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`{ "title": "Zoom In: An Introduction to Circuits", "description": "By studying the connections between neurons, we can find meaningful algorithms in the weights of neural networks.",
        "authors": [\
          { "author": "Chris Olah", "authorURL": "https://colah.github.io", "affiliation": "OpenAI", "affiliationURL": "https://openai.com"  },\
          { "author": "Nick Cammarata", "authorURL": "http://nickcammarata.com", "affiliation": "OpenAI", "affiliationURL": "https://openai.com"  },\
          { "author": "Ludwig Schubert", "authorURL": "https://schubert.io/", "affiliation": "OpenAI", "affiliationURL": "https://openai.com"  },\
          { "author": "Gabriel Goh", "authorURL": "http://gabgoh.github.io", "affiliation": "OpenAI", "affiliationURL": "https://openai.com"  },\
          { "author": "Michael Petrov", "authorURL": "https://twitter.com/mpetrov", "affiliation": "OpenAI", "affiliationURL": "https://openai.com"  },\
          { "author": "Shan Carter", "authorURL": "http://shancarter.com", "affiliation": "OpenAI", "affiliationURL": "https://openai.com"  }\
        ] }`

# Zoom In: An Introduction to Circuits

By studying the connections between neurons, we can find meaningful algorithms in the weights of neural networks.

### Authors

### Affiliations

[Chris Olah](https://colah.github.io/)

[OpenAI](https://openai.com/)

[Nick Cammarata](http://nickcammarata.com/)

[OpenAI](https://openai.com/)

[Ludwig Schubert](https://schubert.io/)

[OpenAI](https://openai.com/)

[Gabriel Goh](http://gabgoh.github.io/)

[OpenAI](https://openai.com/)

[Michael Petrov](https://twitter.com/mpetrov)

[OpenAI](https://openai.com/)

[Shan Carter](http://shancarter.com/)

[OpenAI](https://openai.com/)

### Published

March 10, 2020

### DOI

[10.23915/distill.00024.001](https://doi.org/10.23915/distill.00024.001)

![](https://distill.pub/2020/circuits/zoom-in/images/multiple-pages.svg)

This article is part of the [Circuits thread](https://distill.pub/2020/circuits/), an experimental format collecting invited short articles and critical commentary delving into the inner workings of neural networks.


[Circuits Thread](https://distill.pub/2020/circuits/) [An Overview of Early Vision in InceptionV1](https://distill.pub/2020/circuits/early-vision/)

Many important transition points in the history of science have been moments when science “zoomed in.”
At these points, we develop a visualization or tool that allows us to see the world in a new level of detail, and a new field of science develops to study the world through this lens.


For example, microscopes let us see cells, leading to cellular biology. Science zoomed in. Several techniques including x-ray crystallography let us see DNA, leading to the molecular revolution. Science zoomed in. Atomic theory. Subatomic particles. Neuroscience. Science zoomed in.


These transitions weren’t just a change in precision: they were qualitative changes in what the objects of sc

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