Chris Colohan
@colohan.com
Neal Stephenson came to visit my school shortly after writing Cryptonomicon. Some grad students (me included) took him to lunch. Once seated, he asked everyone "what do you do?"
I'll never forget the look of genuine terror in his eyes when my girlfriend said "I'm getting a PhD in cryptography".
I'll never forget the look of genuine terror in his eyes when my girlfriend said "I'm getting a PhD in cryptography".
November 7, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Neal Stephenson came to visit my school shortly after writing Cryptonomicon. Some grad students (me included) took him to lunch. Once seated, he asked everyone "what do you do?"
I'll never forget the look of genuine terror in his eyes when my girlfriend said "I'm getting a PhD in cryptography".
I'll never forget the look of genuine terror in his eyes when my girlfriend said "I'm getting a PhD in cryptography".
One of the larger and more capable planes that can land at Palo Alto Airport, yes. (The other such plane you often see there is the Piaggio Avanti.)
October 27, 2025 at 12:30 AM
One of the larger and more capable planes that can land at Palo Alto Airport, yes. (The other such plane you often see there is the Piaggio Avanti.)
Did you create it? Because it is one of the best puns I've heard in a very long time.
October 9, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Did you create it? Because it is one of the best puns I've heard in a very long time.
Once the EAS runs out of money, will flights to small town America just stop? Or will airlines just jack up prices, or continue to fly those routes based on IOUs?
October 6, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Once the EAS runs out of money, will flights to small town America just stop? Or will airlines just jack up prices, or continue to fly those routes based on IOUs?
Huh. This social media marketing you are doing here seems to work. Just bought your new book as a result of reading this. Thank you!
September 20, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Huh. This social media marketing you are doing here seems to work. Just bought your new book as a result of reading this. Thank you!
Challenge mode. How do you use Cameo without asking something from a celeb?
August 10, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Challenge mode. How do you use Cameo without asking something from a celeb?
I read this book (and the rest of the series) in the past couple of months.
It is really really good. If you've not read it yet, now's a great time!
It is really really good. If you've not read it yet, now's a great time!
August 7, 2025 at 8:20 PM
I read this book (and the rest of the series) in the past couple of months.
It is really really good. If you've not read it yet, now's a great time!
It is really really good. If you've not read it yet, now's a great time!
10/10. One of the tells not mentioned in this article is depth of field. Whenever a shallow depth of field is used, I look for other objects which are the same distance from the camera as the subject and see if they are in focus. If not, then I guess it is AI.
May 27, 2025 at 2:48 PM
10/10. One of the tells not mentioned in this article is depth of field. Whenever a shallow depth of field is used, I look for other objects which are the same distance from the camera as the subject and see if they are in focus. If not, then I guess it is AI.
This raises an important question: what would happen to the US economy if 21 million million immigrants were actually to arrive on our shores over the course of one presidency?
May 26, 2025 at 3:28 PM
This raises an important question: what would happen to the US economy if 21 million million immigrants were actually to arrive on our shores over the course of one presidency?
I read Starter Villain a couple of weeks ago -- it was quite good, thank you for that!
May 1, 2025 at 2:30 PM
I read Starter Villain a couple of weeks ago -- it was quite good, thank you for that!
Me too, so I rode my bike to downtown Palo Alto this morning and found that all the buttons were powered down.
April 13, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Me too, so I rode my bike to downtown Palo Alto this morning and found that all the buttons were powered down.
One of many ways Bob Mende was awesome...
April 9, 2025 at 7:26 PM
One of many ways Bob Mende was awesome...
...and you can't turn it on until after the car boots up, and you dismiss a warning screen the lawyers put there. ...and the button on that warning screen annoys you because it is just small enough for you to barely miss when you jab at it to make it go away.
March 14, 2025 at 4:38 PM
...and you can't turn it on until after the car boots up, and you dismiss a warning screen the lawyers put there. ...and the button on that warning screen annoys you because it is just small enough for you to barely miss when you jab at it to make it go away.
I was the one who answered the door, to two very nice folks wearing suits and flashing badges while saying "we're with the FBI, is Lea Kissner there?"
At which point, I had to figure out whether to interrupt Lea during the job interview I knew Lea was in. Was a tough call.
At which point, I had to figure out whether to interrupt Lea during the job interview I knew Lea was in. Was a tough call.
December 28, 2024 at 2:08 AM
I was the one who answered the door, to two very nice folks wearing suits and flashing badges while saying "we're with the FBI, is Lea Kissner there?"
At which point, I had to figure out whether to interrupt Lea during the job interview I knew Lea was in. Was a tough call.
At which point, I had to figure out whether to interrupt Lea during the job interview I knew Lea was in. Was a tough call.
Wait, you are guest starring on NPR's Planet Money?
November 20, 2023 at 2:10 AM
Wait, you are guest starring on NPR's Planet Money?