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Off the Record

The things that don't fit anywhere else. Ancient civilizations, UFOs, conspiracy, and the questions polite company won't ask.

status: Growing

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certainty: possible

Confidence Rating

The confidence tag expresses how well-supported the content is, or how likely its overall ideas are right. This uses a scale from "impossible" to "certain", based on the Kesselman List of Estimative Words: 1. "certain" 2. "highly likely" 3. "likely" 4. "possible" 5. "unlikely" 6. "highly unlikely" 7. "remote" 8. "impossible" Even ideas that seem unlikely may be worth exploring if their potential impact is significant enough.

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importance: 7/10

Importance Rating

The importance rating distinguishes between trivial topics and those which might change your life. Using a scale from 0-10, content is ranked based on its potential impact on: - the reader - the intended audience - the world at large For example, topics about fundamental research or transformative technologies would rank 9-10, while personal reflections or minor experiments might rank 0-1.
2026The Antikythera Mechanism and What We Still Refuse to AskGrowing0

About Off the Record

Every columnist eventually has to explain why they think their opinions matter. I don't think mine do, particularly. But I think the things I pay attention to are interesting, and attention is the only currency that doesn't inflate. So here's what I noticed today. And yesterday. And probably tomorrow, until I find something better to do with a morning.

2026.10.01 10:00:18 in Naperville, IL
Last visitor from Mitaka, Japan
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