4 ms·

Other reply is great, more in-depth on details from me here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36758681 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36758681 Plain

Other reply is great, more in-depth on details from me here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36758681 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36758681 Plain english TL;DR: - if you limit your task to binning snippets of text - and the snippets are very well-defined (ex. code vs. Filipino text) - the snippets _bytes_ could be compared and score well, no text understanding needed - size delta of a GZIP after adding one more sentence acts as an ersatz way to compare sets of bytes to eachother (ex. you can imagine a GZIP containing 0xFFABCDEF that has 0xFFABCDEF added to it will have a size delta of 0)

fsmv 3y ago
Did you read the recent Douglas Hofstadter article or do you just always use the word ersatz?
- refulgentis 3y ago
  I was homeschooled till 12 and mostly left to my own devices as long as it was reading - I believe that has caused a lifelong issue where I sound like a tryhard unintentionally :( (TL;Dr I use it but IDK when, didn't see hofstader article but now I'm looking forward to it)
  - stavros 3y ago
    You can substitute the word "substitute" as an ersatz "ersatz".
    - refulgentis 3y ago
      It's honestly weird and annoying and I'd give it up in a second. There's two issues: - I don't have an ear for what's simple vocabulary versus tryhard, I go into a mad loop when I try - even if I actively notice it, substitution can seem very far away from intent. Simple wouldn't have occurred to me - I wanted to say something more akin to sloppy / stunt and ersatz is much closer to "hacky" in meaning than simple. Think MacGyver. But I should do the exercise of at least scanning for words more often and aim for wider audience - I would have known ersatz was an outlier and I shouldn't feel it's condescending or diluting meaning, it's broadening the audience who can parse it
      - stavros 3y ago
        Eh, it's fine, it doesn't sound tryhard to me, just a bit hard to read.
      - inimino 3y ago
        Why would you apologize for your vocabulary and try to sound like someone less well-read than you are? Just get over it and be yourself.
  - matthewdgreen 3y ago
    The word ersatz is great, and conveys the notion that the replacement is simpler and possibly inferior when compared across all features. “Substitute” doesn’t cut it. Human language (ironically w.r.t. TFA) isn’t a collection of redundant symbols, the synonyms carry all sorts of useful nuance.
  - tonyg 3y ago
    It doesn't sound tryhard; it sounds literate.

fsmv 3y ago

Did you read the recent Douglas Hofstadter article or do you just always use the word ersatz?

refulgentis 3y ago
I was homeschooled till 12 and mostly left to my own devices as long as it was reading - I believe that has caused a lifelong issue where I sound like a tryhard unintentionally :( (TL;Dr I use it but IDK when, didn't see hofstader article but now I'm looking forward to it)
- stavros 3y ago
  You can substitute the word "substitute" as an ersatz "ersatz".
  - refulgentis 3y ago
    It's honestly weird and annoying and I'd give it up in a second. There's two issues: - I don't have an ear for what's simple vocabulary versus tryhard, I go into a mad loop when I try - even if I actively notice it, substitution can seem very far away from intent. Simple wouldn't have occurred to me - I wanted to say something more akin to sloppy / stunt and ersatz is much closer to "hacky" in meaning than simple. Think MacGyver. But I should do the exercise of at least scanning for words more often and aim for wider audience - I would have known ersatz was an outlier and I shouldn't feel it's condescending or diluting meaning, it's broadening the audience who can parse it
    - stavros 3y ago
      Eh, it's fine, it doesn't sound tryhard to me, just a bit hard to read.
    - inimino 3y ago
      Why would you apologize for your vocabulary and try to sound like someone less well-read than you are? Just get over it and be yourself.
- matthewdgreen 3y ago
  The word ersatz is great, and conveys the notion that the replacement is simpler and possibly inferior when compared across all features. “Substitute” doesn’t cut it. Human language (ironically w.r.t. TFA) isn’t a collection of redundant symbols, the synonyms carry all sorts of useful nuance.
- tonyg 3y ago
  It doesn't sound tryhard; it sounds literate.