Ethan Mollick asks Opus 5.5 to pick its best sci-fi idea — then execute it terribly
emollick · x · 2026-11-03
Ethan Mollick shared a fun model test: ask Opus 5.5 for 10 brilliant sci-fi short-short ideas, pick the most brilliant one, then deliberately execute it terribly.
The resulting story, "SIGNAL OF DESTINY," nails every bad-writing trope: a chisel-jawed hero named Dr. Chad Stellarson, aliens serving a trademark lawsuit over the Arecibo message's "little stick figure guy," the Fermi Paradox explained as "every other civilization got sued," and a triple twist ending (it was a dream — OR WAS IT? — no, it was real).
A hilarious demonstration of how well models comply with instructions to be bad on purpose — and a nice example of using humor as an eval.
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