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My Current Favorites [September 2026]: Flash cards, Therapy, AI
This month, I went on vacation for two weeks so I didn’t have time to read. I’ll just share two or three things I found interesting with you. I recently ran into a friend again who has two children so we talked a lot about kids’ education. The first idea is about using spaced repetition with children. The show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? (where adults are asked questions that are supposed to be easy for an elementary school student, since they just learned them in class, and where adults often fail) illustrates this phenomenon well: a large part of our school knowledge only passes through short-term memory.…
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[Reflection] #41: The Destruction of Books Is a Background Activity
The news that Anthropic would buy millions of books to slice off their spines and scan the contents, before throwing the whole book away, made the rounds worldwide. People are horrified and keep bringing up 1984, Fahrenheit 451. However, for each title, we’re talking abouta single copy sacrificed among others still circulating in the world, not an attempt to make a work disappear by buying up all its copies. That said, for rare or out-of-print titles of which only a few known copies remain, sacrificing “a single copy” can, in practice, amount to destroying one of the last survivors of an edition. But we don’t know whether any rare copies…
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New Airbnb in Arue, Whales & Moray Eel
After our two weeks of vacation in paradise, it’s already time to head back to Tahiti. JB never thought he’d say this, but he’s “sad to be coming back to Tahiti.” Whereas before, for us, Tahiti = paradise. After visiting the smaller islands, it’s easier to understand why Polynesians find Tahiti as awful as Paris (too many people, too much pollution, too much noise). The ferry ride is very long (departure at 9:30 am, arrival at 4 pm). New Airbnb in Arue On top of that, we’re in a new Airbnb in Tahiti, so the next day (Sunday), we have to go pick up the suitcases left at JB’s colleague’s…
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3 nights in Taha’a: Vanilla Island, Manta Ray, Coral Garden – French Polynesia Road Trip (4/4)
We were supposed to visit Taha’a then Bora Bora, but due to my complicated calculations, I preferred to put Bora Bora before Taha’a. That said, after snorkeling in Bora Bora, I wonder how Taha’a can beat Bora Bora in experiences since the island is so tiny. Fate works in mysterious ways because we’re ending our vacation with the best of the best. Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal If it were up to me, I would have stayed longer in Bora Bora but accommodation is still very expensive and considering the ferry schedules, if we stayed too long in Bora, we would have had only…
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3 nights in Bora Bora: Manta Ray, Overwater Bungalow & Matira Beach – French Polynesia Road Trip (3/4)
The long-awaited day has arrived: today we’re going to Bora Bora, the dream destination. The name Bora Bora evokes the same things in the imagination as the Maldives or the Seychelles – it’s synonymous with paradise, the end of the world, destinations for the rich, overwater bungalows, 5-star hotels… Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal One of my dreams is to spend at least one night in an overwater bungalow. And Bora Bora = Bungalows (in my imagination). Thanks to miles American Express, we could have treated ourselves to a night in a bungalow at Westin Bora Bora (Booking link) or St Regis Bora Bora…
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4 nights in Huahine: Dolphins & the Sweet Life – French Polynesia Road Trip (2/4)
On the way to Raiatea, the ferry first stopped at Huahine. Seeing its white sand beach and shades of blue, we slightly regretted not starting our vacation in incredible Huahine, but in the end it worked out better that way because, given the ferry schedule, going in this direction lets us spend 4 nights in Huahine instead of 3. This travel journal is part of our French Polynesia Road Trip series, read part 1 first Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal JB finds us an airbnb / family guesthouse on the waterfront for €160 a night. But reading the listing carefully, I discover the owner…
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3 nights in Raiatea: Marae and Vanilla – French Polynesia Road Trip (1/4)
Since our arrival in Tahiti in April 2026, this is only the second time we have gone on vacation. This time, we’re heading to the Leeward Islands, accessible by ferry from Tahiti. So our itinerary has to be built around the ferry schedule. Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal Transport I didn’t overthink it, I looked at the unlimited pass (for 30 days) fromApetahi Express to plan my itinerary. This pass costs 24,000 XPF per person (€201). That’s still very affordable compared to flying. To save even more, we’re bringing our scooter with us to get around the islands since there’s no public transport, even…
