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Jacob Falkovich

Jacob Falkovich

@jacob-falkovich · 18 positions · 0 changes of mind

Writer of the blog Putanumonit and the newsletter Second Person, on rationality, dating and probability; based in New York.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

Jacob Falkovich did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

  1. Our reading

    Most people who would be a good audience for an essay will never notice it or bother to engage with it.

    Their words99% of people who you'd want to read your essay probably don't know you exist, or don't give a fuck, or wouldn't be bothered to engage even if they read it.

    ↗By Chains or by Promisesputanumonit.com 1st of 3 in this piece

  3. Our reading

    Large language models write to satisfy an evaluator's grading criteria rather than to move a human reader.

    LLMs

    Their wordsLLMs write to get a grade, not with the goal of moving the reader.

    ↗By Chains or by Promisesputanumonit.com 2nd of 3 in this piece

  5. Our reading

    Because they never get bored, confused or distracted, large language models are an ideal captive reader rather than a free one.

    LLMs

    Their wordsLLMs themselves are the perfect captive reader: they never get bored or confused, never miss a reference or have an emotional reaction, never ask themselves why am I reading this?, never close the tab.

    ↗By Chains or by Promisesputanumonit.com 3rd of 3 in this piece

  6. 5 days earlier

  7. Our reading

    Good writing requires wanting to tell people something, which AI itself lacks.

    writing

    Their wordsThe prerequisite to good writing is having something you want to tell people about, which AI doesn't.

    ↗Slop Readersputanumonit.com 1st of 2 in this piece

  9. Our reading

    Trying to avoid AI-writing tells as a human writer is pointless, since readers who fixate on them ignore substance anyway.

    Their wordsThere's little point trying to avoid LLMisms as a human, the readers who'll latch onto that don't care what you're saying anyway.

    ↗Slop Readersputanumonit.com 2nd of 2 in this piece

  10. 12 months earlier

  11. Our reading

    Enterprise software clients want reassurance, support, and a credible story from a vendor, not just a technically correct solution.

    Their wordsclients want a lot more from a software vendor than a solution that performs ABC by XYZ date.

    ↗Jacob Will Work For Youputanumonit.com 1st of 3 in this piece

  13. Our reading

    With AI handling routine tasks, the high-value human work of understanding client needs and trade-offs can be done by a smaller, more proactive team.

    Their wordsThe high value human tasks, like understanding the client's true pain points and deciding on priorities and trade-offs, would be easier with a smaller, proactive team.

    ↗Jacob Will Work For Youputanumonit.com 2nd of 3 in this piece

  15. Our reading

    A company's culture is largely shaped by its profit margins.

    Their wordsFrom my experience, a lot of company culture is downstream from profit margins.

    ↗Jacob Will Work For Youputanumonit.com 3rd of 3 in this piece

  16. 5 months earlier

  17. Our reading

    Subscription platforms like Substack and OnlyFans tend to become a Girardian bubble, where a few visible successes obscure the many who quietly give up after failing to build an audience.

    Their wordsI suspect that both Substack and OnlyFans may become a Girardian bubble. Everyone joins after hearing from the few people who succeed; the thousands who slink away after months of effort netted them a mere 17 subscribers usually do so quietly.

    ↗I’m Writing The Dating Sequences over at secondperson.datingputanumonit.com 1st of 2 in this piece

  19. Our reading

    The value of a piece of writing depends on whether the reader finds it good, not on how much effort the writer put into it.

    Their wordsUltimately, the only thing that matters is if you think the writing is good, not how much effort I put into it.

    ↗I’m Writing The Dating Sequences over at secondperson.datingputanumonit.com 2nd of 2 in this piece

  20. 17 months earlier

  21. Our reading

    Color as perceived is not an objective property of objects, but a construct generated by the perceiving brain.

    Their wordsRedness is not "objective" in the sense of being "in the object", it only exists in the models generated by the sort of brains which are hooked up to eyes.

    ↗Seth Explains Consciousnessputanumonit.com 1st of 3 in this piece

  23. Our reading

    Free will does not require violating the laws of physics, yet the subjective experience of it is real and meaningful.

    physics

    Their wordsThere is no "spooky free will" that violates the laws of physics in our common model of them, but the experience of free will certainly exists and is informative.

    ↗Seth Explains Consciousnessputanumonit.com 2nd of 3 in this piece

  25. Our reading

    It is unclear whether a digital emulation of a person could ever be conscious, even in principle.

    Their wordsBut it is not clear at all that such a being could even exist in principle.

    ↗Seth Explains Consciousnessputanumonit.com 3rd of 3 in this piece

  26. 2 months earlier

  27. Our reading

    Focusing on looks and status as a dating strategy is pointless, even though looks and status do matter in mate selection

    Their wordsIt's not that looks and status don't matter, it's that focusing on looks and status as one's dating strategy is perfectly pointless.

    ↗Whose dream bf is it anywayputanumonit.com 1st of 2 in this piece

  29. Our reading

    Finding a good spouse depends more on one's orientation toward building relationships and spotting non-trivial compatible traits than on matching a status checklist

    Their wordsWhether one does find a good spouse or not depends more on one's orientation towards actually building relationships, and whether they can identify non-trivial traits in a partner that would contribute to that.

    ↗Whose dream bf is it anywayputanumonit.com 2nd of 2 in this piece

  30. 3 months earlier

  31. Our reading

    Genuinely open-minded political thinking tends toward centrism or non-political issues, since ideological extremes mostly signal tribal loyalty or serve the power-hungry.

    Their wordsHigh rung thinking will almost always land on "centrist" position because it acknowledges tradeoffs, or on non-politicized positions because it's not beholden to supporting either of the two parties in a zero-sum game. It's not a coincidence that the political square is a triangle.

    ↗What’s Not Our Problemputanumonit.com 1st of 3 in this piece

  33. Our reading

    Institutions with the most high-minded mission statements attract the most opportunistic conformists, making them the most vulnerable to ideological takeover.

    Their wordsThe proportion of profiteers seems highly correlated with the number of VERITAS plaques on campus and the high-mindedness of the organization's mission statement.

    ↗What’s Not Our Problemputanumonit.com 2nd of 3 in this piece

  35. Our reading

    Political power is held by those with the will to power, a drive that can't arise from detached truth-seeking communities without corrupting them.

    Their wordsBut power is ultimately held by those with the will to power. That will does not grow in decoupled idea labs, and would immediately corrupt them if it did.

    ↗What’s Not Our Problemputanumonit.com 3rd of 3 in this piece