So excited for you! One immediate thought we can riff about longer. It seems like the general answer regardless of codification (the Ur as you mention) is that a great essay is subjective and objective. Which I think applies to big concepts like beauty and taste. We don't have the Aristotle of essays, but we do have what Aristotle has written about beauty, for instance.
“I’d rather alchemize minds than automate words.” Hell yea! I can attest to your profound questions in draft 1 to elevate draft 2. Very cool to see this all in writing. :)
This is amazing news, Michael (and I love what you’ve done with the place). This feels like the moment the character answers the call to adventure, or maybe the moment he returns from the underworld... You’re already doing great work, and I’m glad you’ll have the means to do even more of it. Congratulations!
P.S. Please score Joan Didion’s “In Bed” from The White Album.
Brilliant piece, Michael !! Very much looking forward to all that you'll be posting here. The first year and a half as one of your Substack subscribers has been truly great. Congratulations on your fellowship grant. Very proud of your accomplishments, and I anticipate learning even more from you the next year and a half than I have this first year and a half.
This sentence made me go whoa: It’s not about automating your process, but guiding you on a life-long one. I’d rather alchemize minds than automate words.
Congrats, Michael! I’m so psyched for you. And so glad this is not just off the ground but full-on soaring. I’m building my syllabus for next year now, and considering some of the essays you’ve listed above in order to share your reading and scoring with my students. Thanks for sharing some of the architecture of your brain with us here. (We’re all benefitting from it.)
Hey Joshua! Were you in Foster (at the time, Compound) back in 2020? I think we may have met once before. I've completed the first of nine sections (Thesis) here on Substack, and aim to put out a section per month from now, meaning I'll be finished by early 2025.
On X, you should see a "Highlights" tab that has a bunch of my threads and writing visuals. It's funny to think that those 17 types of repetition were all within 1 of the 27 patterns. I'm finding each pattern has a whole dictionary of "types" within it.
And ooh fantastic! I forgot about that X feature. thanks!!
YEAH holy crap there are so many freaking taxonomies within the taxonomies
I love nerding out about what granularities each one captures that the other doesn’t, is this term from this taxonomy The Same Thing as this other term from this other taxonomy.. etc
...first off mega congrats...so stoked to see you build this beast (bot)...shuddering at how i will be treated by said bot, but man must improve (said at gunpoint from a robot firing range)...
What’s a key feature you’re looking for in an AI-powered craft companion? Maximum Deanitude
What’s a pattern you’re starting to notice across everything you read? Too much authority. More and more of everyone is sure of themself and sharing said certaintude. Give me the seek so I can hide.
So excited for you! One immediate thought we can riff about longer. It seems like the general answer regardless of codification (the Ur as you mention) is that a great essay is subjective and objective. Which I think applies to big concepts like beauty and taste. We don't have the Aristotle of essays, but we do have what Aristotle has written about beauty, for instance.
Something worth thinking about.
“I’d rather alchemize minds than automate words.” Hell yea! I can attest to your profound questions in draft 1 to elevate draft 2. Very cool to see this all in writing. :)
This is amazing news, Michael (and I love what you’ve done with the place). This feels like the moment the character answers the call to adventure, or maybe the moment he returns from the underworld... You’re already doing great work, and I’m glad you’ll have the means to do even more of it. Congratulations!
P.S. Please score Joan Didion’s “In Bed” from The White Album.
Please consider "U Unibus Pluram" by David Foster Wallace. I think it's the best essay ever written.
Brilliant piece, Michael !! Very much looking forward to all that you'll be posting here. The first year and a half as one of your Substack subscribers has been truly great. Congratulations on your fellowship grant. Very proud of your accomplishments, and I anticipate learning even more from you the next year and a half than I have this first year and a half.
Major congrats Michael!!
This sentence made me go whoa: It’s not about automating your process, but guiding you on a life-long one. I’d rather alchemize minds than automate words.
Congrats!! Can't wait to see what's coming!!
Congrats, Michael! So stoked for you and everyone who will benefit from this.
Really fascinating what you’re doing and love the opening line of your application. What a hook!
Look forward to following your journey. :)
Congrats, Michael! I’m so psyched for you. And so glad this is not just off the ground but full-on soaring. I’m building my syllabus for next year now, and considering some of the essays you’ve listed above in order to share your reading and scoring with my students. Thanks for sharing some of the architecture of your brain with us here. (We’re all benefitting from it.)
Wow well done Michael!
Congratulations and well deserved! This is going to change how writing is taught in schools and I couldn’t be more excited as an educator! 🎉🙌
Congrats! This is so well deserved. Can't wait to see what comes next. :)
A perfect new name!
Hey! I just found out about you relatively recently. I’m very interested in your quest for a unified theory of the essay.
These 27 patterns and this textbook.. do you have some index somewhere that answers the following questions:
- how close to done with the textbook are you?
- given a pattern (or general topic), where is all the associated content you’ve written about that pattern?
- That one tweet thread you did on all the different types of repetition was amazing. Do you have a list of tweet threads you’ve made like that?
Hey Joshua! Were you in Foster (at the time, Compound) back in 2020? I think we may have met once before. I've completed the first of nine sections (Thesis) here on Substack, and aim to put out a section per month from now, meaning I'll be finished by early 2025.
On X, you should see a "Highlights" tab that has a bunch of my threads and writing visuals. It's funny to think that those 17 types of repetition were all within 1 of the 27 patterns. I'm finding each pattern has a whole dictionary of "types" within it.
HEY!!! I sure was!!
Got it got it!
And ooh fantastic! I forgot about that X feature. thanks!!
YEAH holy crap there are so many freaking taxonomies within the taxonomies
I love nerding out about what granularities each one captures that the other doesn’t, is this term from this taxonomy The Same Thing as this other term from this other taxonomy.. etc
...first off mega congrats...so stoked to see you build this beast (bot)...shuddering at how i will be treated by said bot, but man must improve (said at gunpoint from a robot firing range)...
What’s a key feature you’re looking for in an AI-powered craft companion? Maximum Deanitude
What’s a pattern you’re starting to notice across everything you read? Too much authority. More and more of everyone is sure of themself and sharing said certaintude. Give me the seek so I can hide.
Congrats on the grant! I am very interested in this scoring plug-in you're creating (and the textbook—will certainly be buying a physical copy).
I've always been fascinated by George Orwell's essays. "Why I Write" could be an interesting one to score.