UnderStorey
  • Home
  • About
  • Archive
  • Tags
  • Topics
  • Essays
  • Notes
  • Reading
  • Research

UnderStorey

On ideas, evidence, and the patience to think slowly.

  • November 18, 2025
    essays research

    On Writing for a Future Self: Why Long-Form Notes Outlast Their Authors

    The act of writing, taken seriously, is an act of epistemic humility. You are admitting that your present mind is finite, that memory degrades, and that future-you will need the landmarks you leave behind today.

    Read essay →
  • October 31, 2025
    statistics forecasting

    Calibration, Brier Scores, and the Discipline of Not Being Wrong Confidently

    A well-calibrated forecaster who says "70% chance" is right about 70% of the time on such predictions. Most people are not well-calibrated. Examining the methods and psychology behind building honest confidence estimates.

    Read essay →
  • September 14, 2025
    reading

    Notes on How to Read a Book, Five Decades Later

    Adler and Van Doren's 1940 classic was reissued in 1972. Its central thesis — that most people stop reading actively the moment school ends — still holds. My annotations from a recent re-read, with commentary on what has aged well.

    Read essay →
  • August 2, 2025
    notes productivity

    The Unreasonable Effectiveness of a Plain-Text Zettelkasten

    I have used plain Markdown files, interlinked with [[wiki-style]] brackets, as my primary knowledge store for three years. This is an honest account of what has worked, what has not, and why the tool matters far less than the habit.

    Read essay →
  • June 20, 2025
    philosophy

    Epistemic Courage and the Willingness to Be Publicly Wrong

    Changing your mind publicly is socially costly. This is a bad equilibrium for truth-seeking communities. Examining the incentive structures that punish intellectual honesty — and what individuals can do about it regardless.

    Read essay →
© 2025 UnderStorey Written in plain HTML · No trackers