If you’re wondering what, exactly, you might gain access to if you subscribe to Sparky’s List, here’s the newsletter that went out this week with an advance peek at the Large Language Muddle cartoon. This one’s probably wonkier than usual, but it gives you a general idea of how I try to provide background notes and a look at my work process, and also just throw in random stuff of interest.
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Okay friends, buckle up! This week’s newsletter is mostly a deep dive into the LLM weeds. If that stuff bores you, please be sure to scroll down to the bottom, where there are some breaking updates from the world of Tomorrow.
I’ve been told that one of my skills as a cartoonist is the ability to condense complicated subjects into a coherent, comic-sized summary. I’d like to believe it’s true, but boy did this week’s cartoon put that to the test. It took me almost three full days to write the text for this cartoon (I can usually do it in one, two at the most), going through endless drafts, figuring out the bare minimum of necessary exposition, and trying to make sure I was properly understanding the analysis of people far more informed on the topic than myself. (Specifically, Cory Doctorow, Ed Zitron, and Cal Newport.)
Continue reading “A sample of the newsletter”
