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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   3192 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for February 20, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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https://harpers.org/archive/2026/03/childs-play-sam-kriss-ai-startup-roy-lee/

Sam Kriss is a good writer. I didn't expect the article to pivot from a Chinese-American Psycho to a dinner with Scott Alexander, but it did.

UPD: just got to the Donald Boat part and I'm in tears. Now I'll have to explain to my wife why I was giggling idiotically and endure her condescending look.

I think Kriss writes very well. I also think he's bitter as hell, considers himself an underachieving failure, and is often jealous of people who made better choices in life (doing something other than journalism).

He has a terminal case of better-than-thou syndrome, he finds it much easier to tear down than build up. That's fine, I still think he's always entertaining and mostly insightful, which is a high bar indeed.

I'm on the side of the Rats in their small but spirited beef with him for Making Shit Up (it's a bad habit), but he's more generous in this essay, he almost comes out and says nice things about Scott, and the fact he doesn't insult him outright means he does like the guy. I can hardly complain about anyone trashing Cluely.

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