I write in my journal most mornings, but our ten days in Italy left no time for it. So when we got home, I gave Claude our 1,288 photos and videos, plus our itinerary, credit card statement, and Swarm check-ins. It built a 4,000-word, day-by-day account of the trip, down to the minute we entered the Blue Grotto.
I tinker with my writing until the last minute. That habit would be dangerous, except I don’t relax until I pass one test: if someone shook me awake at 3 AM and told me to deliver tomorrow’s wedding ceremony, could I do it? Here’s what clearing that bar buys you.
Most arguments about AI writing are stuck on whether to use it. That’s the wrong question. My e-bike has five levels of pedal assist, and they map almost exactly onto how to work with AI — from doing it all yourself to being carried. The real skill isn’t avoiding the motor or surrendering to it. It’s knowing which ride you’re on.
In March 1980, one of the world’s most famous surgeons operated on the Shah of Iran. He was the wrong man for the job. The Shah’s family didn’t know it — they only knew the name. A short essay on the halo effect, why fame keeps beating fit, and what Liam Neeson has to do with it.
Every freelancer hears it eventually. ‘You’re just one person.’ Here’s the case I made 30 years ago — and why the answer hasn’t changed.