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> Computers are warm rocks we tricked into doing math and it’s a miracle they do anything. This might be my favorite way to describe programming.
by cridenour 5y ago
> Computers are warm rocks we tricked into doing math and it’s a miracle they do anything.
This might be my favorite way to describe programming.
- meowster 5y agoThe energy that made those rocks warm, came from spinning other rocks really fast.
- teruakohatu 5y agoI might be missing the joke, but it mostly comes from burning rocks (coal), shining sunlight on rocks, water flowing downhill or wind/gas/steam spinning metal.
- meowster 5y agoElectricity comes from spinning loadstones (magnets).
- mrob 5y agoBig generators in power stations typically use field coils (electromagnets), not permanent magnets.
- p1necone 5y agoAll of those energy sources are then somehow converted into spinning rocks (magnets) really fast to convert them into electricity though.
- ben_w 5y agoAll but one of them, though PV is quantum magic and rather more mind-bending for most people than non-euclidian geometry was for Lovecraft.
- tsimionescu 5y agoWith the exception of photovoltaic cells, all the other ways we generate electricity ultimately generate the electricity by spinning a dynamo - directly for hydro and wind, and through boiling water to steam for fossil, most solar plants (which use mirrors to heat water in pipes), nuclear, geothermal. Not sure if fusion would generate the electricity directly or also heat up water to spin up some magnets.
- kaibee 5y agoFusion uses the extreme heat generated by the fusion reaction to... boil some water and run it through a turbine.
- hermitdev 5y agoLove this gem, too.
- kibwen 5y agoComputers are literally (literally) magic. Take a rock, use light to inscribe it with arcane runes, then infuse it with lightning and recite the proper incantation to complete the spell.
- canadianfella 5y agoNot literally
- notanzaiiswear 5y agoI often wonder about a fantasy world where magic works like technology in the real world (like there is long arduous research to create new spells, not simply "being born with magical talent"). Would it become a popular fantasy setting?
- whatshisface 5y agoThat's basically how it works in Harry Potter. That's why you have to go to school for magic.
- notanzaiiswear 5y agoThere is not a lot about discovering new spells, though? Possible exception Snape's remarks in his notebook on potion brewing. And in HP people have the innate talent for magic.
- whatshisface 5y agoPeople can have more or less talent at technology, although it's usually called "intelligence."
- eggsome 5y agoWizard's Bane (1989) is a fun take on that.
- gerdesj 5y ago
- fishtoaster 5y agoI’m not 100% sure, but I think the origin of that is https://twitter.com/daisyowl/status/841802094361235456?s=21 https://twitter.com/daisyowl/status/841802094361235456?s=21
- jholman 5y agoThe traditional extension of this joke is: "Hey. Don't oversimplify. First you gotta hammer them flat and trap lightning inside them."