4 ms·

Agreed, an 'I was able to optimize this'-tone would be better suited than the current 'I am the only one who does this right'. The author is misguided if he th

by meuk 9y ago

Agreed, an 'I was able to optimize this'-tone would be better suited than the current 'I am the only one who does this right'. The author is misguided if he thinks that an algorithm being called 'optimal' will have the best result in his particular use case. It usually means that the algorithm has optimal asymptotic runtime. In particular, asymptotic analysis completely ignores caching issues. That said, the technical details are still worth reading if you have the time. I also agree with the author that CS programs are somewhat losing touch with reality.

vanderZwan 9y ago
I read it as the opposite: he's calling out the educated programmers' arrogance for thinking that they have already figured things out because they know which algorithms are theoretically optimal, and that they don't need to bother looking at the actual use-case. And he's not putting himself above falling into that trap either: > So why are you, and I, still doing it wrong? Also, this is an article that was published in an ACM magazine, under the header of "The Bike Shed" - which I would assume is a "provocative debate"-type of column. Keep both that target audience and intent behind the article in mind when evaluating the overall tone of it.
- meuk 9y ago
  But the article is named "you're doing it wrong", not "we're doing it wrong". I know enough people who would not fall in this trap. Maybe I misinterpreted the tone, but I think it has a slight air of arrogance -- but apart from that it's a fine article.
  - chucksmash 9y ago
    "You're doing it wrong" was a pretty common meme in 2011, I wouldn't take too much from it being the title of the piece other than the author was trying to be playful.
    - meuk 9y ago
      Ah, true, I didn't pick up on that. Maybe I did take the tone too seriously.
      - vanderZwan 9y ago
        Well, historical context is easy to lose, especially with internet memes. I recently came across an older article[0] with this sentence in the middle: > (The Imgur previously featured in this story doesn’t credit him at all, which is some bogus, Fat Jew-style shit.) Being unaware that "Fat Jew" was the handle of someone who got internet famous but was caught stealing other people's jokes, I was really puzzled for a second what could have warranted that random anti-Semitic statement. [0] https://news.avclub.com/ice-t-has-some-startling-information-for-you-in-these-f-1798283728 https://news.avclub.com/ice-t-has-some-startling-information... [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/wholesomebpt/comments/841k3c/ice_t_on_eminem/dvmj9ws/?context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/wholesomebpt/comments/841k3c/ice_t_...
  - anas-hossam 9y ago
    But the article is named "you're doing it wrong", not "we're doing it wrong". I know enough people who would not fall in this trap. Maybe I misinterpreted the tone, but I think it has a slight air of arrogance.

by meuk 9y ago

vanderZwan 9y ago

I read it as the opposite: he's calling out the educated programmers' arrogance for thinking that they have already figured things out because they know which algorithms are theoretically optimal, and that they don't need to bother looking at the actual use-case. And he's not putting himself above falling into that trap either: > So why are you, and I, still doing it wrong? Also, this is an article that was published in an ACM magazine, under the header of "The Bike Shed" - which I would assume is a "provocative debate"-type of column. Keep both that target audience and intent behind the article in mind when evaluating the overall tone of it.

meuk 9y ago
But the article is named "you're doing it wrong", not "we're doing it wrong". I know enough people who would not fall in this trap. Maybe I misinterpreted the tone, but I think it has a slight air of arrogance -- but apart from that it's a fine article.
- chucksmash 9y ago
  "You're doing it wrong" was a pretty common meme in 2011, I wouldn't take too much from it being the title of the piece other than the author was trying to be playful.
  - meuk 9y ago
    Ah, true, I didn't pick up on that. Maybe I did take the tone too seriously.
    - vanderZwan 9y ago
      Well, historical context is easy to lose, especially with internet memes. I recently came across an older article[0] with this sentence in the middle: > (The Imgur previously featured in this story doesn’t credit him at all, which is some bogus, Fat Jew-style shit.) Being unaware that "Fat Jew" was the handle of someone who got internet famous but was caught stealing other people's jokes, I was really puzzled for a second what could have warranted that random anti-Semitic statement. [0] https://news.avclub.com/ice-t-has-some-startling-information-for-you-in-these-f-1798283728 https://news.avclub.com/ice-t-has-some-startling-information... [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/wholesomebpt/comments/841k3c/ice_t_on_eminem/dvmj9ws/?context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/wholesomebpt/comments/841k3c/ice_t_...
- anas-hossam 9y ago
  But the article is named "you're doing it wrong", not "we're doing it wrong". I know enough people who would not fall in this trap. Maybe I misinterpreted the tone, but I think it has a slight air of arrogance.