Technology,
written with
taste and restraint.
Breaking down AI, systems, and the internet.
From a learner's perspective — not an expert's.
On camera, thinking out loud.
All videos →Understanding AI from the Ground Up
A clear-eyed walk through how artificial intelligence actually works — without the hype, without the fear. Built for people who want to think with precision.
How Systems Think
Most people see products. Systems thinkers see feedback loops, constraints, and emergence. This video unpacks the invisible architecture underneath.
The Internet as Infrastructure
We treat the internet like a utility. But it is a designed space — with politics, incentives, and architecture baked into every layer.
Long-form thinking.
All essays →What AI Actually Optimizes For
Behind every model is an objective function. Understanding what that function rewards — and punishes — tells you more about AI behavior than any demo ever could.
The Legibility Trap
When systems are designed to be understood, they often become something else entirely. Legibility is a design choice — and it has consequences.
Interfaces as Belief Systems
Every interface encodes assumptions about what users can do, should do, and will do. The interface is not neutral. It is an argument.
On Learning in Public
The honest account of learning something hard in front of other people. Why it matters, what it costs, and what it produces that private learning cannot.
Atomic ideas.
All notes →“AI is not just a tool. It is a layer shaping which decisions get made, who gets to make them, and what counts as a good reason.”
“Interfaces change what people believe is possible. The constraints of a UI are indistinguishable from the constraints of reality, for most users.”
“Clarity is not simplification. Clarity is the result of understanding something well enough to present it without losing the parts that matter.”
“The internet did not just connect people. It connected incentive structures. That is a different thing entirely.”
“Most things called "disruption" are better described as cost-shifting. Someone always absorbs what the system externalizes.”
“Good taste in technology is the ability to see what a tool is optimizing for — before you start using it.”
When something is ready,
you'll get it.
No cadence promises. No performance metrics. Just work — when it's done.
No spam. Unsubscribe any time. No fake subscriber counts.
A mind thinking
in public on the internet.
TrueByte is not written from authority. It is written from curiosity. The goal is not to tell you what to think about technology — it is to think carefully, in public, and see if that process produces something useful.
The focus is AI, systems, internet infrastructure, and how technology shapes behavior. Not because these are trending — because they are consequential and under-explained.
The standard is clarity. Not simplicity. Not brevity for its own sake. Clarity — which is what you get when you understand something well enough to present it without losing the parts that matter.
- Learner mindsetAlways a student. Never performing expertise.
- Clarity over clevernessThe clearest explanation wins.
- TasteDiscrimination is not elitism. It is a standard.
- No hypeIf it sounds exciting, be more suspicious.