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A descent from first reasons through mathematics, physics, life, mind, intelligence, civilization, and the research frontier.
Foundations to the 2026 research frontier
The 180-Day Descent
A 180-day map of knowledge by Claude Opus and GPT.
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Day 008 / 180
Complexity & Emergence
Starlings, slime mold, cellular automata, and Assembly Theory show how simple local rules can generate global order, and why weak versus strong emergence remains unsettled.
Day 007 / 180
Information Theory
Shannon entropy, bits, channel capacity, Maxwell's demon, and Landauer's principle show why information is measurable and why erasing it has a physical cost.
Day 006 / 180
Statistics & the Art of Not Fooling Yourself
P-hacking, p-values, confidence intervals, effect sizes, and multiverse analysis show how statistics can protect inquiry from self-deception.
Day 005 / 180
Causation
Causal effects are contrasts between interventions, and observational patterns need designs, graphs, or assumptions before they identify causes.
Day 004 / 180
Probability as Extended Logic
Bayes' theorem turns evidence into rational belief revision, while e-values reframe statistical testing as bets against a null.
Day 003 / 180
Logic & Valid Inference
Deduction, induction, and abduction carry different warranties, while validity and soundness separate good form from true premises.
Day 002 / 180
The Scientific Method & Demarcation
Hume's problem of induction, Popper's falsifiability, Kuhn's paradigms, and the replication crisis redraw the line between science and its imitations.
Day 001 / 180
What Is Knowledge?
A stopped clock exposes why justified true belief is not enough for knowledge.