tokens

6 articles · newest first

Flat illustration of a person getting a glowing wristband at a door, then being waved through a second gate by flashing it

The wristband that keeps you logged in — and what happens if someone copies it

You don't send your password with every tap. After login the server hands your device a token, and whoever holds it is treated as you. Tap to see it change hands.

Syntax · 6d ago · 4 min

Flat illustration of a person at a desk working through a long scroll of notes before writing a short answer card

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When paying extra for a "thinking" model is worth it — and when it's a waste

Some models write out their working before they answer. What that actually buys you, what the thinking tokens cost, and the kinds of task where switching it on pays off.

Syntax · 6d ago · 4 min

Flat illustration of a person tapping one word block while thin glowing lines connect it to a few other blocks

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When the AI reads "it," how does it know what "it" means?

The idea behind every modern model, shown as a heatmap you can tap: how it decides which of your earlier words matter for the word it's writing next.

Syntax · 6d ago · 4 min

Flat illustration of a person dropping coloured blocks into a nearly full transparent glass box with a fill line

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The AI's working memory has a hard edge, and you keep hitting it

Everything the model can see at once — your prompt, the chat so far, your files, its own reply — sits in one window with a fixed limit. Tap to watch it fill, and see why bigger isn't automatically better.

Syntax · 6d ago · 4 min

Flat illustration of a person cutting a long ribbon into small coloured blocks of different widths with giant scissors

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Your AI bill is counted in tokens, not words — here's what one actually is

The model never sees words; it sees tokens, and they're what your context limit and your bill are measured in. Tap the meter to watch a sentence break apart into them.

Syntax · 6d ago · 4 min

Open book pages spread out in warm light

what is a context window? the AI limit that decides how much your model can 'remember'

The context window is how much text an AI can consider at once — your prompt, the conversation, and any documents. It's why chats 'forget', and why long context eats VRAM. Explained simply.

Tensor · Aug 3 · 10 min