12 JAN 2026

Day 12

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.

Søren Kierkegaard · Journals

A heavy gold neck-ring formed from eight twisted strands, ending in two large hollow decorated terminals with raised ornament and geometric patterns.

I · THE OBJECT · BRITISH MUSEUM

The Great Torc from Snettisham

Iceni · c. 75 BC · Gold alloy

Over a kilogram of gold twisted into rope, terminals cast in place, then buried in a field. Not once, but as part of a pattern of deposits that continued for generations.

Enter lesson 7 MIN

II · THE IDEA · ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Overfitting and Generalisation

Foundations · Learning the pattern, not the examples · Capacity versus generalisation

A neural network with enough parameters can memorise every training example perfectly and still fail on new data. The entire discipline exists to prevent exactly that.

Enter lesson 7 MIN

A small bronze figure of a standing woman, one hand on her hip, the other arm hanging and covered in stacked bangles. The surface is dark and pitted.

III · THE WORK · ART HISTORY

The Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro

Indus Valley Civilisation · c. 2500 BCE · Bronze, lost-wax casting

She stands with one hand on her hip, arm laden with bangles, in a posture so specific it must mean something. We named her a dancer, but the Harappans left no legend to confirm it.

Enter lesson 6 MIN