Field guides
Train your eye
The daily puzzle teaches by example. These essays teach the patterns — what actually gives machine writing away, and what’s just folklore.
How to tell if an image is AI-generated
Hands got fixed. Text, physics, and provenance didn't. A practical checklist for the post-'count the fingers' era.
Updated 2026-07-11
How to spot AI-written prose: the seven real tells
Forget the em-dash folklore. The reliable giveaways are structural — and once you see them, you can't unsee them.
Updated 2026-07-11
The em dash is innocent: AI-detection folklore, debunked
Em dashes, “delve,” the rule of three — the internet's favorite AI tells are mostly wrong, and relying on them makes you easier to fool.
Updated 2026-07-11
Why AI poetry rhymes too well
Machine verse scans perfectly, rhymes exactly, and consoles reliably. Real poems limp — and the limp is the fingerprint.
Updated 2026-07-11
How good are humans at spotting AI text? The uncomfortable numbers
In controlled studies most readers barely beat a coin flip — but experienced readers get dramatically better. Here's what the research says about training your ear.
Updated 2026-07-11