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The Daily Triptych066 / 365

7 MAR 2026

Day 66

One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.

Simone de Beauvoir · The Second Sex
A small funerary figurine in the form of a mummified human figure, inscribed with hieroglyphs identifying it as a shabti for King Taharqa.

I · THE OBJECT · BRITISH MUSEUM

Shabti of King Taharqa

Kingdom of Kush · 690–664 BC · Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt

For nearly a century, Egypt's throne sat in Napata, seven hundred kilometres up the Nile. Taharqa ruled both kingdoms, built in both, and was buried as a Kushite king.

Enter lesson 6 MIN

II · THE IDEA · ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Test-Time Compute

Reasoning and architecture · Sampling and decoding · Snell et al., 2024

Training larger models isn't the only path to better answers. Spending more compute at runtime—generating multiple attempts, checking steps, searching possibilities—can match or exceed gains from adding parameters.

Enter lesson 6 MIN
A painted interior wall showing multiple figures in elaborate headdresses and regalia. Captives sit on stepped levels below standing lords. The dominant colour is a vivid turquoise blue.

III · THE WORK · ART HISTORY

The Bonampak Murals

Maya civilization · Late Classic period, c. 580–800 CE · Fresco on lime plaster

A court ceremony, a jungle battle, prisoners on a pyramid. The murals at Bonampak recorded names, dates and violence—and dismantled the idea that the Maya were astronomers who never made war.

Enter lesson 7 MIN