Verschlimmbesserung: When Software Updates Make Things Worse
Productivity
Why modern software updates keep breaking good features and cramming unwanted AI tools, and how we can regain control of our digital tools.
Notes on how things connect.
Essays on technology, science, and the examined life — by Phạm Kỷ Nguyên, in tiếng Việt and English. No feed, no algorithm.
Stop Guessing Connection Pool Size: Fix DB Bottlenecks
Learn why oversized database connection pools ruin performance, and how to calculate the optimal pool size for high-throughput microservices.
Architecture
Small Models Have Arrived: The Engine of Consumer AI
Frontier models get the headlines, but hyper-efficient small models are fixing unit economics and driving real-world AI software adoption.
AI
The Dry Glue Secret: How Geckos Walk on Glass
Discover how geckos defy gravity and sprint up polished glass without glue, using millions of nano-hairs and subtle Van der Waals forces.
Biology
Why Standard VMs Can No Longer Contain AI Agents
Trail of Bits tested GPT-5.6-Cyber inside QEMU VMs. The AI agent found zero-days and escaped three times, proving standard sandboxes are no longer safe.
AI
The Art of Enough: Finding Peace in a Restless World
Discover how Stoic and Eastern wisdom on 'enough' can help us break free from endless pursuit and find lasting peace in a restless world.
Mindfulness
AI Paints with Code: Why Vector Generation Beats Pixels
Discover how training LLMs to generate vector code with RL is revolutionizing AI graphic design, switching from pixel diffusion to scalable SVG code.
AI
Motion vs Action: Stop Preparing and Start Doing
Learn how to spot the difference between motion and action, stop over-preparing, and take concrete steps toward real productivity today.
Action
Beyond Prompts: How LLMs Hack Their Own Inference Engines
AI security is shifting from prompt injection to inference engine exploits, where model outputs trigger code execution on host machines.
AI Security
Stop Cache Stampede: Protect Your DB from Thundering Herd
Learn how to prevent cache stampedes and the thundering herd problem using mutex locks, stale-while-revalidate, and XFetch to safeguard your database.
Backend
Why the Smartest AI Models Are Struggling to Sell
Frontier AI models cost 10x more for a tiny performance gain. Discover why enterprises are shifting toward model routing and cheaper LLMs.
AI
Why Wine Cries: The Physics Behind Wine Tears
Ever wondered why wine forms dripping tears inside a glass? Discover the Marangoni effect and how liquids climb walls against gravity.
Curiosity
Why Your Local LLM Feels Dumber Than Cloud APIs
Why do local LLMs like Ollama underperform compared to ChatGPT? Discover the role of agent orchestration, prompt templates, quantization, and context limits.
AI
The Inner Citadel: Finding Refuge Within Yourself
Explore Marcus Aurelius' Stoic concept of the Inner Citadel—a quiet sanctuary of calm and clarity within your own mind amidst outer chaos.
Inner Peace
The AI Learning Paradox: High Grades, Empty Minds
A study of 26,000 students shows AI boosts homework grades but drops exam scores by 20%. Here is why cognitive offloading threatens genuine mastery.
AI
The Subtraction List: Stop Adding, Start Eliminating
Boost your productivity not by adding more habits, but by eliminating non-essential tasks. Here is how to build a practical Subtraction List.
Focus
Why Small Software Teams No Longer Exist
Even solo developers now manage the complexity and output of large engineering orgs. Here is why the definition of a small team has changed forever.
AI
Stop Offset Pagination: Switch to Cursor Pagination
Learn why OFFSET pagination causes slow database queries and data drift, and how to implement fast, scalable cursor-based pagination in your REST APIs.
API Design
Vibe-Coding Drivers: How AI Rescues Abandoned Hardware
How developers use AI agents to reverse-engineer protocols and vibe-code macOS drivers for abandoned hardware like Drobo, preventing e-waste.
AI
Why Water Droplets Skate Across Hot Pans
Discover the Leidenfrost effect: why water droplets hover and skid on hot pans instead of instantly evaporating, explained with everyday science.
Curiosity