In the mid-20th century, sciences studying humans — psychology, neurology, and many others — started booming. How does the brain work? What is memory? What is consciousness? How do these things interact and develop inside us — and most importantly, how can we make them better? There was a huge explosion of new theories and concepts. One of them, in 1943, was proposed by Raymond Cattell. He was working on differential psychology — personality traits, abilities, motivation — and came up with the idea that we actually have two kinds of intelligence: fluid and crystallized (Theory of Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence).

Fluid intelligence is what helps us solve new, abstract problems, when there’s no ready-made knowledge to fall back on. Crystallized intelligence leans heavily on what we already know and have experienced. We all have both, and we use both all the time — just in different proportions depending on the situation.

They say fluid intelligence peaks around 27 years old, while crystallized peaks somewhere around 50–60, and starts to decline closer to 70. But it’s also strongly linked to mental load. Like in sports: if you keep challenging yourself, you stay in better shape. Even though some experiments showed that memory exercises don’t really boost fluid intelligence, it varies a lot from person to person — and especially among people on the autism spectrum.

They did experiments where people could either solve tasks intuitively, inventing their own methods, or by leaning on learned skills. The common belief was that young people invent more, and experienced people use what they know. But honestly, I think that’s a bit forced. Different personalities matter more: some people will "do it right" since childhood, and others will be reinventing their own bicycles till the end of their days.

This whole topic is resurfacing now because many top tech companies have lost their founders — and the big, seasoned managers have taken over. The problem is, breakthrough innovation needs fluid intelligence, which younger people usually have more of. But in corporate environments, not many experienced adults are thrilled about being told what to do by some young, relatively inexperienced — even if pretty sharp — guy. It’s tolerated when it’s a charismatic founder leading the charge. But when the founder is gone — dead, stepped down, or just drifted off — the leadership falls to the seasoned veterans, and it’s hard to put them under some untested newcomer.

But again — I don’t fully buy this age-based thinking. It’s not just about age. It’s also very much about profession. Managers think differently from product designers. Even product managers think differently. What these companies really need is not just "younger and fresher" blood — but people across different levels of experience, all focused on building great products, not just improving margins. Sure, companies need everyone — not just product designers. But the focus of leadership really defines where the company goes.

I got my first Apple Watch on day one when they launched 10 years ago, and I've been quite happy with the product ever since. Since then, many models have been released, and I don't have the latest one, but I'm not chasing after the newest technology here. What I have satisfies me very well; I use it every day and am very pleased with it.

I have many custom-configured watch faces, but I typically use Infograph (I have several of these too, and change them depending on my mood) with lots of complications. I've got many different bands, but most often wear the yellow Nomad Sports Band. The main thing the watch gives me is that it allows me to use my other devices less, particularly my iPhone. I receive notifications on the watch, and it's convenient that they can be configured more precisely than on the phone. I use it to set timers, check the outdoor temperature, control lights and other smart home devices. I can use it as a remote for Apple TV which we use with our projector, record voice memos, and see what time it is in other cities. The watch lets me view TFA time codes, helps confirm purchases, or confirms my identity instead of passwords, etc.

It's very unfortunate that Siri is in such a dismal, if not to say crappy, state. I don't even think Apple needs to fix this. I just want them to allow me to choose one of the models on the market and decide which aspects of my semantic index I'll allow each agent to see.

I also don't use the cellular function because GoogleFi, which I use as my main mobile carrier, still doesn't support (I think deliberately) Apple Watch.

Here are my Apple Watch faces: the busy Infograph 1, Infograph 2, Utility with Camera, and Simple Bare minimalist.

There are two high-profile publications attempting to predict how artificial intelligence will develop in the near future:

AI-2027 and The Era of Experience Paper

Both are worth reading, or at least asking your favorite LLM to summarize and then explain the important points.

AI 2027 is a scenario written by several researchers about how AI development might unfold in the coming years, and how it all ends, which they then asked a popular blogger to rewrite in a semi-fictional storytelling format for easier consumption. To put it briefly, it all inevitably ends badly. Following abundant criticism, they split the ending into two versions: a gloomier one and one offering slightly unjustified hope. 2027 is just a convention; it maps out developments roughly until 2035.

Much of what they write may indeed unfold that way, but my opinion is that the world is more complex, and all these complexities and nuances matter, which is why things will ultimately turn out differently. Again, we don't know, and I'm not attempting to predict while they did, so it's easier to criticize. Here's what I agree with — there are reasons for concern, but on the other hand, progress is irreversible, we won't stop it, and we shouldn't try to slow it down but rather prepare for positive scenarios and work on increasing their probability. And if superintelligence can destroy us all — well, it will, and we'll be powerless. Write diaries and blogs; they'll be used as sorse for your virtual copies, your future desendants, so to speak. If we're lucky.

The Era of Experience is about something different. It says there are two very different approaches to AI development: RL (reinforcement learning) and LLM (large language models), and describes the difference. The authors describe a new era in artificial intelligence development, characterized by agents with superhuman abilities, learning primarily through their own experience rather than through analysis of human data.

I think they deliberately exaggerate the difference between these approaches because both directions abundantly borrow tools and approaches from each other, and although there is certainly a difference, one of the main insidious undertones is to show that their approach, RL, is better and more correct, and thereby increase their importance and secure more funding. Understandable why. But it's still interesting, of course.

My general conclusion from all this is that predictors significantly simplify the specifically non-human complexity of how all this develops, and a simplified understanding at a qualitative level will yield different results in the future. That is, everything will be different. And not just "hard to say how," but specifically impossible because the difference will be so great that we currently lack the means in language, culture, and understanding of the world to comprehend it, let alone describe it.

Both publications are less about the technical development of AI and more about socio-philosophical anxieties. As always, to properly handle great complexities, we must have order at home, and unfortatelly there's little order now and it's diminishing. You can look at this however you want – as a mental virus the planet uses to protect itself from parasites, or as human nature, or as anything else. But my own shtick about all this is that we need to try harder to understand the world more deeply and broadly, and this will help, and then we just watch how history unfolds. My allegory is that the universe isn't expanding; it remains as it was, but the level of detail that we perceive increases, which we experience as the expansion of space over time. And AI will still go through LSM (Large Scientific Models – a concept where models would be trained on scientific data rather than just text), where both RL and LLM are components.

I was reflecting on the structure of our universe and stumbled upon a thought. Let's say if time doesn't exist on its own, but is part of the space-time continuum, then we could say exactly the same about temperature too. Temperature is defined as the average kinetic energy of particles — essentially, the speed of their movement or "jiggling" — which inevitably includes a time component. That's how we look at waves, after all. According to modern physics, both time and temperature can be viewed as emergent properties arising from more fundamental processes. In quantum field theory and relativity theory, space and time form a unified structure, while temperature is a statistical description of the energy state of multiple particles. Thus this illustrates the deep interconnection of fundamental physical concepts, which we often perceive as separate aspects of reality.

I'd say it's not space-time but rather space-time-temperature. At least, maybe something else too.

I poked around with our helpful pals GPT and Claude, and they say there's this Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli who apparently works in exactly this direction. Turns out he actively writes books on this topic. Well, it's about time for me to dive into some new popular science books.

For my personal projects, I mostly use Macs, but for work, I need a Windows computer. I currently have a Lenovo ThinkPad P1, and I use it with a Thunderbolt dock and an external monitor. My colleagues at work often ask me to recommend a list of gear to get so they can have a similar setup. So, here we are:

The heart of any workspace setup is a computer. I assume you'd prefer a portable one that you might want to take with you when you travel, and the ability to connect it easily is important. Let's assume you are using a ThinkPad as the main machine. Then we need a dock.

1. The best and most suitable dock is the Lenovo Thunderbolt 4 Dock (and cables) for ThinkPads that draw more than 100W of power. amzn.to/3ZddTP1 It costs more because it's faster, has more ports, and, most importantly, powers the ThinkPad sufficiently, so you do not have to connect a power supply separately.

2. Alternatively, there is a simpler dock: Amazon Basics Thunderbolt 4/USB4 Pro Docking Station. amzn.to/4iacykH This is virtually identical to the one I am using right now, and I have to use it in combination with the power supply.

3. High-end monitor: I think the best monitor to get right now is the Dell UltraSharp U4025QW. amzn.to/3VcyDFy This is 5K, wide, and slightly curved. It's pricey, but it has a Thunderbolt dock integrated into it.

4. Lenovo ThinkPad 230W Slim Tip AC Adapter is the one for our ThinkPad models. amzn.to/4g8pDcr You'd need to use it with options 2 and 5.

5. Simpler monitor option: LG 32UN880-B 32" UltraFine 4K Display. amzn.to/41ft6BJ I have a previous version of this model at home; the colors are just great.

6. Wired keyboard: I like my keyboards to be wired, and I like the TrackPoint. Thus, I prefer the Lenovo ThinkPad Compact USB Keyboard with TrackPoint. amzn.to/3ZbwD1f

7. Good wireless keyboard: Many people like wide, mechanical wireless keyboards. If this is the case for you, I'd recommend the Keychron K17 Max QMK Wireless Custom Mechanical Keyboard. amzn.to/3OyP9f3

8. Simple mouse, from Lenovo: amzn.to/3B87LQc This is a very simple yet great wireless mouse I use in the office.

9. Better mouse: At home, I use the Alienware AW720M mouse. I like it because it's more precise. amzn.to/3Vjx0pl

10. Speakers: I tried many different ones, and I like the type called sound monitors because of the least distorted sound. The model I have at home is PreSonus Eris 3.5 Studio Monitors. amzn.to/3Zyab41 They also have bigger models, but I think for desk usage, this is plenty. Make sure you get some kind of Desktop Speaker Stands like amzn.to/41agc84

11. Portable microphone: I really like lavalier mics because they are good for travel. I have the iRig Lav Lapel model. amzn.to/3Zd3jHF

12. Stationary mic: For my desk setup, I use the Audio-Technica ATR2100x-USB Cardioid Dynamic Microphone. amzn.to/4fQNPAm

13. Webcam: When you work on a big monitor, you often want to have a dedicated webcam that also works for Windows Hello. The Lenovo Performance FHD Webcam is the model I found to work well. I haven't got to ordering it yet, but I want to. amzn.to/3B6UNC4

14. Desk mat is also a useful thing. I have one like this: amzn.to/3B6ioTs

15. Large headphones: My favorite are the beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 80 Ohm Over-Ear Studio Headphones because they are the easiest to wear for a long time. amzn.to/3D1Mh7U

16. Lamp: I think a good desk lamp is a great addition. I have the Xiaomi LED Desk Lamp Bianco because it is dimmable, has a nice light color, can be controlled with iPhone, and looks awesome. amzn.to/4g8rUnZ

Most of this can be used for a desktop computer and a Mac too, but I will try to create more fine-tuned recommendations for such cases soon.