Michiel Duvekot
@duvekot.bsky.social
#kakistographs
from Ancient Greek κάκιστος (kákistos, 'worst')
from Ancient Greek κάκιστος (kákistos, 'worst')
There was never any need to translate the term. The word is the same in French and English. Grain, as Bertin used it, referred to the variable roughness of paper that results in varying levels of light/dark. We still still call that paper grain.
November 12, 2025 at 4:15 PM
There was never any need to translate the term. The word is the same in French and English. Grain, as Bertin used it, referred to the variable roughness of paper that results in varying levels of light/dark. We still still call that paper grain.
Interesting. I think that perhaps in relation to agentic AI we (people) are not so much the tool as we are a Bestand, a resource to be extracted and processed by an un-Ding that acts upon the world without existing in it.
November 7, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Interesting. I think that perhaps in relation to agentic AI we (people) are not so much the tool as we are a Bestand, a resource to be extracted and processed by an un-Ding that acts upon the world without existing in it.
The Dutch anthem doesn't start with "A". It is an acrostic: the first words of the first six stanzas are "Wilhelmus", "In", "Lijdt" "Lijf", "Edel" and "Mijn": WILLEM
October 25, 2025 at 4:33 PM
The Dutch anthem doesn't start with "A". It is an acrostic: the first words of the first six stanzas are "Wilhelmus", "In", "Lijdt" "Lijf", "Edel" and "Mijn": WILLEM
fixed it for you
September 28, 2025 at 11:25 PM
fixed it for you
If you thought that was bad, I'll give you this beauty from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' 2024 report on cosmetic surgery trends that the WSJ cites:
September 25, 2025 at 3:52 PM
If you thought that was bad, I'll give you this beauty from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' 2024 report on cosmetic surgery trends that the WSJ cites:
Betteridge’s Law of Headlines
September 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Betteridge’s Law of Headlines
Deontic vs epistemic modalities?
September 25, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Deontic vs epistemic modalities?
You’re welcome, but wouldn’t you want a better version?
September 19, 2025 at 9:36 AM
You’re welcome, but wouldn’t you want a better version?
The patterns are easier to see in a small multiple
September 18, 2025 at 9:32 PM
The patterns are easier to see in a small multiple
I read the second largest first. The largest is too big and somehow falls apart. It only works if I zoom out so much that the smallest text becomes illegible.
September 6, 2025 at 1:15 PM
I read the second largest first. The largest is too big and somehow falls apart. It only works if I zoom out so much that the smallest text becomes illegible.
"De plank misslaan" is een verhaspeling van "de (loop)plank mis zijn" en "de bal misslaan". 🤦
August 19, 2025 at 8:13 PM
"De plank misslaan" is een verhaspeling van "de (loop)plank mis zijn" en "de bal misslaan". 🤦
People's motives for doing so become much clearer if you think of talking to an LLM as talking to yourself.
August 8, 2025 at 2:20 PM
People's motives for doing so become much clearer if you think of talking to an LLM as talking to yourself.
Rephrased as testable hypothesis: Charts that maximize social proximity between maker and viewer while minimizing aesthetic intimidation will outperform technically superior charts in engagement metrics, provided they affirm the viewer's biases and offer an insight that is retrospectively obvious.
August 6, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Rephrased as testable hypothesis: Charts that maximize social proximity between maker and viewer while minimizing aesthetic intimidation will outperform technically superior charts in engagement metrics, provided they affirm the viewer's biases and offer an insight that is retrospectively obvious.
My aesthetic theory of crap: The viewer perceives a shitty chart as something they could have made, but didn't, and the reasserts their competence by sharing it. If a chart is really good, they can't do that. Those get shared only by people who –think– they're as competent as the creator.
August 6, 2025 at 2:35 PM
My aesthetic theory of crap: The viewer perceives a shitty chart as something they could have made, but didn't, and the reasserts their competence by sharing it. If a chart is really good, they can't do that. Those get shared only by people who –think– they're as competent as the creator.
Hagan Blix, in Why we fear AI has been making a similar argument.
August 5, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Hagan Blix, in Why we fear AI has been making a similar argument.
That's a bit like asking if yellow is red or green.
July 26, 2025 at 2:39 AM
That's a bit like asking if yellow is red or green.
What it means? That's easy: You know have permission to finally cancel your subscription to the Washington Post.
July 19, 2025 at 3:28 PM
What it means? That's easy: You know have permission to finally cancel your subscription to the Washington Post.
I have an alt email address that's a very close match for the personal email address of some military dude who kept receiving confidential work emails with threatening footers about how much of a crime it was to disclose their content to unauthorized personnel. Took 'em a while to figure that out.
July 18, 2025 at 7:36 PM
I have an alt email address that's a very close match for the personal email address of some military dude who kept receiving confidential work emails with threatening footers about how much of a crime it was to disclose their content to unauthorized personnel. Took 'em a while to figure that out.
But thanks to him, every weekday is a holiday!
July 16, 2025 at 2:24 PM
But thanks to him, every weekday is a holiday!