7 FEB 2026

Day 38

Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of things.

Epictetus · Enchiridion

A lidded bronze bowl with silver-inlaid decoration showing human figures representing planets and zodiac signs arranged across the surface.

I · THE OBJECT · BRITISH MUSEUM

The Vescovali Bowl

Khurasan · Medieval · Bronze with silver inlay

Luxury tableware from medieval Khurasan carries the seven planets and twelve zodiac signs in silver inlay — astrology rendered as something you could eat from.

Enter lesson 6 MIN

II · THE IDEA · ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Why Attention Gets Expensive

Transformers · Quadratic in sequence length · Memory bandwidth, not arithmetic

Every token must compare itself to every other token. Double the length and you quadruple the work — not just in operations, but in the memory traffic that often costs more.

Enter lesson 6 MIN

An octagonal building with a large golden dome, surrounded by blue and white ceramic tilework, set on a raised platform with arched arcades below.

III · THE WORK · ART HISTORY

The Dome of the Rock

691 CE · Jerusalem, Temple Mount · Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik

An octagonal shrine completed in 691, carrying the first inscriptions to proclaim Islam and Muhammad in architecture, wrapped around a stone claimed by three religions.

Enter lesson 7 MIN