Katie Parrott is a staff writer. She writes Working Overtime and contributes to Vibe Checks, Source Code, and Context Window.
When Trying to Make AI Better Makes It Worse
A million words of failed drafts taught me that improving my AI setup sometimes means giving it fewer rules to follow
Oct 5, 2026 · 12 min read
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It is a well-known fact that the Germans have a word for everything. Kummerspeck, literally “grief bacon,” is the weight you put on from emotional eating. Torschlusspanik, “gate-closing panic,” is the fear that time is running out to do the thing you’re supposed to do with your life.
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