Florian's Filter — W42 2026
The gap between theoretical capability and physical reality is often where the most interesting insights live. Whether it is the surprising shift in how models handle time-series data or the grueling material science required to move light through glass, progress is rarely a straight line. Same goes for commercial success, and staying on the "right" path in business - the tension between optimism and constraints is with us all the time.
Articles
- Timestral: Mistral
Mistral AI introduces a new approach to probabilistic forecasting that challenges the assumption that LLMs would remain ineffective in this domain. The release offers four CPU-efficient sizes designed for zero-shot readiness.
Books
- House of Huawei - the secret history of China's most powerful company
I went through the audiobook over two weeks this summer and enjoyed it a lot. What a journey! Spanning from 1987 until today, influencing the theatre of China's economic revolution as well as the theatre of geopolitical conflicts around the globe; technical feats and human drama. The story of Huawei is truly fascinating. - Attack Surface (Cory Doctorow)
This is not the latest book by Cory Doctorow - I did mention the "reverse centaur" in a recent Filter post - but the House of Huawei reminded me to recommend this as well. It is a fictional story, and you can read it as such - but it is at its base also a very realistic story. That makes it a bit less "fun" maybe, but all the more worthwhile.
Videos
- The Absurd Engineering Behind the Internet
Veritasium explores the immense technical difficulty of creating glass fibers, a foundational technology for modern telecommunications. The video details why this specific engineering feat was once considered nearly impossible.
New on floho.com
- The sheet of paper that's always there
A reflection on why Bear became my permanent notes app, focusing on the efficiency of Markdown and the shift toward notetaking during video calls.
