Why this blog?
TL;DRThe main reason for me to write this blog is just to maintain some motivation and high expectations while satisfying my curiosity.
Table of content
# The Target
Before answering the “why?” let’s discuss the “whom for?”.
As a former teacher in both private tutoring and high school, I felt the need for an audience to share my knowledge, thoughts and understandings. Yet the best audience you could dream of lies here, on the web. And so, two years ago (during my first AI research internship), I thought of starting a podcast or a blog about AI subjects.
I never took the fall since I’ve never felt legitimate enough to talk about the recent technological advancements (which this blog will be about). It was not quite an impostor syndrome but rather the feeling I hadn’t collected the proper badge yet.
Only recently did I overcome this desperate need for approval and validation. I did collect some badges along the way, but I think there is no such thing as the “proper badge”. I, therefore, decided to write only for myself, considering any subject that would pique my curiosity.
# The Goal
The blog is for me, right, but what do I need it for? I sometimes need to clarify my thoughts; then, writing is the way to go. I love to learn and discover new subjects, so why not report and popularise what I learned to ensure I learned them well? I often tend to procrastinate in my projects, so “forcing” me with a timeline might reduce latency.
So why not just keep my writing in Obsidian (where I craft ideas from mind to words)? Obviously, making it public increases my expectations of its realisation and frequency.
Should any of my future posts help at least one person, I would consider the goal of this blog achieved, Yet I won’t stop since the more, the better. I will be opening some channels to make it as helpful as possible.
# The Shape
Stories
These will be the main content of this blog, representing the easiest way for me to put ideas into words.
I expect them to be raw-ish content, improving over edits and the years. Obviously, I hope the quality will improve as I write more of them.
I don’t want to spend too much time on edits (unless for typos or changes of mind). I fear that it would drastically reduce the delivery amount, frequency and authenticity to the point that Somme will never come out.
Projects
The main idea of the projects would be for me to create simple experiments or solutions. I expect their frequency to be much lower than for the stories.
As a perfectionist (in some ways), I tend to keep personal projects for myself. So, in the same line as with stories, I am going to try a quick and dirty approach. Obviously, I’ll attach some care to readability, maintainability and evolution, but maybe less than I used to.
Articles
A place to share my understanding of recent articles, technology or even philosophical ideas. I expect many formats, as discussions might be a set of quick opinionated claims and hot takes. In comparison, explanations might try to focus on explaining some of the critical tweaks and contributions of the paper. The latter format might be way longer and will necessarily demand more time.
My starting point would be to convert my reading notes into a well-versed explanation or discussion.
# Final Note
Disclaimer
I am engaged in trying to distinguish facts from experience and from opinions. Using disclaimers, labelling and references. But keep in mind that this blog should not serve as a truth holder. I always encourage you to double-check and cross-reference my explanations or affirmations.
A Right to Be Wrong
Even if I am writing public content, I have a right to be wrong. I have a duty to cite previous and inspirational work. I have incentives to make the content as sharp and accurate as possible. Yet mistakes happen!
BugObviously, that’s not what this blog is for. So, in the event that you spot an error or a typo, feel free to drop an email at yoann.poupar@ens-lyon.org.