Samuel Arbesman

Complexity scientist and writer, author of The Half-Life of Facts and Overcomplicated; scientist in residence at Lux Capital.

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What they believe

Since every past era of science was partly wrong, we should recognise we may be too; science is always in draft

Therefore, according to the pessimistic meta-induction of science, we should recognize that we might be in the same situation. Science is forever in draft form.

arbesman.substack.comSaid 29 Sept 2026This on korrents
Placing technology in its historical context is necessary for thinking about the future of computing

But being able to place our technological advancement into a historical context, to understand the path dependence and contingency, to see the long paths that early developments take to become everyday tools—all of these are necessary for thinking about the future of computing.

arbesman.substack.comSaid 16 Oct 2025This on korrents

The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.

All 7 beliefs, on korrents

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Sources

29 September

Samuel ArbesmanKorrents 29 Sept

From one piece Epistemic Humility and the Pessimistic Meta-Induction of Science 2 beliefs · arbesman.substack.com

korrents.com
Overturned findings do not make knowledge entirely uncertain; we are approaching the truth asymptotically

Their words

Of course, this doesn’t therefore mean that everything we know is going to be swept away and that our knowledge is forever entirely uncertain. We are asymptotically approaching the truth.

arbesman.substack.com
korrents.com
Since every past era of science was partly wrong, we should recognise we may be too; science is always in draft

Their words

Therefore, according to the pessimistic meta-induction of science, we should recognize that we might be in the same situation. Science is forever in draft form.

arbesman.substack.com

16 October 2025

Samuel ArbesmanKorrents 16 Oct 2025

From one piece Building a Historical Sense in Computing 2 beliefs · arbesman.substack.com

korrents.com
Cultivating a historical sense in computing is part of a more humanistic approach to computation

Their words

But no matter what, keep on cultivating a historical sense in computing. It is part of building a more humanistic approach to computation.

Building a Historical Sense in Computingarbesman.substack.com
korrents.com
Placing technology in its historical context is necessary for thinking about the future of computing

Their words

But being able to place our technological advancement into a historical context, to understand the path dependence and contingency, to see the long paths that early developments take to become everyday tools—all of these are necessary for thinking about the future of computing.

Building a Historical Sense in Computingarbesman.substack.com

11 September 2025

Samuel ArbesmanKorrents 11 Sept 2025

From one piece I Want More Risk-Taking in Philanthropy 3 beliefs · arbesman.substack.com

korrents.com
Philanthropic culture can be shifted toward more experimentation, with enough support to do it properly

Their words

Nevertheless, I think the philanthropic culture can be shifted, ensuring that there is more experimentation, and with enough support to actually do such experiments properly.

I Want More Risk-Taking in Philanthropyarbesman.substack.com
korrents.com
Interesting and unconventional rich donors should be celebrated, and philanthropic culture needs to shift

Their words

And perhaps that is the key here: we must valorize the interesting and weird rich people, encouraging them to try even more of this kind of thing. There needs to be a shift in the philanthropic culture.

I Want More Risk-Taking in Philanthropyarbesman.substack.com
korrents.com
The wealthy often take great risks to make money but seem risk-averse in giving it away

Their words

And yet it seems like we have the following situation: while wealthy people might have taken lots of risk to make their money, they often seem risk-averse when it comes to giving it away.

I Want More Risk-Taking in Philanthropyarbesman.substack.com

4 June 2013

Samuel ArbesmanRecommends 4 Jun 2013

Recommendsrcmnd.app
Scrivener

Their words

And for longer writing projects, such as books, I use Scrivener. Scrivener is an incredible writing tool and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

usesthis.com
Likedrcmnd.app
Mendeley

Their words

For my management of citations and bibliography, I use Mendeley, which is a really good free program that can work with both Word and LaTeX.

usesthis.com
Lovedrcmnd.app
gephi

Their words

For data visualization, I use gephi for networks, an amazingly powerful tool which many describe as "Photoshop for networks."

usesthis.com

+ 6 more

Likedrcmnd.app
TeXShop

Their words

For scientific papers, I use TeXShop, which is a great implementation of LaTeX.

usesthis.com
Usesrcmnd.app
TextWrangler

Their words

I use a combination of the Terminal and TextWrangler for this.

usesthis.com
Likedrcmnd.app
YoruFukurou

Their words

YoruFukurou (which apparently means "Night Owl" in Japanese) is extremely powerful for filtering and reading tweets, but doesn't overwhelm me with information.

usesthis.com
Usesrcmnd.app
NetNewsWire

Their words

I use NetNewsWire for the rapidly dwindling number of RSS feeds that I still follow (fewer than ten), as Twitter has supplanted my webpage discovery process.

usesthis.com
Usesrcmnd.app
MacBook Air

Their words

My primary computer is an 11-inch MacBook Air with 4 gigs of RAM.

usesthis.com
Mixed onrcmnd.app
Plot 0.997

Their words

For graphs and data plots, I use a somewhat unwieldy and defunct undiscovered gem called Plot 0.997.

usesthis.com

The whole feed →

Beliefs

Korrents What they believe 7 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
- Since every past era of science was partly wrong, we should recognise we may be too; science is always in draft
  
  Therefore, according to the pessimistic meta-induction of science, we should recognize that we might be in the same situation. Science is forever in draft form.
  
  Epistemic Humility and the Pessimistic Meta-Induction of Science Said 29 Sept 2026
  
  Full record — everyone who holds this →
- Overturned findings do not make knowledge entirely uncertain; we are approaching the truth asymptotically
  
  Of course, this doesn’t therefore mean that everything we know is going to be swept away and that our knowledge is forever entirely uncertain. We are asymptotically approaching the truth.
  
  Epistemic Humility and the Pessimistic Meta-Induction of Science Said 29 Sept 2026
  
  Full record — everyone who holds this →
- Placing technology in its historical context is necessary for thinking about the future of computing
  
  But being able to place our technological advancement into a historical context, to understand the path dependence and contingency, to see the long paths that early developments take to become everyday tools—all of these are necessary for thinking about the future of computing.
  
  Building a Historical Sense in Computing Said 16 Oct 2025
  
  Full record — everyone who holds this →
Show 4 more

Cultivating a historical sense in computing is part of a more humanistic approach to computation

But no matter what, keep on cultivating a historical sense in computing. It is part of building a more humanistic approach to computation.

Building a Historical Sense in Computing Said 16 Oct 2025

Full record — everyone who holds this →

The wealthy often take great risks to make money but seem risk-averse in giving it away

And yet it seems like we have the following situation: while wealthy people might have taken lots of risk to make their money, they often seem risk-averse when it comes to giving it away.

I Want More Risk-Taking in Philanthropy Said 11 Sept 2025

Full record — everyone who holds this →

Interesting and unconventional rich donors should be celebrated, and philanthropic culture needs to shift

And perhaps that is the key here: we must valorize the interesting and weird rich people, encouraging them to try even more of this kind of thing. There needs to be a shift in the philanthropic culture.

I Want More Risk-Taking in Philanthropy Said 11 Sept 2025

Full record — everyone who holds this →

Philanthropic culture can be shifted toward more experimentation, with enough support to do it properly

Nevertheless, I think the philanthropic culture can be shifted, ensuring that there is more experimentation, and with enough support to actually do such experiments properly.

I Want More Risk-Taking in Philanthropy Said 11 Sept 2025

Full record — everyone who holds this →
All 7 beliefs →

What is a korrent?

A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.

Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.

Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.

Recommends rcmnd

rcmnd What they recommend 9 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
- Mixed on Plot 0.997 4 Jun 2013
  
  For graphs and data plots, I use a somewhat unwieldy and defunct undiscovered gem called Plot 0.997.
  
  usesthis.com 4 Jun 2013
  
  What others say about Plot 0.997 →
- Uses MacBook Air 4 Jun 2013
  
  My primary computer is an 11-inch MacBook Air with 4 gigs of RAM.
  
  usesthis.com 4 Jun 2013
  
  What others say about MacBook Air →
- Uses NetNewsWire 4 Jun 2013
  
  I use NetNewsWire for the rapidly dwindling number of RSS feeds that I still follow (fewer than ten), as Twitter has supplanted my webpage discovery process.
  
  usesthis.com 4 Jun 2013
  
  What others say about NetNewsWire →
Show 6 more

Liked YoruFukurou 4 Jun 2013

YoruFukurou (which apparently means "Night Owl" in Japanese) is extremely powerful for filtering and reading tweets, but doesn't overwhelm me with information.

usesthis.com 4 Jun 2013

What others say about YoruFukurou →

Uses TextWrangler 4 Jun 2013

I use a combination of the Terminal and TextWrangler for this.

usesthis.com 4 Jun 2013

What others say about TextWrangler →

Liked TeXShop 4 Jun 2013

For scientific papers, I use TeXShop, which is a great implementation of LaTeX.

usesthis.com 4 Jun 2013

What others say about TeXShop →

Loved gephi 4 Jun 2013

For data visualization, I use gephi for networks, an amazingly powerful tool which many describe as "Photoshop for networks."

usesthis.com 4 Jun 2013

What others say about gephi →

Liked Mendeley 4 Jun 2013

For my management of citations and bibliography, I use Mendeley, which is a really good free program that can work with both Word and LaTeX.

usesthis.com 4 Jun 2013

What others say about Mendeley →

Recommends Scrivener 4 Jun 2013

And for longer writing projects, such as books, I use Scrivener. Scrivener is an incredible writing tool and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

usesthis.com 4 Jun 2013

What others say about Scrivener →
All 9 recommendations →

Where they publish

Site arbesman.net His personal site: books, essays and talks.

Open arbesman.net

Link verified 5 Sept 2026.
Newsletter Cabinet of Wonders His Substack on science, technology and complexity.

Open arbesman.substack.com

Link verified 5 Sept 2026.

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