Archive - First principles trivia

How to insert a table in Substack

And improvements in iPhone performance over the years

Oct 1, 2024 •

Nikita Sokolsky

August 2024

Beware the science fiction bias in predictions of the future

Reality is often disappointing

Aug 19, 2024 •

Nikita Sokolsky

June 2024

My 5-step program for losing weight

I can’t claim to be an expert on the subject of weight loss but wanted to share the steps I’ve followed to get from ~81 kg (178 pounds) to ~70 kg (154…

Jun 30, 2024 •

Nikita Sokolsky

February 2024

Short story of how the first flights were made possible

David McCullough published a book a few years ago about the Wright brothers, who invented the airplane in the first decade of the 20th century.

Feb 17, 2024 •

Nikita Sokolsky

How to take a perfect dating photo

A systematic, iterative approach

Feb 10, 2024 •

Nikita Sokolsky

January 2024

368 questions to ask before marrying someone

There’s many lists floating around the internet with questions to ask your partner before marriage.

Jan 28, 2024 •

Nikita Sokolsky

September 2023

90 cuisines you can try in New York City

Nate Silver recently blogged about the question of whether or not NYC has the best food in the world, arguing that it does thanks to a very large…

Sep 4, 2023 •

Nikita Sokolsky

January 2023

The real 40 questions that lead to falling in love

The “36 questions that lead to falling in love” are a set of personal questions developed by psychologist Arthur Aron (and others) in 1997 to explore…

Jan 7, 2023 •

Nikita Sokolsky

August 2022

The many definitions of a "pandemic"

Or what it would take for the COVID pandemic to officially end

Aug 15, 2022 •

Nikita Sokolsky

Sri Lanka vs chemical fertilizers: did organic farming ruin the country?

On April 22nd 2021, the President of Sri Lanka announced a ban on importing chemical fertilizer:

Aug 12, 2022 •

Nikita Sokolsky

June 2022

Abortion advertising in 1971

A history of one billboard

Jun 27, 2022 •

Nikita Sokolsky

Can AGI destroy us without trial & error?

Or how the AI alignment community is forgetting that novel engineering is very, very difficult

Jun 13, 2022 •

Nikita Sokolsky

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