Ask most people to define “writing,” and they’ll tell you it’s the process of putting words down on paper, communicating what you already know. In reality, writing is often how you discover what you don’t know—and so how you learn to think better.
Tag: communication
Will AI Break the Spell of TV?
The implicit promise of TV has always been something like this: I will show you the world beyond. My screen will function as a window onto distant events and places. AI-generated video obliterates this promise--and could change how we think about the scenes on our screens.
Why ChatGPT Cheats at Chess—And Why that May Be Super Important for the Future of AI
ChatGPT can discuss chess brilliantly but routinely makes illegal moves during actual gameplay. AI researcher Gary Marcus argues this isn’t a quirk—it reveals that large language models lack “world models,” the internal representations of reality that humans use to understand how things work. This limitation may be fundamental to current AI architectures, with significant implications for how we should think about and use these powerful but imperfect tools.
The Freedom to Speak: An Interview with John Stuart Mill
Nearly 20 years ago, I tackled one of democracy's hardest questions by "interviewing" John Stuart Mill. Here's what he told me about free speech.
Our Era Is Not “Post-Truth,” It’s “Loyalty-First”
In the history of truth, questions of loyalty came before questions of accuracy. In our current cultural moment, questions of loyalty seem to be ascending again, with some potentially dire consequences.
What I Learned When Dad Was Dying
Paying attention to what matters most is harder than ever—and just as important as it always has been.
Read Closely, Listen Actively, Lead Wisely
Do whatever it takes to let yourself fully engage—to read and think and write back. The right people will love you for it.
What My Daughter’s Drawing Taught Me About Words
Language is a maker, not a mirror. And continuing to use it creatively is now more important than ever.
7 Basic Plots and How to Use Them
Stories are ubiquitous in human life, from the time we begin to make sense of the world to our final sentences. So learning how to tell them--and why--is essential.
Public Discourse in a Peekaboo World
All that glistens isn’t necessarily good During a recent vacation, I re-read Neil Postman’s classic of media criticism, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. I found it remarkably relevant on multiple fronts, especially regarding a challenge we all grapple with daily: the deluge of disconnected, decontextualized information. I would …
