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”