The Case for Ordinary Proof (And Why AI Can’t Fake the Chair)

The short essay that started all of this is on Medium. The 3-minute version is on YouTube.

In 2026, the detail you’d cut is the detail that earns. Here’s why.

Why the smallest details in personal writing are doing the most work — and why most writers, including me until recently, have been ignoring them.

… Read the rest “The Case for Ordinary Proof (And Why AI Can’t Fake the Chair)”

Why Your Best Ideas Keep Dying in the Feed — And the Cognitive Trap Behind It

Reading time: ~12 minutes

In 1990, a Stanford PhD student named Elizabeth Newton ran an experiment that should have permanently humbled every smart person on the internet.

She had volunteers tap out the rhythm of well-known songs on a table — Happy Birthday, The Star-Spangled Banner, songs everyone knows.… Read the rest “Why Your Best Ideas Keep Dying in the Feed — And the Cognitive Trap Behind It”

Reading time: ~12 minutes

In 1990, a Stanford PhD student named Elizabeth Newton ran an experiment that should have permanently humbled every smart person on the internet.

She had volunteers tap out the rhythm of well-known songs on a table — Happy Birthday, The Star-Spangled Banner, songs everyone knows.… Read the rest “Why Your Best Ideas Keep Dying in the Feed — And the Cognitive Trap Behind It”