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Erik Craddock@eriklink

Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain - Here's how to do it

I was gifted a fountain pen from an old friend of mine a few years ago. Reading this article has me pulling it out and considering using it for the first time.

I’m not an expert on how the brain works, but I can say that, when writing by hand, one is continually solving a series of small problems having to do with the spacing of words, how letters are connected, the crossing of the letter t (sometimes more than one in the same word) and the dotting of the letters i and j, and how to accomplish all of those things through coordinated movements not just of the fingers but of the whole arm. All of that has to be integrated in real time with whatever is happening on a more abstract level in the brain’s processing of ideas and imagery.

Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain - Here's how to do it

Graphomane

Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain - Here's how to do it

Because I am known to write using a fountain pen on paper, a number of people have pointed me to this post and its underlying research. I won’t rehash what is said in those sources, but the gist of it is that when you write things down by hand you’re recruiting more of your brain, which is a good thing.

linkby Erik Craddock (@erik)Credit: Neal Stephenson
Erik Craddock@eriklink

How I self-host my ebooks and audiobooks

This is the companion to I own my books, where I made the case for stripping DRM and actually owning what I buy. This post is the machinery overview: how I store, serve, and read all of it from my own homelab.

How I self-host my ebooks and audiobooks

Michael Harley

How I self-host my ebooks and audiobooks

Here's a dang overview of how I self-host my ebooks and audiobooks! Check it out if that's your jam.

linkby Erik Craddock (@erik)Credit: Michael Harley
Erik Craddock@eriklink

Surprisingly large number of people may have marker for tick-linked meat allergy

The findings suggest far more Americans than previously thought may be at risk of the allergy, which can make having a hamburger for dinner a potentially life-threatening choice. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has previously estimated that only 0.14 percent of the US population (up to 450,000 people) has the allergy. But the study also highlights how little we understand about this unique disease—and the challenges of accurately diagnosing it.

Surprisingly large number of people may have marker for tick-linked meat allergy

Ars Technica

Surprisingly large number of people may have marker for tick-linked meat allergy

There's still a slew of questions about why some people develop alpha-gal syndrome.

linkby Erik Craddock (@erik)Credit: Beth Mole
Erik Craddock@eriklink

Import AI 464: Fables writes GPU kernels; AI automation; and analog computation

What happens to online employment when this reaches 80%? Of course, some new tasks will get created – people will innovate and find tasks that they can do which AI systems can’t do. But how many of these new tasks will exist? Enough to replace the labor the AI systems now do? It’s increasingly hard for me to reconcile the continued progress of AI systems with the economy staying the same – rather, it’s more likely to me we are about to see extremely person-light AI-heavy (or person-nil) organizations expand to take over chunks of the economy, out-competing un-augmented humans.

Import AI 464: Fables writes GPU kernels; AI automation; and analog computation

Import AI

Import AI 464: Fables writes GPU kernels; AI automation; and analog computation

Welcome to Import AI, a newsletter about AI research. Import AI runs on arXiv, cappuccinos, and feedback from readers. If you’d like to support this, please subscribe. Subscribe now Fable writes a …

linkby Erik Craddock (@erik)
Erik Craddock@eriklink

Understanding the Dynamics of the AI Ecosystem with Pace Layers

This is why you can go to the AI Engineering World’s Fair and come away thinking everyone is building dark factories and automating entire enterprises, while non-developers from outside the greater-San Francisco AI complex wonder why data centers are necessary.

Understanding the Dynamics of the AI Ecosystem with Pace Layers

Drew Breunig

Understanding the Dynamics of the AI Ecosystem with Pace Layers

Stewart Brand’s Pace Layers framework reveals why AI’s speed is straining the slower systems it depends on for support.

linkby Erik Craddock (@erik)Credit: Drew Breunig
Erik Craddock@eriklink

The Problem is Prompt Debt

The first symptom of prompt debt is slowing iteration. As users flag errors and spot edge cases, additional guidance is added to the instructions, nudging the model into line. If unwanted behaviors persist, instructions are repeated, with increasing severity. Pretty soon, the prompt isn’t straightforward and quick fixes regress previous instructions. Errors can no longer be handled with one-line “hot fixes” and your development cycle slows to a crawl.

The Problem is Prompt Debt

Drew Breunig

The Problem is Prompt Debt

The plain-English prompt that makes prototypes effortless turns out to be a poor way to specify how a system should behave, and the bill arrives slowly, disguised as ordinary progress, until the application can barely move.

linkby Erik Craddock (@erik)Credit: Drew Breunig