11 MAR 2026

Day 70

Premature optimization is the root of all evil.

Donald Knuth · Structured Programming with go to Statements

A seated stone bodhisattva carved in grey andesite, wearing an elaborate crown and jewellery, with one leg pendant and the other drawn up, in a posture of royal ease.

I · THE OBJECT · BRITISH MUSEUM

Javanese Bodhisattva Sculpture

Javanese · 9th century · Andesite stone

Carved when Borobudur was new, this figure shows how Indian Buddhist forms took on a distinctly Javanese stillness — and then vanished from Java for five hundred years.

Enter lesson 6 MIN

II · THE IDEA · ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Distillation

Reasoning and architecture · 2015, Hinton et al. · Speed versus capability

A compact model learns not from raw data but from another model's predictions. It runs faster and fits on weaker hardware, yet the performance gap remains stubborn.

Enter lesson 7 MIN

An interior courtyard with a long rectangular pool of still water reflecting arched porticos and a square tower. The walls are decorated with intricate geometric tile work and carved stucco above.

III · THE WORK · ART HISTORY

The Alhambra

1239 · palace and fortress complex · Granada, Spain

A phrase meaning 'there is no victor but God' appears thousands of times on these walls. The repetition is not devotional excess but a political claim, carved into plaster and reflected in standing water.

Enter lesson 7 MIN