Tag: Thoughts

Yuki’s Mysterious Bi-Annual Behavior Shifts | April 09 2026, 14:31

Yuki’s “ooooh” mode is activated again (April 7, 2026). It usually lasts a few days in April and October.

Previous occurrences were –

– October 15-20, 2025

– April 11, 2025

– April 1-4, 2024

– February 2, 2023,

– October 27, 2022,

– March 15, 2022

Behavior changes during this period include:

1) He might sing songs for hours on end. For instance, at six in the morning.

2) Suddenly, he likes to go for walks. Usually, he does not. Even though he always has access to the yard, he specifically needs to go on a walk. He might go to the door and knock on it with his paw. Usually, at the word “walk,” he rushes to the third floor.

Now, he looks into your mouth when you’re talking to him. Always seems to be waiting for something, possibly expecting the question of whether he wants to go for a walk. He knocks on the window and the front door with his paw.

And yes, he starts wanting to walk at around six in the morning, and then again soon after returning from a walk.

3) On the walk, he sticks his nose in the grass every five minutes, and it’s hard to pull him away. Usually, this is rare, but now it’s constant.

4) He might sit and watch the sunset for half an hour.

5) Unstable appetite, occasionally. You put meat on top of his food, and he doesn’t even look at it.

Evolution of Understanding: Brain as a Predictive Model | March 18 2026, 13:29

An interesting philosophical thought came to my mind. What if evolution doesn’t exist in us (not in biological life), but in our system of understanding the laws of the world 🙂 That is, the system of understanding the laws of the world adapts itself so that everything more or less matches up. That is, the brain constructs an internal hallucination and constantly suppresses it in order to minimize the error of prediction. And there’s a big question — does our understanding system strive for truth (absolute correspondence to the world) or just for comfort (so that the picture in the head does not fall apart)?

With this approach, there’s a problem that if you don’t look into the future, then at each iteration, the understanding system adjusts its model so that the prediction works, but simultaneously creates problems for the next iteration, because it has to account for them already. As a result, this layered pie accumulates contradictions and constraints to such an extent that each subsequent theory becomes more and more complex and accreted with a multitude of unexplainable gaps. Dark matter, black hole radiation, gravitational waves, and so forth appear to somehow stretch the owl to fit the globe.

But yes, this is related to the question of whether mathematics was discovered or invented.

Exploring the Multifaceted Uses of “Oblong” in English and Russian | March 17 2026, 13:50

Sometimes in English, there are very unusual words that are very difficult to translate into Russian. Here, for example, is the word oblong. As an adjective, it translates as “elongated, oblong,” but in the book, both uses are nouns. Often oblong refers to a face – that is, close to an oval, but oblong is a broader concept that describes any figure having an elongated appearance. My mom bought an oblong tablecloth for her new table.

As a noun, it is also used, and quite frequently (though less so than as an adjective). As a noun, oblong means “a rectangular object or flat figure with unequal adjacent sides.” Rulers are considered elongated items (oblongs). Laptops, tablets, and flat-screen TVs are oblongs of different sizes. A rectangle can be defined as oblong; however, not all elongated figures are rectangles. The same face, for example. Additionally, in mathematics, an oblong number is what in Russian is called a rectangular number (the product of two consecutive numbers. For example, 12). In general, it’s utterly baffling.

The word has been alive since the 15th century, by the way. So, in my book, it appears twice, and both times as nouns. In the first case, Nabokov translated it as “corner,” and in the second – “a small oblong of smooth silver” as “a little piece.”

When Cosines Defy Reality: Humor in the Trenches of Science and War | March 11 2026, 22:00

“Comrades cadets, in wartime the value of cosine can reach 2, and in exceptional cases, when the situation on the fronts demands it, even 3!”

Unmasking the Self-Interest Behind Global Giants and Altruism Claims | March 04 2026, 19:00

I don’t believe in the altruism of giants. When it comes to large states or billionaire corporations, believing that they are guided by “principles of good” and “the common good” appears, in my view, to be either naivety or dangerous self-deception.

The real goal always remains in the shadows. Why? Because if everyone understands the true intentions, achieving them becomes much harder and more expensive. Or more precisely, everyone does understand them; it’s just that the circle of those in the know is small.

Take “liberation wars.” When a dictatorship receives democracy at the point of a bayonet, it’s not about human rights. It’s a way to infiltrate another system and show who’s the “alpha.” There are always specific interests in that state. Simply put, it’s about creating a geopolitical “roof.” In certain cultures, respect is earned only through strength. If you don’t show dominance, you’re not listened to. But if you do show it, you get invited to the “council of elders” and asked to “solve some problems.”

If a corporation suddenly starts caring vehemently about the planet—look for the ulterior motive. Most likely, their old production method has become too costly to maintain and needs changing. But under the guise of “reducing emissions,” modernization is warmly welcomed. Tax breaks, grants, and the chance to earn on government contracts come as bonuses. Ecologically, it’s just a pretty façade for expense optimization.

Often, the initiative does not come from inside the system, but from outside. Example: A luxurious park with benches and ducks is being built in the area. Concern for people? Relatively speaking. The main stakeholders are developers. Apartments in buildings near the park cost 20-30% more and sell twice as fast. Whether it’s a business or a politician, they just support an idea that generates profit (financial or electoral) for specific groups.

Even the holy of holies—science—is not held up only by curiosity and the desire to create a better future for people. A huge part of discoveries is driven by mere vanity. For a scientist, it is important to leave a name for the ages, step higher in the hierarchy, or at least feel like a “rock star” at a profile conference. Personal ambitions move progress more effectively than an abstract desire to help humanity.

When tech giants launch free satellite internet or distribute cheap smartphones in developing countries (Africa, India), it’s presented as a “mission to connect the world.” The real interest—markets in the developed world are saturated. The only way to grow is to create new consumers. By providing “free” access, the corporation hooks people to its ecosystem, gains access to the biometric and behavioral data of millions who are yet not protected by privacy laws. It’s the colonization of the digital space in the 21st century.

The largest philanthropic organizations often spend billions fighting diseases or hunger. The real interest—tax optimization and “soft power.” Transferring assets to a foundation helps avoid inheritance or capital gains taxes. Meanwhile, the founder maintains control over the funds through the board of directors. A bonus is the status of being “untouchable” in the media: criticizing someone who “saves children” amounts to reputational suicide. It’s the best insurance against antitrust investigations.

Mass promotion of “agendas” in Hollywood is often seen as a triumph of liberal values. The real interest—risk minimization and audience expansion. Film studios are huge bureaucratic machines. For them, “diversity” is a checklist that insures against boycotts and scandals (which cost money). Additionally, by adding a character from a specific ethnic group, the studio automatically taps into that group’s local market globally. It’s pure reach arithmetic.

The world is ruled not by kindness, but by interests and hierarchy. And possibly, that’s even good—at least, it’s predictable and logical. This was all about the altruism of giants. But I very much believe in the altruism of individual people.

The Sole Excommunication of the 21st Century: The Case of Monk Nikolai Romanov | February 21 2026, 00:10

I wanted to find out who was excommunicated in the 21st century, and it turned out that there was only one person. That was Nikolai Romanov (schema-monk Sergius). He was the founder, builder, and spiritual father of the Sredneuralsk Women’s Monastery.

Do you know why? He asked the nuns and parishioners, “are you ready to die for Russia?” The investigation saw this as incitement to suicide. He also called the COVID-19 pandemic “non-existent,” cursed those who closed churches for quarantine, opposed vaccination and the “digital camp,” and called for civil disobedience to church and secular authorities.

In November 2021, he was sentenced to 3.5 years in a colony. Later, in 2023, his sentence was increased to 7 years on a second charge (of inciting hatred). In April 2021, court bailiffs completely evicted all residents of the monastery (nuns and laypeople) due to violations of fire safety requirements and urban planning regulations.

The Russian Orthodox Church could not say “he was not with us by that time,” so they simply excommunicated him.

From Camels to Bishops: The Fascinating Evolution of Chess Pieces | February 14 2026, 16:24

It all started with a question – why does the elephant ♗ have this notch? And in general, where is the elephant, and where is the bishop, and is this notch about the elephant or the bishop? Anyway, listen to what I dug up, there’s a lot of interesting stuff here.

Chess originates from India. There, this figure was initially called a camel. And their elephant was what we call a rook – which if you think about it, a rook is basically a boat – or in English, rook, which if you think about it in Persian, it means chariot.

The name “Tura”, which we often hear in colloquial speech, is a pure import from Europe. In French – tour. In Italian – torre. In Latin – turris. All of these mean the same thing: tower. When chess arrived in Europe, knights and monks didn’t really understand what a “battle chariot” was (they were out of fashion by then), but they knew very well what a siege tower was.

So, returning to the elephant and the notch.

The short answer – to distinguish it from a pawn. But there’s a long answer.

When chess came to Europe, the Indian camel was switched to the Catholic bishop, and thus the piece was named bishop. The notch supposedly symbolizes a miter – the high headgear of clergymen. That’s precisely why in English the piece is called bishop. Though to me, it’s just a mouth from the Muppet show.

Interestingly, in French, it’s le fou – the jester. In German, it’s Läufer – runner. In Greek – officer (Αξιωματικός). Why officer? I don’t know, but I dug up that in Chinese chess, xiangqi (象棋), the “elephant” piece is indicated and pronounced as xiàng (象). This character indeed means “elephant.” However, in Chinese history, there was a high state office called xiàng (相), usually translated as “chancellor,” “prime minister,” or “chief minister.” This is a different character, although the pronunciation coincides. Probably, the officer comes from here too.

The chess knight is almost a horse in all languages, only in English and a few others, it’s a knight (although, in German, for example, it’s Springer – jumper, and in Sicily – donkey).

So, in German, there is a jumper and a runner. And a little horse in German is actually a king.

I also learned that there are ready-made solutions for ANY chess endgame in which there are seven or fewer pieces on the board, regardless of the position, the composition of the remaining pieces, or possible moves. This information, known as endgame tables, currently occupies 18.4 terabytes.

from the comments: “The most interesting thing is that this week a multi-year work was completed, and there is now a ready solution for any position with 8 pieces or fewer (7 pieces was already about 12 years ago, but there’s a very big difference)”