Time Dilation Visualized
Or what they leave out of Project Hail Mary.
Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator II, Part II
Gladiators weren’t the NFL of Rome. “I think that’s part of the underlying fundamental problem with this film: it needs Rome to be about gladiators and thus for the Colosseum to be the symbol of Rome and the utmost expression… Read More »Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator II, Part II
Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator II, Part I
We tend to forget that history is long. “It makes about as much sense for Rome to be invading ‘Numidia’ (which, again, the film treats as a town and not a large region) in 200 A.D. as for a film… Read More »Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator II, Part I
Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator’s Iconic Opening Battle, Part II
Political structure matters. “neither Quintus nor Maximus are going back to their farm after this: they’re going back to Rome to be major figures in Roman politics, living on their large estates since senators were required by law to be… Read More »Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator’s Iconic Opening Battle, Part II
Amazon is regretting AI
Seeing this happening all around.
Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator’s Iconic Opening Battle, Part I
It’s epicly wrong. “The Roman army in this sequence has the wrong composition, is deployed incorrectly, uses the wrong tactics, has the wrong theory of victory and employs the wrong weapons and then employs them incorrectly. Perhaps most importantly the… Read More »Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator’s Iconic Opening Battle, Part I
Rogue AI is already here
Lets put this into everything and let it make autonomous decisions without reviews. What could go wrong? “Two weeks ago, Summer Yue — whose job at Meta is ensuring AI agents behave — watched her AI agent begin deleting her… Read More »Rogue AI is already here
How Soviets Invented NFC
Or something like it.
Materialism Is Killing You
Being right is not always the best survival strategy. “evolution doesn’t care about truth. It cares about fitness. And a belief system that produces depression, anxiety, declining fertility, and suicidal ideation at unprecedented rates might be worth examining—even if it… Read More »Materialism Is Killing You
A Man-Made Disaster
Atomic bombs were not the main issue. The New York Review of Books Thu, Apr 9, 2026 “The prospect of widespread firebombing obsessed military planners. In 1944 US Air Force officers even consulted Canadian and British insurance adjusters who had… Read More »A Man-Made Disaster