Welcome to The Computist Journal
Start here if you are new, or if you want to review past articles you may have missed.
This post is both an introduction for new readers as well as an update for the most relevant content I’ve posted as of March 2025.
The Computist Journal is a blog aiming to educate both general and specialized readers on the potential and limitations of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence. Most of the articles are long-format, evergreen, educational posts on many topics in Computer Science written for a broad audience, plus some discussions, insider posts, and other casual articles.
You can always see everything in the archive.
NOTE: I recently rebranded this blog from its old name Mostly Harmless Ideas, to its new name, The Computist Journal, to better reflect its current topics and interests. Mostly Harmless Ideas was a place for me to dump whatever I was thinking about. But as the reader base grew, I’ve become much more intentional about educating readers on the best ways to approach technology—and especially, computer-based technology—to improve their lives.
Instead of passive collection of mussings, this blog is now my vehicle to produce the changes I want to see in the world: people embracing tech, but with the necessary nuances and health skepticism to not be devoured by tech.
If you’re new here, this is a guide to exploring the topics I’ve written about. If you’re a regular reader, this may be a chance to find an interesting older post you might have missed or to fill any gaps in previous articles you’ve read.
I hope you find something interesting to read!
One last thing before moving on. Many of the topics I write about are finding their way into a collection of books for the general audience. I bundled all of them into what I call The Mostly Harmless Compendium. These are all in-progress projects that tackle different knowledge domains, from general topics in Computer Science to graph algorithms, chatbots, and everything in between.
You can support these book by getting an early access pass, which includes frequent updates for all future versions.
NOTE: If you read this post in your email, it may be truncated.
Mostly Harmless AI
Mostly Harmless AI discusses relevant and recent topics in Artificial Intelligence, mainly from a critical and sceptical point of view, highlighting its potential and limitations.
These articles are more opinionated and less evergreen than the rest. I write them for an audience interested in staying up-to-date with current trends but looking for deeper discussions that bypass the prevalent hype in the field.
Here are some of my favourite articles in this category:
The Science of Computation
The articles in The Science of Computation are meant to be introductory topics in Computer Science suitable for all audiences. I write them mainly for people new to the field: students, professionals from other domains, journalists, or just laypeople interested in learning about it.
You can start reading the following post that summarizes the whole field:
Then, you can try this short series spanning from ancient computing devices to Alan Turing, who built the first general-purpose computer and established the foundational theory of the field.
There are many more articles on individual topics in Computer Science; make sure to check the full list.
Coding for Nerds
These are coding lessons—short, hands-on articles suitable for all skill levels, from coding novices to experienced software developers. They focus on accomplishing one specific task, primarily related to Python, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. However, I may explore other topics in the future.
Here are some of the most interesting for me:
Essays on Science, Education, and Life
Essays are opinionated on the subjects I care about most, mostly science and education.
The one I’m most proud of is a manifesto for a techno-pragmatist philosophy, which starkly contrasts with the pessimistic and overly optimistic extremes that abound on the Internet.
I wrote a long rant on improving peer review by adopting an open-source ethos.
I’ve also written a few essays on teaching principles and education in general. These two are about changing the mindset from individual quantitative evaluation to a more team-based and project-based framework.
And finally, there are a few more essays in a similar vein.
Philosophy of Computer Science
The Philosophy section is where I explore the philosophical implications of Computer Science.
The first article is about the nature of thinking, a non-traditional reading of Turing’s seminal paper where he defines the Turing Test.
This second post is a detailed exploration of the notion of Truth, and how it can (or cannot) be defined objectively for any domain.
The third post is about computers and brains and a critique of the computationalist theory of mind.
And there are a couple more posts on similar topics.
Final words
This is not a comprehensive list of everything I’ve written but an overview of the most relevant and, in my opinion, exciting posts. You can check everything else in the archive.
I hope these links provide you with some intriguing topics to read about. Let me know if you want me to explore these topics further. The opinions of readers like you fuel my desire to write more.
Good rebranding !