# critical review (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 5 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover critical review. Page: Feed: --- ## [Language cafés beat chatbots every time](https://thelanguagecloset.com/2026/08/22/language-cafes-beat-chatbots-every-time/) _2026-08-22 · Zui · The Language Closet_ I cannot believe that I have to state the obvious here, but yes, human connection trumps the illusion of one done through interaction with chatbots. Anyway, I had decided to do a review of Airlearn at the same time I was using this language learning method. Being so disappointed in Airlearn and its slop, I … Continue reading Language cafés beat chatbots every time ## [Airlearn, a warning of Duolingo’s future](https://thelanguagecloset.com/2026/08/15/is-airlearn-worth-the-hype/) _2026-08-15 · Zui · The Language Closet_ Disclaimer: The language-learning application covered in this review features AI-generated assets and outputs pretty heavily. If you have watched sponsored segments on videos, you might have come across language learning applications like Babbel and LingoPie (which I have reviewed before) pop up. There are some more minor examples, though these applications tend to vary in … Continue reading… ## [Chatbots in language learning](https://thelanguagecloset.com/2026/08/08/chatbots-in-language-learning/) _2026-08-08 · Zui · The Language Closet_ To introduce the second month of our mini series in the influence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in languages, from how we speak and write, to how we learn languages, I want to introduce you to some literature concerning the use of chatbots employing large language models (LLMs) in language learning. In the ecosystem of … Continue reading Chatbots in language learning ## [The em-dash](https://thelanguagecloset.com/2026/08/01/the-em-dash/) _2026-08-01 · Zui · The Language Closet_ In late-2025, denizens of the Internet noticed a pattern in how punctuations are used by large language models (LLMs) when generating their responses to a given prompt. Putting aside the verbosity, pervasive use of style words, and very ironically here, tendency to use the rule of three, users have pointed out that the ‘quickest’ way … Continue reading The em-dash ## [reconstructing my third/fourth grade bookshelf!!](https://www.pagesofperfiction.com/2026/07/reconstructing-my-thirdfourth-grade.html) _2026-08-01 · Asha C. · Pages of Perfiction_ chapter two page four ✧ Hi everyone, welcome back to Pages of Perfiction! I hope your summer has been going well! I've been all over the country in the past few weeks, first in Virginia, then North Carolina and most recently Washington DC. It was while I was in DC that I met a girl named Tennessee (who is not actually from Tennessee). I like her name, and it brought back memories from when I was… ## [How has LLM use impacted human speech?](https://thelanguagecloset.com/2026/07/25/how-has-llm-use-impacted-human-speech/) _2026-07-25 · Zui · The Language Closet_ Over the course of human history, several paradigm shifts have occurred to change how we communicate with one another. From the invention of writing to the printing press, radio, and later, the Internet, the patterns in which we communicate have developed in punctuated spurts, such as the development of Internet and messaging lingo, with the … Continue reading How has LLM use impacted human… ## [10 years of The Language Closet](https://thelanguagecloset.com/2026/07/23/10-years-of-the-language-closet/) _2026-07-23 · Zui · The Language Closet_ Well, today’s little post is just about to make me feel old and aged. But yes, The Language Closet has officially turned 10 years old today! I had taken the time to reflect on the changes, growth, amongst other aspects which have happened on this very website, as with other milestones achieved during my decade … Continue reading 10 years of The Language Closet ## [How has LLM use impacted the language of scientific writing?](https://thelanguagecloset.com/2026/07/18/how-has-llm-use-impacted-the-language-of-scientific-writing/) _2026-07-18 · Zui · The Language Closet_ In recent years on this website, we have given a pretty critical eye on the use and prevalence of large language models (LLMs), more often realised as generative artificial intelligence (GAI), in academic literature that I tend to surround myself with at work and on here. The main critical points I have made in the … Continue reading How has LLM use impacted the language of scientific writing? ## [What are the general themes surrounding GenAI in language teaching and learning?](https://thelanguagecloset.com/2026/07/11/what-are-the-general-themes-surrounding-genai-in-language-teaching-and-learning/) _2026-07-11 · Zui · The Language Closet_ Traditionally, language teaching and learning occur in a classroom setting, where an educator would facilitate and deliver a lesson, and getting the students to practice speaking with one another. A paradigm shift would come with the advent of the Internet and search engines would provide greater accessibility and resources to prospective language learners, transforming the … Continue reading What… ## [Biting the bullet](https://thelanguagecloset.com/2026/07/04/biting-the-bullet/) _2026-07-04 · Zui · The Language Closet_ Within the ecosystem of commonly-used or new language learning applications, I have been witnessing a trend. Duolingo, a major language learning application for instance, has dedicated fully to pivoting towards the use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) in its course design, and replacing human translation teams in favour of GAI. Similarly, on the App Store, … Continue reading Biting the… ## [AI QA that opens fix PRs (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/fq3gBYzILjT0) _2026-07-04 · **Sponsored**_ Run a browser QA from plain-English instructions; get GitHub issues and optional fix PRs. ## [What makes the Danish language so… incomprehensible?](https://thelanguagecloset.com/2026/06/27/what-makes-the-danish-language-so-incomprehensible/) _2026-06-27 · Zui · The Language Closet_ In Scandinavian country banter, Denmark usually gets the short end of the stick by having the language everyone would make fun of. Several comedy videos have shown how garbled the Danish language sounds to Norwegian and Swedish speakers, and to much more hilarious effect, even fellow Danish speakers. If one thinks this cannot appear any … Continue reading What makes the Danish language so…… ## [The lumpers and the splitters](https://thelanguagecloset.com/2026/06/20/the-lumpers-and-the-splitters/) _2026-06-20 · Zui · The Language Closet_ In our lives, there is a certain tendency to describe and classify things, like sorting out the recycling. This need for classification also extends to academia as well, most notably in the fields of biology (more precisely, taxonomy), and linguistics. But within the fields that attempt to fit elements containing many nuances into discrete categories, … Continue reading The lumpers and the… ## [AGGGTM season two review](https://www.pagesofperfiction.com/2026/06/chapter-two-page-three-agggtm-season-2.html) _2026-06-11 · Asha C. · Pages of Perfiction_ chapter two page three ✧ It feels like just yesterday I was sitting on my couch, pressing play on the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV show and typing up my thoughts on my computer (throwback to this post from two years ago where I reviewed the series ). But so much has changed since then. I'm sitting on a different couch. I'm using a different computer. I'm looking at a different TV. I'm in a… ## [Agents of productivity and chaos](https://adaptivepatchwork.com/2026/05/24/agents-of-productivity-and-chaos/) _2026-05-24 · Tim Clem · Adaptive Patchwork_ It’s been over a year since I published Creative Flow vs. Critical Review, as much of my writing on AI has been internal. I’m hoping to publish a bit more here and wanted to start by sharing a little bit of my agent setup (as of May 2026). A version of this was originally published on an internal discussion board titled “Agents of productivity and chaos - multi-repo, multi-agent learnings and… ## [the art of holding yourself back](https://www.pagesofperfiction.com/2026/03/chapter-2-page-1-art-of-holding.html) _2026-03-15 · Asha C. · Pages of Perfiction_ chapter two page two ✧ The saddest thing ever is having a story inside of you that's dying to be let out but you just can't write it. I've been holding myself back for the past five years. ## [Defending “rapacious deregulation” (Barron’s op-ed) + Council for Transformative Enterprise](http://localhost:10004/index.php/defending-rapacious-deregulation-barrons-op-ed-council-for-transformative-enterprise/) _2026-01-02 · Amar Bhidé · ​Amar Bhidé_ It’s Time to Unleash the Public Markets Amar Bhidé Jan 02, 2026, 10:07 am EST Here is a new Barron’s ## [Lab dedicated to my mother’s memory](http://localhost:10004/index.php/lab-dedicated-to-my-mothers-memory/) _2025-12-30 · Amar Bhidé · ​Amar Bhidé_ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ I was googling my mother who died in Jan 1999 and thrilled to find this. The article is ## [Secrets in Ice by Kennedy Plumb: Raving ARC Book Review](https://www.pagesofperfiction.com/2025/11/secrets-in-ice-by-kennedy-plumb-raving.html) _2025-11-27 · Asha C. · Pages of Perfiction_ It's been ten years since 17-year-old Nikki Sinclair's parents and sister left home and never returned. Evidence uncovered at the scene caused the police to rule it a triple homicide, but since their bodies were never found, the case ran cold and was never solved. Living in her family's giant lonely estate all this time, the sole heiress to the huge fortune they left behind, Nikki has come to… ## [ARC Review: The Ocean Curse by Emily K. Suarez](https://www.pagesofperfiction.com/2025/11/arc-review-ocean-curse-by-emily-k-suarez.html) _2025-11-27 · Asha C. · Pages of Perfiction_ Step inside this epic romantasy full of mystery, high stakes, and luring magic that will have you smelling salt air, feeling the roaring waves beneath your feet, and falling headfirst into the unknown. The ocean remembers what we try to forget. Captain Leo Smith has spent his life outrunning a curse—an ancestral debt cast long ago that demands to be paid. To break it, he arranges a marriage with a… ## [ARC Book Review Roundups](https://www.pagesofperfiction.com/2025/10/arc-book-review-roundups.html) _2025-10-18 · Asha C. · Pages of Perfiction_ Welcome to Pages of Perfiction This post is a small roundup of book reviews for the 7 NetGalley novels I read a year ago and never reviewed. It's better late than never. Still The One by Aimee Brown This novel offers a heartfelt and nostalgic look at what it means to fight for love and second chances. Brown balances emotional tension with warm character moments, and the relationship development… ## [PixelRift — Platforming with Level Editor (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/EiMzy5qJpTee) _2025-10-18 · **Sponsored**_ Includes a built-in level editor, campaign with elemental heroes, and boss encounters. ## [a new chapter](https://www.pagesofperfiction.com/2025/10/a-new-chapter.html) _2025-10-18 · Asha C. · Pages of Perfiction_ Hello! It has been a long time since my last post. A very long time. I know I say that every time I remember this blog exists, but this time, I actually mean it. It's been seven months since my last post, but that was a random tournament reflection, so I don't think that counts. Therefore, it's been two to three whole years since my last actual post. Honestly, I had forgotten this blog existed.… ## [Thoughts on LLMs, Part 2](https://adaptivepatchwork.com/2025/10/08/thoughts-on-llms-part-2/) _2025-10-08 · Tim Clem · Adaptive Patchwork_ Models of reality vs. models of what people say about reality. ## [Thoughts on LLMs](https://adaptivepatchwork.com/2025/10/06/thoughts-on-llms/) _2025-10-06 · Tim Clem · Adaptive Patchwork_ This was originally an internal discussions post, surfacing on my blog because it is interesting to see how far we’ve come since October 2025 and how much my thinking has changed. For context, Claude Opus 4.5 was released November 24, 2025. Part 1 of 2. ## [The true dangers of Trumps Tariff Wars](http://localhost:10004/index.php/the-true-dangers-of-trumps-tariff-wars/) _2025-08-23 · Amar Bhidé · ​Amar Bhidé_ My Barron s oped spurred by the lamentations of the good and the great that I think miss the graver constitutional ## [Ants, Poet, and the Romance of Progress](http://localhost:10004/index.php/ants-poet-and-the-romance-of-progress/) _2025-07-31 · Amar Bhidé · ​Amar Bhidé_ I turned the talks I gave at IMD, Lausanne and the Nova Medical School, Lisbon into a you-tube video. It ## [Ali’s Exceptional Essay](http://localhost:10004/index.php/final-essay-for-critical-review-special-issue/) _2025-07-30 · Amar Bhidé · ​Amar Bhidé_ The last, though far from the least, of the essays in the Critical Review s special issue on my book is ## [Uncertainty book: Synopsis and Further thoughts](http://localhost:10004/index.php/my-response-to-critical-review-special-issue-on-my-book/) _2025-07-04 · Amar Bhidé · ​Amar Bhidé_ My response to most of the other essays in Critical Review s special issue on my book is now published and ## [Delighted to be on Martin Wolf’s summer recommendations](http://localhost:10004/index.php/delighted-to-be-on-martin-wolfs-summer-recommendations/) _2025-06-24 · Amar Bhidé · ​Amar Bhidé_ ## [Creative Flow vs. Critical Review](https://adaptivepatchwork.com/2025/04/18/creative-flow-critical-review/) _2025-04-18 · Tim Clem · Adaptive Patchwork_ Something I struggle with when writing code in the current state of AI is the quick oscillation between creative flow and critical review that many AI tools force upon their humans. Here’s what happens… ## [Universities Won’t Like What It Would Take to Truly Say No to Trump](http://localhost:10004/index.php/an-iconoclastic-take-on-campus-speech/) _2025-04-15 · Amar Bhidé · ​Amar Bhidé_ Oped in Barron s April 15 2025 By now, it must have dawned on elite universities that the Trump administration’s campaign ## [Ship software peacefully (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/kREuIVcKnBfe) _2025-04-15 · **Sponsored**_ Deploy apps from your repo with auto-config, instant previews, scaling, and monitoring. ## [come to an online speech & debate tournament with me (Feb 2025)](https://www.pagesofperfiction.com/2025/04/come-to-online-speech-debate-tournament.html) _2025-04-12 · Asha C. · Pages of Perfiction_ Welcome to Pages of Perfiction Hi! I'm at a Speech & Debate tourney and I have a lot of time between rounds, so I figured I'd write a reflection again. This is the fourth time I'm posting a full wrap up: This tournament is supposed to be more prestigious and stuff. I competed in it last year and made it to Semifinals (I don't have a wrap up post for it). That was a different event, though, so… ## [Interview with Guy Spier](http://localhost:10004/index.php/interview-with-guy-spier/) _2025-04-04 · Amar Bhidé · ​Amar Bhidé_ Guy Spier, a wise and intellectually curious former student (from HBS), now a Zurich based value manager hosted this stimulating ## [HBS Alumni News Interview](http://localhost:10004/index.php/hbs-alumni-news-interview/) _2025-03-10 · Amar Bhidé · ​Amar Bhidé_ ## [come to a speech & debate invitational with me (december 15)](https://www.pagesofperfiction.com/2025/02/come-to-speech-debate-invitational-with.html) _2025-02-08 · Asha C. · Pages of Perfiction_ impromptu and declamation Hi everyone! Here's a brief history of my published Speech & Debate tourney wrap-ups: Mini Tournament wrap-up March 2024 Tournament wrap up on April 10th 2024 Tournament wrap-up on May 31st 2024 I'm doing Impromptu and Declamation in this one, and I have hope! I think I prepared well and have a good chance of making finals in both events. Note: I like to wrap up debate… ## [Dear world, I'm back.](https://www.pagesofperfiction.com/2024/10/dear-world.html) _2024-10-02 · Asha C. · Pages of Perfiction_ Dear world, My name is Asha. A year and a half ago, I decided to start a blog to practice writing book reviews. I was convinced that by signing up to a bunch of SEO mailing lists, my book blog would go viral and everything would be perfect. But 15 months later, my average engagement time is 9 seconds, so you can infer how that turned out. I forgot about my blog for four whole months. Ever since…