Sophie’s Notes

Sophie’s Notes

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Lies and Misleading Statistics. Part 1: Fertility
A new weekly series on data that's technically right, but fundamentally wrong.
 • Sophie Bakalar
Robot Pets and Smarter Homes
We're about to invite machines into the most intimate spaces of our lives, but we're imagining them all wrong.
 • Sophie Bakalar
Losing Your Mind Is Worse Than Falling Behind
The edge you gain from AI-maxxing will probably be temporary. The cognitive atrophy may not be.
 • Sophie Bakalar
Was DTC Just a Fad?
What we can learn from Nike's 10% crash, the latest sneaker wars, and how AI agents might further disrupt e-commerce.
 • Sophie Bakalar
Tech vs. Taste
"The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful.” …
 • Sophie Bakalar

February 2026

Science Fiction Isn’t Predictive, but It’s Important Anyway
A final word on Citrini. And the overreaction to the reaction.
 • Sophie Bakalar
Venture is More Important Than Ever
....But Venture Firms are Not.
 • Sophie Bakalar
Where to Live: NY vs. SF
Go to LA if you want to feel ugly; Boston if you want to feel dumb; New York if you want to feel boring; And SF if you want to feel poor. –Unknown
 • Sophie Bakalar
The Man in the Arena Isn’t a Hall Pass
Why the Valley keeps misquoting Theodore Roosevelt.
 • Sophie Bakalar
AI Will Cure All Disease (But Your Life is Pretty Much the Same)
The “AI will cure everything” discourse hit fever pitch last week.
 • Sophie Bakalar
Obsolete Tech and Foursquare Nostalgia
The best social network I ever used didn’t have a feed. It had a “you’re nearby” nudge; and it made my life bigger instead of smaller.
 • Sophie Bakalar

January 2026

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