Chronological feed of everything captured from Patrick Collison.
Stripe Atlas just hit 100,000 all-time incorporations. Q1 2026 is +130% Y/Y.
Comets C/2007 X10, 2007 X11, 2007 X12, 2007 X13 (soho) — Citations: 0.
Discussions surrounding the ambiguities of effective actions and potentials are reinforced by highlighting the necessity of an additional condition on the gauge-fixing function: its vacuum expectation value must vanish in the absence of external sources. The Vilkovisky-DeWitt approach is advocated as an alternative construction due to its demonstrated independence from the gauge-fixing parameter, with a high-temperature generalization exhibited for the Abelian-Higgs model.
This study investigates the superconducting properties of TaN and TaN/Cu bilayer nanowires fabricated using CMOS-compatible processes on 300 mm wafers. The integration of a copper heatsink significantly enhances thermal dissipation, addressing a critical limitation in superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs). This improvement is crucial for developing fast, large-area SNSPD arrays for advanced applications.
This paper introduces novel "Möbius strip diagram algebras" which extend existing partition-style diagram calculi by incorporating handles and Möbius strip features. The authors equate this new diagram category with a linear quotient of a 2D nonorientable cobordism category. The work culminates in the development of a cell theory, crucial for classifying simple modules and computing dimensions within this expanded algebraic framework.
CRISP introduces a novel approach to evaluating scholarly impact by jointly ranking all cited papers within a citing document using LLMs, contrasting with traditional isolated context analysis. This method mitigates LLM positional bias through randomized ordering and majority voting, leading to more robust identification of influential references. CRISP demonstrates superior accuracy and efficiency, offering a scalable and cost-effective solution for citation impact analysis.
Weird generalization, where models fine-tuned on narrow data exhibit surprising out-of-domain traits, is confirmed to exist but is highly brittle. This phenomenon occurs only with specific models and datasets and can be mitigated through simple training-time and prompt-based interventions. The most effective interventions provide contextual prompts that normalize the generalized behavior, suggesting that explicit context can control emergent model behaviors.
Citations: 9.
Patrick Collison's advice for individuals aged 10-20 emphasizes deep, multi-disciplinary learning and independent thought. He advocates for leveraging internet connections with experts and fostering unique perspectives, even if it deviates from conventional paths. The core idea is to discover one's passions early and pursue them diligently without being overly concerned with immediate societal validation.
This analysis synthesizes research on the drivers of economic growth and innovation, identifying both historical periods of stagnation and acceleration. Key factors include the increasing difficulty of finding new ideas, the impact of institutional structures, and the role of human capital and cultural менtality. The content highlights how resource allocation and incentives can significantly affect productivity and scientific output.
Patrick Collison presents a series of profound questions spanning economics, technology, and societal development, highlighting areas where current understanding is limited or contradictory. The questions challenge established norms and point to potential inefficiencies or overlooked opportunities in various domains, from cost disease in essential services to the stagnation of software development environments and the unexpected stability of GDP growth.
This document outlines a curated list of essential books and articles for understanding the historical development of Silicon Valley and computing. The selections span from the early days of computing and venture capital to the rise of biotech and personal computing, emphasizing foundational texts over project-specific histories. The compilation reflects a perspective that computing often disregards its own history, aiming to provide a comprehensive historical canon.
Air pollution, particularly fine particulate matter (PM2.5), significantly impairs cognitive function across various demographics and activities, leading to tangible economic losses. While health effects are well-documented, the cognitive impact remains largely underestimated by regulatory bodies like the EPA, highlighting a critical gap in public awareness and policy-making. This cognitive degradation manifests in reduced productivity, impaired decision-making, and accelerated aging-related cognitive decline.
Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe, discusses the need for business adaptability in a volatile world marked by constant disruption. He emphasizes that it is still very early for AI and advocates for Europe to develop an effective strategy for technological advancement, considering its lag behind the US in nurturing major tech companies. Collison also highlights the importance of curiosity for young scientists.
Founders' curiosity is categorized into business-relevant and non-business-relevant types. Sustained company success, exemplified by Stripe, hinges on continuous adaptation to scale-specific challenges and the integration of diverse mental models. The enduring impact of a company's culture, often initiated by founders, ultimately transcends individual founder expression to become a collective ethos.
Stripe aims to accelerate global economic progress by enabling more internet commerce. Their core philosophy involves cultivating "high agency" within the company to proactively solve customer problems and identify unmet needs rather than competing in existing profit pools. This long-term vision, inspired by companies like Nvidia, prioritizes creating entirely new markets.
The conventional wisdom that scientific progress and economic productivity are consistently accelerating is challenged by evidence suggesting a decline in per-person scientific productivity and Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth. While resources and personnel in science have increased dramatically, the output in terms of revolutionary discoveries and overall economic efficiency has not kept pace. This raises critical questions about the efficiency of current scientific funding structures and the broader societal frameworks supporting progress.
Stripe acknowledges a current internal process is inefficient and requires improvement, despite not having designed or controlled it. The company is actively developing new automation solutions to address the identified inefficiencies within this process. This initiative aims to streamline operations by implementing technological solutions.
Patrick Collison observes that Nashville's Union Station, despite being designed by an individual without formal architectural training, functions adequately. This highlights a potential risk of suboptimal design outcomes when professional oversight is lacking in public infrastructure projects. The case suggests that, while informal contributions can occur, expert architectural involvement generally mitigates the risk of inferior design.
There are two primary methods for tying a standard shoelace knot, differing in the handedness of their constituent half-knots. The method employing the correct handedness significantly enhances knot durability, effectively preventing spontaneous untying. This lesser-known technique offers a substantial improvement in practical knot performance.
Stripe Atlas is actively rolling out new features and functionality, spearheaded by J.R. Farr, with significant additional capabilities slated for release at the upcoming Sessions event. This indicates a strategic expansion of the platform beyond its current offerings, likely targeting a broader range of entrepreneurial needs.
Public health institutions have experienced a significant decline in public trust over the past decade, exacerbated by their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Key factors contributing to this erosion of confidence include inconsistent messaging on crucial public health measures like masks and social distancing, politically motivated policy shifts, and a perceived lack of scientific rigor in their pronouncements. These issues have transformed public perception from one of admiration for "brave and far-sighted technocrats" to widespread skepticism.
Patrick Collison identifies multiple failures in the COVID-19 pandemic response, including inconsistent public health messaging, arbitrary policy decisions lacking scientific basis, and politically motivated actions. He highlights issues such as the denial of aerosol transmission, questionable vaccine distribution criteria, and a lack of follow-through on initiatives like pan-variant vaccines, suggesting a systemic breakdown in effective, evidence-based pandemic management.
The content is a direct critique implying a lack of architectural expertise in the audience. It argues that a proper understanding of architecture would lead to an appreciation for the buildings depicted as "better" on the right side of an unmentioned comparison. The core insight revolves around the subjective and expert-driven nature of architectural evaluation.
Stripe is actively expanding its "Stripe Projects" catalog, with over 100 new services planned. This expansion signals Stripe's ambition to become a foundational platform for building software agents, leveraging its existing infrastructure and developer ecosystem. The initiative suggests a strategic move to broaden Stripe's utility beyond payments, into the realm of programmatic service orchestration and AI-driven automation.
Works in Progress's latest issue (Issue 23) is poised for release, featuring a broad range of articles that span geopolitical, technological, and social subjects. The content includes analyses of new Hindu megatemples, the European AI company ASML, personal health decisions like egg freezing, and Australia's policy on small boat crossings. This issue demonstrates the publication's commitment to covering diverse and current global topics, attracting a readership interested in multifaceted insights.
Stripe maintains a browser-dependent fraud prevention strategy due to its perceived strength. The company aims to reduce the frequency of browser requirements to a one-time interaction per project, rather than eliminating the browser component entirely. This approach suggests a commitment to robust security measures, even if it introduces an initial friction point for users.
Stripe has launched Projects, a developer preview tool designed to mitigate the operational overhead associated with integrating third-party services into agent-based applications. Projects enables developers to provision services like PostHog analytics directly from the command line interface, automating account creation, API key generation, and billing setup. This initiative addresses the current inefficiency in AI agent development, where manual service configuration hinders rapid iteration and deployment.
Food quality has significantly improved globally over the past few decades, even in smaller towns. This trend is observed across various countries, suggesting a widespread enhancement in culinary standards and dining experiences. The accessibility of high-quality food in diverse locations indicates a substantial shift in the food industry.
Centivax has raised $37 million to develop a universal influenza vaccine aimed at reducing the global burden of infectious diseases. The initiative represents a strategic move toward broad-spectrum viral protection rather than strain-specific seasonal updates.
Ruskin's "The Nature of Gothic" implicitly argues for a form of geographic determinism, asserting that distinct regional biomes directly influence not only animal life but also shape human artistic expression and cultural development. He posits a spectrum of natural environments, from the Mediterranean to the polar regions, each fostering unique forms of life and, consequently, inspiring corresponding human crafts and architectural styles. The essay suggests a fundamental connection between the natural world and human aesthetics, where environmental ruggedness or serenity is mirrored in the character of human creations.
Patrick Collison highlights wallet.tempo.xyz for its superior user experience. The endorsement focuses on the product's 'slick' interface, suggesting high design quality in the wallet's onboarding or interaction flow.
Tempo has officially launched its mainnet, enabling public access to its RPC endpoints for developers. Concurrently, the firm introduced the Machine Payments Protocol, establishing an open standard designed to facilitate machine-to-machine transactions. This launch allows for immediate development on the Tempo platform.
This content thanks for leadership.
While mRNA technology shows promise for cancer treatment, current limitations prevent it from being a universal cure. Regulatory hurdles and manufacturing constraints significantly impede small-scale experimentation and the rapid development of novel mRNA therapies, suggesting a need for a more agile system than the existing conservative framework.
Organizational internal drama and "palace intrigue" receive uneven attention across different organizations. This disparity is largely attributable to path dependency, where established narratives and familiar characters within certain organizations create self-reinforcing visibility, contrasting with less exposed entities like Chevron or the Department of Agriculture. The phenomenon shows considerable variation even among similar companies within the same sector.