Who Invented the Book Auction
In 1952, literary agent Scott Meredith did the unthinkable: he sent the same manuscript to ten publishers at the same time, and single-handedly invented the book auction. At least, that’s how Mered…
lithub.com
10 minutes with Lucinda Williams on her songwriting, from the NYT's new feature on the greatest living songwriters.
The Lucinda Williams Interview
The singer-songwriter talks about being self-taught, and reaching down into the deepest, darkest parts of herself to pull out a song.
nytimes.com
I don't have any trips to Senegal planned, so I guess I need to find grains of Selim if I want to try this intriguing "cafe Touba" drink with a very cool history.
How a Sufi Saint’s Coffee Recipe Took Senegal by Storm
Cafe Touba was created as spiritual fuel during Sheikh Amadou Bamba’s French-imposed exile. Now it’s giving Nescafe a run for its money
newlinesmag.com
