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The early paragraphs of this article are a huge distraction from the rest of the article. So the article is supposed to be about someone porting a random number

The early paragraphs of this article are a huge distraction from the rest of the article. So the article is supposed to be about someone porting a random number generator to webassembly, but inexplicably pontificates (without sources or references) that Terry Davis believed in some 4-sided Trinity of God, and that Evangelical Christians are like Terry, and how Evangelical Christians think insanity is normal (all without sources). Making a bunch of unfounded hot-button religious statements is a sure fire way to distract people from what could be interesting about a random number generator written in web assembly.

azhenley 7y ago
I started reading the article hoping it would be about a clever alternative implementation for random number generators, but closed the tab after reading the first two paragraphs.
devoply 7y ago
Post about random number generators, meh, post about TempleOS while stirring the pot... Top HN. But yeah, historically mental illness was closely linked to divine inspiration. Before modern times it is very likely Terry would have been some sort of oracle in a temple. To a schizophrenic benign things start having meaning and they focus on those things and build a whole narrative around them, in this case a whole technology is built around it. How is that not different from any religion. A whole system of meaning and narrative is built around things that to an outsider seem silly or insane and yet they utilize some common ideas that have a lot of resonance to all of humanity. Schizophrenia is a spectrum disorder, (meaning there are high functioning schizophrenics that can go about routinely in their lives), of unknown origin, maybe it's a way for some sort of virus or bacteria to control all of human society. Maybe it's a normal part of human behavior and society and has been for a long time.
fwip 7y ago
It's part of an ongoing series about TempleOS. TempleOS is the point of the article, not "porting a random number generator." I don't think that starting with the King James Bible is a particularly useful approach for random number generation in WASM.
pvg 7y ago
It's an article about TempleOS and the author is (briefly) trying to put TempleOS's use of randomness in context. Perhaps the interpretation is too superficial or inaccurate for your tastes and standards but it's not really 'inexplicable' nor do you need 'sources' every time you write (or read!) a bit of introductory material.

azhenley 7y ago

I started reading the article hoping it would be about a clever alternative implementation for random number generators, but closed the tab after reading the first two paragraphs.

devoply 7y ago

Post about random number generators, meh, post about TempleOS while stirring the pot... Top HN. But yeah, historically mental illness was closely linked to divine inspiration. Before modern times it is very likely Terry would have been some sort of oracle in a temple. To a schizophrenic benign things start having meaning and they focus on those things and build a whole narrative around them, in this case a whole technology is built around it. How is that not different from any religion. A whole system of meaning and narrative is built around things that to an outsider seem silly or insane and yet they utilize some common ideas that have a lot of resonance to all of humanity. Schizophrenia is a spectrum disorder, (meaning there are high functioning schizophrenics that can go about routinely in their lives), of unknown origin, maybe it's a way for some sort of virus or bacteria to control all of human society. Maybe it's a normal part of human behavior and society and has been for a long time.

fwip 7y ago

It's part of an ongoing series about TempleOS. TempleOS is the point of the article, not "porting a random number generator." I don't think that starting with the King James Bible is a particularly useful approach for random number generation in WASM.

pvg 7y ago

It's an article about TempleOS and the author is (briefly) trying to put TempleOS's use of randomness in context. Perhaps the interpretation is too superficial or inaccurate for your tastes and standards but it's not really 'inexplicable' nor do you need 'sources' every time you write (or read!) a bit of introductory material.