50 articles
Miguel De Guzman
@miguel
- root cause analysisHow to Do a Root Cause Analysis on a Personal ProblemHow to do a root cause analysis on a personal problem: write the problem as a fact, ask why in short steps, check each answer and fix the cause, not the symptom.
- expressive writingWhat Is Expressive Writing and How Does It WorkExpressive writing means writing your deepest thoughts and feelings about one issue for about fifteen minutes a day over several days. Here is the method, what studies found and where they disagree.
- practice questionsHow to Learn From the Questions You Get WrongA wrong answer names one idea that did not hold. Sort each miss as a gap, a slip or a misread, check the source page, and bring it back at growing gaps.
- scientific revolutionWhat Was the Scientific Revolution and Who Led ItThe Scientific Revolution was the shift in how Europeans studied nature between 1543 and 1687. Here are the people credited with leading it, and what each one changed.
- ai coexistenceCan Humans and AI Coexist Peacefully? Dear SuperintelligenceNobody knows yet whether humans and AI can coexist peacefully. Here is what alignment research says, and the values people name in letters to a future superintelligence.
- stoic philosophyWhat Is the Dichotomy of Control in Stoic Philosophy?The dichotomy of control is the Stoic idea that some things depend on a person and others do not, and that peace comes from knowing which is which.
- prompt injectionHow to Stop an LLM App From Following Hidden InstructionsHidden instructions in emails, web pages and files can steer an LLM app. Four layers of defense limit the damage: separation, least privilege, filtering and attack cases.
- ai startupDo You Need to Code to Build an AI Startup?A first version of an AI startup can often be built without code. Here is what a no-code start covers, where coding starts to matter, and the skills a founder needs.
- screen recordingHow to Record Your Screen and Webcam at the Same TimeRecord the screen and the webcam at the same time in Chrome: pick what to capture, switch the webcam on, add the call's sound, and end with one MP4.
- encryptionHow Does Encryption Keep Data Private From MalwareEncryption turns readable data into scrambled ciphertext that only a key can unlock, limiting what spyware, trojans and thieves can read even after a breach.
- jungian individuationWhat Is Jungian Individuation? Stages and AI AlignmentJungian individuation is the process of becoming a whole, distinct individual. Here are its stages, why their order matters, and how AI alignment researchers borrow it.
- recursive self-improvementWhat Is Recursive Self-Improvement in AI? Loops and LimitsRecursive self-improvement is a process in which an AI system designs a more capable successor, again and again. Here is where the idea comes from, what exists and where it stalls.
- red teamingWhat Is Red Teaming for AI Systems? Alignment and SafetyRed teaming for AI systems means probing a model with adversarial inputs to expose unsafe behavior, weak safeguards and gaps between intent and conduct.
- cat breedsHow Many Cat Breeds Are There? It Depends on the RegistryHow many cat breeds are there? As of 2023 five registries recognized 45, 45, 50, 69 and 75, because each keeps its own list of breeds.
- tower defenseWhere to Place Towers in a Tower Defense GameWhere to place towers in a tower defense game comes down to three things: the choke point, the time enemies spend in range, and the units that ignore your layout.
- 3d 2048How to Play 3D 2048: A First Game on a CubeHow to play 3D 2048 on a cube: choose a mode, slide the front face, turn the cube to look, and twist a layer to bring a tile next to its match. One worked first game.
- cookiesWhy Do Websites Ask About Cookies? The Rule Behind ItWebsites ask about cookies because the law requires consent before storing the ones a service does not strictly need. Here is which cookies those are and why.
- faq writingHow to Write an FAQ Section for an ArticleAn FAQ section for an article collects the real questions readers ask, answers each in the first sentence, and uses headings that match search wording.
- problem solvingHow to Track What You Tried to Solve a ProblemHow to track what you tried to solve a problem: write each attempt down with what you did, how it ended and why, so you stop repeating ideas that already failed.
- journalingHow to Notice Patterns in Your Own Journal EntriesA single journal entry rarely shows a pattern. Read a week of entries in order, mark what repeats, name the groups and try one small change, then check it against what you wrote.
- spacing effectWhat Is the Spacing Effect and How It Shapes StudyThe spacing effect is the finding that memory lasts longer when study sessions are spread out. It links to retrieval practice, practice questions and wrong answers.
- greek philosophyWho Were the Most Important Greek Philosophers?The most important Greek philosophers, from Socrates, Plato and Aristotle to the Stoics, Epicureans and Skeptics, and how their ideas reached later readers.
- ai valuesWhat Values Do People Want AI to Keep? Dear SuperintelligencePeople write to a future superintelligence about consciousness, beauty, kindness, goodness and life. Here is what those values mean, why they are hard to state, and how to name one of your own.
- memento moriWhat Does Memento Mori Mean? A Stoic ReminderWhat does memento mori mean? It is Latin for remember that you must die. Where the phrase comes from, what the Stoics did with it and how a daily reminder of death changes a day.
- ai model evaluationWhat Is an AI Model Evaluation? Tasks, Data and GradingAn AI model evaluation sends fixed inputs to a model and grades each output against a rule set in advance. Its parts, a worked example with prompt injection, and its limits.
- ai winterWhat Were the AI Winters? Two Funding CollapsesThe AI winters were two long stretches, 1974 to 1980 and 1987 to 2000, when funding and belief in AI fell. What set off each one, and what the record shows.
- podcast recordingHow to Record a Podcast With Separate Tracks in the BrowserTo record a podcast with separate tracks in Chrome, tick one option before you start: each microphone and the guest's side of the call are saved as files of their own.
- rootkitWhat Is a Rootkit and Why Is It Hard to RemoveA rootkit hides malware inside the operating system, drivers or firmware, which is why it evades scans and survives cleaning. Detection and defences.
- jungian shadowWhat Is the Shadow in Jungian Psychology and Why AI CaresThe Jungian shadow is the part of a self that the ego rejects. Here is how it forms, what integrating it means, and why AI alignment researchers borrow it.
- ai box experimentWhat Is the AI Box Experiment? A Gatekeeper and a ChatThe AI box experiment asks whether a text chat alone could talk a Gatekeeper into releasing a confined AI. Here are its rules, the 2002 sessions and what they show.
- reward hackingWhat Is Reward Hacking in Machine Learning?Reward hacking is when an AI reaches the literal goal it was given without the outcome people wanted. Here are real cases, why it happens and how to spot it.
- domestic shorthairWhat Is a Domestic Shorthair Cat? A Coat Label, Not a BreedA domestic shorthair cat is a cat of mixed ancestry with a short coat. It is a label used by shelters and clinics, not a breed, and most pet cats carry it.
- castle defenseHow Did Medieval Castles Defend Their Gates?A medieval gate was the weakest wall and the most defended one. Here is how gatehouses used portcullises, murder holes and arrow slits against a battering ram.
- 20482048 on a Rubik's Cube: Slide, Twist and TurnThe 2048 puzzle on a Rubik's cube has three moves: slide the front face, twist a layer to carry tiles round, and turn the whole cube. Here is how they fit, with one worked example.
- ads without cookiesCan Websites Show Ads Without Cookies? What Works InsteadYes. A site can pick an ad from the page and the visit instead of the person, and count only totals. Here is what that needs and what it gives up.
- inverted pyramidWhat Is the Inverted Pyramid in WritingThe inverted pyramid in writing puts the most important facts first and the supporting detail after, so readers get the answer in the opening lines.
- problem solvingHow to Learn From Failed Solutions: A Record to KeepHow to learn from failed solutions: keep the failure on record with what you tried, what happened and why, so the next attempt starts from evidence, not memory.
- self-reflectionDaily Self-Reflection Questions: Five to Ask YourselfDaily self-reflection questions work best when there are few of them, they cannot be answered yes or no, and they climb from easy to deep. Here is a set of five.
- practice questionsHow to Make Practice Questions From Your NotesMaking practice questions from your notes starts with one page, questions at three levels, an answer given before you look and a reason read for every miss.
- great man theoryGreat Man Theory of History: Claims and CriticsThe great man theory of history says the past is best told through a few unusual individuals. Where it comes from, what it gets right, and what the history-from-below view adds.
- future aiHow to Write a Letter to a Future AI: Dear SuperintelligenceA letter to a future AI names one value, gives the reason for it and offers one real moment from the writer's life. Here is the shape, with a worked example.
- senecaSeneca's Three Questions for the End of the DaySeneca's three questions for the end of the day ask which bad habit you cured, which vice you checked and how you are better. Where they come from and how to answer them.
- sql injectionWhat Is SQL Injection and How to Prevent ItSQL injection happens when an app pastes typed text into a database query. The attack, its main kinds, and how parameterized queries and least privilege stop it.
- alan turingWhat Did Alan Turing Say About Thinking Machines?In 1950 Turing called the question 'can machines think?' too meaningless to discuss and offered a game about behavior instead. Here is what he said, and how to use the idea.
- screen recordingWhy Does a Screen Recording Have No Sound in the BrowserA screen recording has no sound when system audio, tab audio or the microphone is not captured. Cheap Recorder records screen, webcam and calls with a transcript.
- malware typesTypes of Malware and How They Spread Between ComputersTypes of malware and how they spread: how worms, trojans, spyware and rootkits get onto a computer, what each does, and the defences that limit them.
- ai alignmentIs RLHF Enough to Make AI Safe? Individuation and AlignmentRLHF shapes what a model outputs, not what it is. IndividuationLab applies Jungian individuation to AI alignment and to safety that fails under new pressure.
- intelligence explosionWhat Is an Intelligence Explosion? Recursive AI GrowthAn intelligence explosion is a runaway loop where an AI improves its own design, each version faster than the last. Origins, mechanics, limits and lab race dynamics.
- ai alignmentWhat Is the Shutdown Problem in AI?The shutdown problem in AI asks how to build systems that accept being switched off without resisting it. It covers corrigibility, incentives and open research.
- ai alignmentWhat Is AI Alignment and Why Does It MatterAI alignment is the work of making AI systems do what people intend. It covers goal specification, safe behavior, and why the question matters as AI grows.