FreakTakes

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Very short pieces on fun bits of history, graphs, and more that I come across in my reading that never make it into my larger pieces.
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How Recent Innovation in Jiu-jitsu Helps Us Think About OpenAI’s Future
Check out my guest post for the ChinaTalk Substack on recent innovation in the sport of jiu-jitsu and how it can help us think about OpenAI’s future. In…
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Eric Gilliam
The Past and Present of Computer-Augmented Hypothesis Generation
Don Swanson’s career started on a path familiar to many who read this blog. A BA in Physics from CalTech in 1945. A Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from UC…
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Eric Gilliam
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Corin Wagen
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Bonus: More details on how Bell Labs operated
This was initially a section of my larger Bell Labs post. It would have come between the “Freedom comes in many forms” and “The mobile phone system…
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Eric Gilliam
Update: What is FreakTakes "about"?
I’ve finally updated the “About” section of this Substack. For months and months, I put it off because I was so busy working a job and writing at night…
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Eric Gilliam
2
How fast can a bureaucracy grow in a government scientific department?
Also: why the ‘burden of knowledge’ might be more of a social problem than a knowledge problem
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Eric Gilliam
Birds, Frogs, and...Squirrels?
Erik Hoel is a great thinker who integrates disciplines seamlessly. Here's why he's leaving academia.
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Eric Gilliam
Feynman on journal reviews, conferences, and the open-mindedness of the physics profession
In this ‘Short’ I’ll share a few excerpts from Feynman’s oral history that give readers an idea of: How different journals and journal reviews were in…
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Eric Gilliam
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