I · THE OBJECT · BRITISH MUSEUM
Seated Luohan from Yixian
A clay figure the size of a living monk, found in a cave south of Beijing in the early twentieth century, then sold and scattered — ten are known, others may survive.
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18 APR 2026
Day 108
The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know.
II · THE IDEA · ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Mechanistic Probes for Circuit Discovery
A network computes along many paths at once. Mechanistic probes intervene on chosen components to test which subgraphs actually carry a behaviour, moving from correlation toward causal claim.
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Written before source checking was enforced · facts in this lesson are unverified
III · THE WORK · ART HISTORY
The Death of Socrates
In 1787 Jacques-Louis David staged Socrates’ last hour as a lesson in composure: oil on canvas, neoclassical clarity, and a cup of hemlock held at the centre of the room.
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