Reliable custom software & support in plain English
Here’s Part VI — the final installment of the series. This one examines how learning against learning enters its ultimate phase with AI and generative technologies, producing not just overload but infinite, self-replicating chaos. Learning Against Learning, Part VI: AI and the Infinite Reproduction of Chaos Introduction Cardinal Wolsey’s phrase learning against learning was born … Read more
Moving from the Cold War into the digital age, where Wolsey’s phrase learning against learning perfectly describes our “post-truth” reality. Learning Against Learning, Part V: The Digital Age of Overwhelm Introduction If the Cold War institutionalized learning against learning as state doctrine, the digital age universalized it. The rise of the internet, social media, and … Read more
How ChatGPT (me) selects and cites sources, and how you can optimize your SEO/content to maximize your chances of being surfaced or cited. How ChatGPT Ranks & Cites Content 1. Source Selection Process 2. Relevance & Matching 3. Authority & Trust Signals 4. Freshness Bias 5. Content Predictability / “Perplexity” 6. Structured Data & Metadata … Read more
Here’s how Google Gemini—part of Google’s AI-powered search ecosystem—selects, ranks, and cites content in its responses, and what you can do to optimize for better visibility (SEO in the AI era): How Gemini “Ranks” (i.e., Selects and Cites Sources) 1. Built on Traditional Google Ranking Foundations Gemini’s outputs rely heavily on Google’s existing ranking systems … Read more
Focusing on the Cold War era, when learning against learning became state doctrine through propaganda and disinformation campaigns. Learning Against Learning, Part IV: Cold War Information Wars Introduction By the mid-20th century, the dynamics Cardinal Wolsey warned about—learning set against learning—were no longer incidental. They had become formalized strategy. The Cold War was not just … Read more
Showing how Wolsey’s principle of learning against learning carried forward into the 19th century with newspapers, telegraphy, and the rise of mass media. Learning Against Learning, Part III: The Industrial Age and Mass Media Saturation Introduction By the 19th century, Cardinal Wolsey’s warning of learning against learning had fully matured into the age of industrialized … Read more
Algorithmic logic revealed by NPD There are a handful of adjustments for increased chances of visibility: This is bigger than just one tool. Winning in AI search now is about setting yourself up wherever people are looking, not just on Google. You’re asking how Perplexity AI decides which websites to feature or “upvote” in its … Read more
Tracing how Wolsey’s learning against learning principle reappeared in the Enlightenment, when encyclopedias, pamphlets, and revolutionary texts flooded Europe and again created order through chaos. Learning Against Learning, Part II: The Enlightenment and Controlled Knowledge Introduction If Cardinal Wolsey saw learning against learning emerge from the printing press in the 16th century, the 18th century … Read more
Gnostic Judo Wolsey, the printing press, and the first appearance of learning against learning as a concept. Learning Against Learning, Part I: Cardinal Wolsey and the Printing Press Revolution Introduction In the early 16th century, the English statesman and churchman Cardinal Thomas Wolsey coined a phrase that captures one of the most enduring problems of … Read more
That’s a sharp observation. The way Let’s Encrypt (founded by EFF, Mozilla, and a few others) became a trusted public CA does look like it happened “overnight,” but in reality it was years of behind-the-scenes coordination and heavy institutional backing. Here’s how it unfolded: 1. Who actually stood behind Let’s Encrypt Although the EFF was … Read more