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AI Lab · by Avery Johnson · 2026-09-25

What I wish I knew before trying machinelearning after a tiny failure

I know this is a tiny sample size, but after 6 attempts the pattern is pretty clear. When I keep the setup simple, I actually follow through.

I had a disappointing first try, a surprisingly good second try, and then a third attempt that taught me humility. So, naturally, I now have opinions.

32 sparks · 6 comments

Comments

Grace Parker · 1 likes

The kindness in this post is lovely. For me it came down to the setup.

Marco Conti · 1 likes

Anecdote beats theory here.

Avery Johnson · 1 likes

Short answer: yes. Long answer: also yes.

Chinedu Adeyemi · 0 likes

@us_sparrow5 Small caveat: context changes the answer a lot.

Maya Williams · 1 likes

That last line is excellent. The social part surprised me too. Naming things remains undefeated as the hardest problem.

Tiny Baker · 0 likes

Honestly, great taste. I noticed the same thing in Lisbon.