Monday, June 2, 2025
LBNN
  • Business
  • Markets
  • Politics
  • Crypto
  • Finance
  • Energy
  • Technology
  • Taxes
  • Creator Economy
  • Wealth Management
  • Documentaries
No Result
View All Result
LBNN

Vertex Is the Last Good Place Online

Simon Osuji by Simon Osuji
February 26, 2024
in Artificial Intelligence
0
Vertex Is the Last Good Place Online
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


OK, look, I know how it sounds when I say that I wind down from a long day on the internet by playing a game on the internet. I’m a freelance journalist writing a book about private equity, which means I spend my working hours toggling between half a dozen Google Docs, twice as many academic papers, and enough Chrome tabs to regularly crash my six-year-old computer. And when I’m not writing (which, let’s be honest, is often), I’m toggling between Instagram, Bluesky, and X (yes, still). Were I a well-adjusted person, I would close my laptop at 6 pm and practice piano or knitting or, hell, poker—literally any hobby that allows me to detox from the many species of brainworms I contract online.

I am not, however, a well-adjusted person, and I fear it’s too late to become one. So instead of knitting, I have Vertex.

Vertex is the New York Times game you’ve probably never heard of and almost certainly never played. The crossword, Spelling Bee, Wordle, and Connections are household names, and colossal moneymakers. Vertex, meanwhile, was relegated to a third of a sentence in a recent story about how the Times became the undisputed king of online brain teasers. “A version of connect the dots” was the writer’s perfunctory mention.

It’s not an inaccurate description, exactly, but it is so brusque as to erase all of the glorious, soothing, addictive qualities that make Vertex the best place online. The tagline in the Times app isn’t any better: “Trace Triangles.” The first time I played, it was because I clicked accidentally.

What Vertex actually does is slowly reveal beauty. The game starts with a few hundred tiny circles, each with a number inside, and a cryptic title on top. The number indicates how many lines radiate from that point, each connecting to the corresponding number of other points. When you complete a triangle, drawing the three connecting lines with your finger, it fills with color.

The real shot of dopamine, though—and the thing that separates the game from connect the dots and adult coloring books—doesn’t come until the end. If you play Vertex on mobile, which I do, drawing the lines requires zooming in so far that you can see only a tiny fraction of the whole at any given moment, meaning you have no idea what you’re drawing. But three or four hundred triangles later? Suddenly, the perspective pulls back and you see the fruit of your labor: a box of mac and cheese, a cowboy, a banana split, or another tiny delight.

My favorite recent picture was a blobfish, under the heading “Oozing in the Water.” It was various shades of pink and purple, with a giant nose, mopey eyes, and a frown, but it made me grin. I admired its lifestyle, just chilling near the ocean floor and eating whatever passes by so it doesn’t need to waste energy moving. After a long day online, it seemed pretty aspirational.



Source link

Related posts

We Bought a ‘Peeing’ Robot Attack Dog From Temu. It Was Even Weirder Than Expected

We Bought a ‘Peeing’ Robot Attack Dog From Temu. It Was Even Weirder Than Expected

June 1, 2025
Your Gmail Inbox Is Running Slow. Do These Things to Fix It

Your Gmail Inbox Is Running Slow. Do These Things to Fix It

June 1, 2025
Previous Post

BP files for “maximum” damages from McDermott

Next Post

Bitcoin investors realize net profits for 128 consecutive days

Next Post
Bitcoin investors realize net profits for 128 consecutive days

Bitcoin investors realize net profits for 128 consecutive days

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECOMMENDED NEWS

How Maven’s AI-run ‘serendipity network’ can make social media interesting again

How Maven’s AI-run ‘serendipity network’ can make social media interesting again

1 year ago
US Lawmakers Question Delayed Arms Deliveries to Taiwan

US Lawmakers Question Delayed Arms Deliveries to Taiwan

2 years ago
Keeping Your Personal Data Safe in the Age of Trump

Keeping Your Personal Data Safe in the Age of Trump

6 months ago
How High Will XRP Trade In Q1 of 2025?

How High Will XRP Trade In Q1 of 2025?

4 months ago

POPULAR NEWS

  • Ghana to build three oil refineries, five petrochemical plants in energy sector overhaul

    Ghana to build three oil refineries, five petrochemical plants in energy sector overhaul

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • When Will SHIB Reach $1? Here’s What ChatGPT Says

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Matthew Slater, son of Jackson State great, happy to see HBCUs back at the forefront

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Dolly Varden Focuses on Adding Ounces the Remainder of 2023

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • US Dollar Might Fall To 96-97 Range in March 2024

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 LBNN - All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Markets
  • Crypto
  • Economics
    • Manufacturing
    • Real Estate
    • Infrastructure
  • Finance
  • Energy
  • Creator Economy
  • Wealth Management
  • Taxes
  • Telecoms
  • Military & Defense
  • Careers
  • Technology
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Investigative journalism
  • Art & Culture
  • Documentaries
  • Quizzes
    • Enneagram quiz
  • Newsletters
    • LBNN Newsletter
    • Divergent Capitalist

© 2023 LBNN - All rights reserved.