Section · Archive
Every essay, since day one.
All 8 issues, newest first.
2026
8 essays- April 29, 20261 minWelcome to Simple Machine LearningWhy this journal exists, and what to expect from each issue.
- April 28, 20262 minPart 1 — What AI actually is (and isn't)Forget the sci-fi. AI is pattern-spotting, dressed in a confident voice.
- April 27, 20262 minPart 2 — How a model 'learns' (the kid-with-flashcards version)Training is just guessing, getting graded, and adjusting. A million billion times.
- April 26, 20262 minPart 3 — Why training data is everythingA model is a mirror of what it was shown. Show it junk, get junk. There is no shortcut.
- April 25, 20262 minPart 4 — Hallucinations: why AI lies to you, politelyThe model is not lying. It is doing the only thing it knows how to do — guessing — when it should be saying 'I don't know.'
- April 24, 20262 minPart 5 — How to actually use AI without losing your mindA practical playbook. Use AI like a fast intern, not an oracle. Verify the load-bearing bits.
- April 22, 20261 minGradient Descent, By HandWorking a single step of gradient descent on paper, with the dignity it deserves.
- April 15, 20261 minThe Bias–Variance BargainEvery model trades two kinds of error. The trick is knowing which one you're paying for.