| Last year, my literary journey didn’t span as many books as I typically prefer. However, I can proudly say that I delved into a considerable number of blogs, articles, and short stories. Despite it now being well into 2024, here I’ll share a selection of these reads that provided a particularly enjoyable and enriching experience personally. Blogs Stevey’s Google Platforms Rant : Great piece about the genesis and significance of platforms. It illuminates the reasoning behind Jeff Bezos’s decision to mandate APIs in Amazon internally. A very fun and exciting read, showcasing wit and scathing critiques. Dear Google Cloud: Your Deprecation Policy is Killing You — Steve Yegge : Another rant on Google, focusing on the criticality of backward compatibility. Software 2.0 — Andrej Karpathy : Karpathy posits a paradigm shift where neural networks (Software 2.0) will supplant traditional, logic-based programming (Software 1.0) in controlling most hardware. One might say it is pretty obvious in the advent of ChatGPT, but consider that this post was written in 2017. How To Be Successful — Sam Altman : While I generally maintain a skeptical view of development literature, this read stands out with its unexpected depth and substantive insights. Article This year, The New Yorker has emerged as my favorite media outlet. In my view, their commitment to quality journalism is exceptional. While their articles tend to be lengthy, they offer exhaustive and intellectually stimulating content. Also, their front cover artwork is consistently top-notch! Is My Toddler a Stochastic Parrot? | The New Yorker : This piece is an example of visual storytelling at its best. A Coder Considers the Waning Days of the Craft | The New Yorker : A thoughtful essay on the evolving landscape of coding. China’s Age of Malaise | The New Yorker : An analysis of China’s current challenges and the impact of President Xi Generative AI exists because of the transformer | Financial Times : A visually engaging and intuitive explanation from the Financial Times, making the concept of transformers accessible to non-tech people. The Real Heroes Are Dead | The New Yorker : The New Yorker excels with this narrative. It begins enigmatically, drawing the reader in until the poignant realization of its direction. How Will A.I. Learn Next? | The New Yorker : A deep dive into the implications of data gathering in the Post-ChatGPT era and what we can learn from interactions with chatbots. Getting Bin Laden | The New Yorker : An in-depth account detailing the intricacies of the plan to assassinate Bin Laden. Leaves an impression that you don’t want to fuck around with the U.S. military. Short Stories Short science fiction stories hold a special place in my literary preferences. The challenge for the author is to construct a compelling world within the concise framework of a short story, which, when executed skillfully, results in a narrative that is both densely packed and immensely rewarding. Here are some that I enjoyed this year: (pardon the short description, as I am sensitive to spoilers and wish to reveal as little as possible): Lena @ Things Of Interest : A thought-provoking story exploring the ramifications of widespread brain emulation in the near future. It leaves the reader with much to ponder. I Don’t Know, Timmy, Being God Is a Big Responsibility @ Things Of Interest : An extreme take on the simulation theory, just utterly captivating. What’s Expected of Us | Nature : A classic by Ted Chiang, very short but delivers an absolute banger punchline in the end. The Egg : A short but heartwarming tale that delves into the concept of reincarnation. I plan to immerse myself in even more remarkable reads this year compared to the last, and I look forward to sharing an updated 2024 list later in the year. Should any of these recommendations resonate with you and provide an enjoyable reading experience, then the objective of my post will have been achieved. Happy reading! |