7 APR 2026

Day 97

The rat that has but one hole is quickly taken.

George Herbert · Outlandish Proverbs

A ceramic tile densely patterned with stylised tulips and carnations in cobalt blue, turquoise, emerald green, and a vivid raised red, all under a clear glaze on a white ground.

I · THE OBJECT · BRITISH MUSEUM

Iznik Pottery

İznik, Anatolia · Late 15th–17th century · Underglaze-painted fritware

For half a century Ottoman potters made a red so thick it rose above the glaze surface. Then the recipe was lost, and no kiln has matched it since.

Enter lesson 7 MIN

II · THE IDEA · ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Evaluating Models

Systems and judgement · Hendrycks et al., MMLU (2021) · Zheng et al., MT-Bench (2023)

A model scores ninety-two per cent on a published test. That number sits atop a leaderboard, drives adoption decisions, and hides at least three distinct ways the measurement can mislead.

Enter lesson 7 MIN

A large white marble mausoleum with a central bulbous dome, four smaller domes at the corners, and four tall minarets. The façade features a large arched portal with calligraphic decoration, and the building is reflected in a long rectangular pool in the foreground.

III · THE WORK · ART HISTORY

The Taj Mahal

1631–1648 · Marble with pietra dura inlay · 73 metres (239 ft 6 in)

The calligraphy grows taller as it climbs the façade, the minarets tilt away from the dome, and the inlay flowers are cut from stone so hard they still shine. Engineering disguised as serenity.

Enter lesson 7 MIN