The Nuance the Math Debate Is Missing

The OpenAI math thing is still the biggest story now. I want to wrap this up. On the 6th of October, Scott dropped his rebuttal, “An Open Letter To Steven Pinker On AI.” The article initially went viral, with the general online consensus agreeing with Scott and accusing Pinker of being out of touch. But 12 hours later, OpenAI dropped its math proofs, completely eclipsing Scott’s reply. So OpenAI bailed Pinker out by sparing him a response. Meanwhile, Scott’s opportunity to lay out his case was sidetracked. This goes to show how much the media and bloggers are at the mercy of the AI- and Trump-driven media cycle. Sudden, unexpected developments in either case can set fire to a story that was weeks or months in planning. This happened in 2024 when blogger and podcaster Tracing Woodgrains published a massive exposé alleging that Wikipedia editors and founders abused their power and reputation to “launder” lies. The story dropped on July 10th, 2024, a Wednesday. It had gained considerable…