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John West
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John West

@JohnWest

Now: computational journalism @wsj, formerly @cortico, @medialab, and @qz. Book: *Lessons and Carols*, @eerdmansbooks (2023).

874 Following1.3K Followers579 Posts
  1. John West@JohnWest
    I'm love with this Miles Klee essay at WIRED, begging that we "please let the internet die," bouncing off my book, The Internet Will Die, and So Will You—which he calls, flatteringly, a "discerning treatise" with an "absolutist title." I feel deeply seen.
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  3. John West@JohnWest
    My book was just talked about next to Annie Dillard (who sadly passed recently). She is an absolute icon, and I wish I could write *more* like her. Here's the review: Here's my book:
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  4. John West@JohnWest
    The first review of THE INTERNET WILL DIE, AND SO WILL YOU is out: "His wide-ranging meditations, which touch on everything from Bach to TikTok, will appeal to readers who want to search for meaning rather than scroll for distraction."
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  6. John West@JohnWest
    John West
    RT @jack_whitcomb_: on Amazon I have discovered a book called "Infinite Jeffs" which is apparently a copy of Infinite Jest where each word has been replaced with the word "Jeff"
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  7. John West@JohnWest
    As the pandemic dragged on, I (a little self-consciously) read the Psalms. I was raising a baby, so each seemed to say something about that quotidian miracle when we make families out of only feelings and time. I'm pumped to say that turned into THE PSALMIST, out in January.
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  8. John West@JohnWest
    This is an essay about how I created a very-little-language model using Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener." I asked it to finish my sentence: "I would..." and it responded "...prefer to, yes." My AI never quite got it right—the most human thing about it.
    The Wall Street Journal @WSJ
    Experimenting with the math and data behind large language models helped me understand how AI “thinks.” I wish everyone had the chance to do the same, writes WSJ software engineer John West.
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  9. The Wall Street Journal✓@WSJ
    Experimenting with the math and data behind large language models helped me understand how AI “thinks.” I wish everyone had the chance to do the same, writes WSJ software engineer John West.
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  11. John West@JohnWest
    John West
    RT @rob_barry: So proud of @WSJ data team member @JohnWest and formers @coulterjones and @anfuller for their dogged work "chronicling political and personal shifts of the richest person in the world, Elon Musk, including his turn to conservative politics."
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  12. John West@JohnWest
    Inspired by this mad scientist, I made which guides readers through Walt Whitman's amazing book of poems, LEAVES OF GRASS. It learns what you like in his poems, and illustrates each with a photo from a Depression-era photo (
    aizk ✡️ @Aizkmusic
    It's 2:00 AM Who wants infinite scrolling wikipedia!!
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  13. aizk ✡️✓@Aizkmusic
    It's 2:00 AM Who wants infinite scrolling wikipedia!!
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  14. John West@JohnWest
    Posts @JohnWest
    Here's the code:
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  15. John West@JohnWest
    Harris tried to build it. They just didn’t come. Turnout among core Democratic blocs dropped, and the Harris campaign reached out—and failed to sway—Republicans. From me, @karadapena, @rob_barry, and @maureenlinke for @WSJ.
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  16. John West@JohnWest
    Call it Field of Bad Dreams: Harris tried to build it, but they just didn’t come. In every core blue bloc, voters didn’t turn out. The electorate that did shifted toward Trump—an analysis of vote data from me, @karadapena, @maureenlinke, and @rob_barry.
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  17. John West@JohnWest
    With @sestamm at @WSJ, I wrote about the whitest county that votes Democratic. Trump wants to expand his advantage in white, working-class enclaves. Harris wants to claw back votes in old union strongholds. Places like Lake County, MN are the battleground.
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  18. John West@JohnWest
    If you prefer a little pun: In Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, the diploma divide is deepening... by degrees.
    Ben Pershing @benpershing
    The partisan split between college and non-college voters is deepening across racial lines.
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  19. Ben Pershing@benpershing
    The partisan split between college and non-college voters is deepening across racial lines.
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  21. John West@JohnWest
    I'm starting a book club where we only read brand-new works of fiction, gossip about them, and drink Earl Gray. It's called novel-tea.
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  22. John West@JohnWest
    John West
    RT @BenFoldy: Bitcoin, burgers and big money donors: a behind-the-scenes look at why Trump says he'll block a Fed-backed digital currency, fire the SEC chair and free the founder of an online illicit drug market... (with @Vlajournaliste and @ceostroff)
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  23. John West@JohnWest
    At the Miami Herald, @ShirshoD et al have published a disturbing series on Florida's juvenile crime law, which sees more Black kids tried as adults than white kids. (And do yourself a favor and check out the impressive methodology at the bottom)
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