Welcome to my blog section, where I share in-depth articles, technical insights, and perspectives on various topics in technology, software engineering, AI, and innovation. These are explorations of ideas, technical deep-dives, and experiences from my journey in the tech world.
Most stories treat setting as backdrop-a stage where characters perform. The action happens; the world just… is. But some stories do something different. The setting doesn’t just sit there. It acts. It has personality, desires, resistance. It shapes events as much as any character. This is setting as character, and when done well, it transforms worldbuilding from description into dramatic force. What Does “Setting as Character” Actually Mean? A setting becomes a character when it possesses these qualities: ...
Deeply Personal Current: The Uncanny Valley of Empathy Cooking with an Algorithm All Posts Analysis Paralysis The Uncanny Valley of Empathy: Why AI Therapists Feel ‘Almost’ Human I did something weird last month. ...
Brain Series Current: The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon Pareidolia All Posts Change Blindness You learn about a new word, concept, or product. Then, suddenly, you see it everywhere-in articles, conversations, advertisements. It feels like the universe is sending you a message. ...
In 1917, Russian Formalist critic Viktor Shklovsky introduced a concept that would fundamentally change how we think about art: ostranenie-defamiliarization, or “making strange.” His insight was radical: The purpose of art isn’t to make us comfortable. It’s to make us see again. We spend our lives on autopilot, perceiving the world through habits and categories. We don’t see a chair-we see “chair,” the concept. We don’t experience morning coffee-we execute a routine. ...
Deeply Personal Current: Cooking with an Algorithm Nostalgia on a Plate All Posts The Uncanny Valley of Empathy Cooking with an Algorithm: I Let an AI Plan My Weekly Meal Prep My wife has a habit that’s equal parts adorable and terrifying: she organizes things with military precision. ...
Ernest Hemingway had a simple rule for writing: if you know something well enough, you can omit it, and the reader will feel its presence like the bulk of an iceberg beneath the water. He called it the Iceberg Theory (or the Theory of Omission), and it’s perhaps the most powerful worldbuilding principle ever articulated. Show only the tip-10% of what you know. But you must know the other 90%. ...
Brain Series Current: Pareidolia The McGurk Effect All Posts The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon You see a face in the electrical outlet. Another in the clouds. Your morning toast looks like it’s staring at you. ...
“I love you,” she gasped. “Really?” he queried. “Yes!” she exclaimed. “But-” he stammered. “No buts,” she interjected. Stop. This is bad writing. And it’s bad for a very specific reason: the dialogue tags are working too hard. The golden rule: “Said” is invisible. Everything else calls attention to itself. And in 95% of cases, you don’t want readers noticing your dialogue tags-you want them immersed in the conversation. What Are Dialogue Tags? Dialogue tags (also called “attributions”) identify who’s speaking: ...
Brain Series Current: The McGurk Effect Superfood for Your Brain All Posts Pareidolia Watch someone’s lips say “ga” while the audio plays “ba,” and your brain will hear “da”-a sound that doesn’t exist in either the visual or auditory input. ...
Deeply Personal Current: Nostalgia on a Plate Cats and Empathy All Posts Next Nostalgia on a Plate: Why We Crave Foods from Our Childhood My wife was chopping vegetables when she stopped, knife mid-air, and said: ...