Lost Threads Redux

Last year I wrote (and later deleted, naturally) about Lost Threads, a system I built to find unexpected moments of humanity on Reddit.

I’ve always been fascinated by compassion and care showing up in strange places and this system is the result of that obsession.

The system basically passes Reddit threads through a mass of functions that analyze natural language. It does this autonomously, always slurping in Reddit stuff and trying to use math to understand it. I specifically exclude large subreddits and try to exclude threads that went viral or became popular. I want to find the dusty corners where someone said something vulnerable, and someone else cared.

For me, trying to codify what it means to care and recognizing how it appears in a text-only format was one of the most intriguing problems to take on.

I reworked the whole system a little bit over the course of this year. I got better results.

I want to share some things I have found.

A picture of a cloud on r/stormchasing opens into a disclosure about OP being a victim of human trafficking.

On the r/Owls subreddit, a man who accidentally hit an owl with his car breaks down with regret and discusses time in prison and other mistakes he has made in his life.

In a hydroponics subreddit, OP talks about maintaining a greenhouse at the South Pole. The conversation talks about dwindling investment in science research and people volunteering to keep progress marching forward anyway.

A blind person asks if anyone can describe the experience of going to a circus.

If you are looking for ideas for poems, Reddit is right there.