Welcome to my digital notebook. It’s my little place on the internet where I think, wonder and write.

A close up picture of Nori Parelius

Hi, I'm Nori

I strive to be an amateur (from French 'one who loves')— to do what I like and to like what I do. I am an amateur thinker and an amateur writer.

To be honest, I mostly write about myself, or rather, about the things that are on my mind, hoping there might be some general in the particular, or that it will be useful to someone else.

In the real world, I have a PhD in biophysics and a day job in data analysis and teaching.

I am from Slovakia, now living in Norway with my Viking husband and two little wildlings.

Currently reading

  • Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
  • The Master and His Emissary

Latest from the microblog

I get so sad when I run into some writing online that is written by a real person, about a real thing that they care about, but so clearly drafted/edited by some large language model. I know it is tempting. It makes your own thoughts and ideas sound so good, so sophisticated. But it also just makes everything sound the same. Half the internet is now written in ChatGPT-ese. The internet, the place where you are allowed to be yourself. Don’t choose to be ChatGPT, please. (This is as much a plea to you, dear reader, as to myself.)

Recent Posts

An image of a smartphone with a magicians hat on the screen and fireworks coming out of it.

The problem with phones or Taking back the moment

- 8-minute read - 1593 words - by nori parelius

Knowing we are being affected doesn’t stop us from being affected, just like knowing a magic trick isn’t real magic doesn’t stop us from being tricked. But, if nothing else, I find it easier to manage my phone use knowing what I am up against and what it is about the smart phone that makes it difficult to moderate. So here are the three ways in which the smartphones mess with us.
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