camccann

18 ms·

121.
by camccann 17y ago
Well, I'm convinced! No more cons lists for me. There are other benefits to programming techniques built around general catamorphisms, too! For instance, by abstracting all recursion into the catamorphism framework, the destructor function
122.
by camccann 17y ago
There's a nice consistency in doing it that way--it's very easy to think of cat as turning an "inert" file into a stream of data, each program as a function that applies a transformation to a stream with a particular kind of content, and th
123.
by camccann 17y ago
From a computer science perspective, I'd at least acknowledge his contributions to the theory of formal languages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chomsky_hierarchy
124.
by camccann 17y ago
I believe there is a social theory that relates to this, and I think PG wrote something on it, the whole "as groups get bigger they get less personal and more people are asshats" thing. Well, online console gaming has short circuited the p
125.
by camccann 17y ago
Geez, what a smug jerk that guy was. Next thing you know, they'll be telling people they shouldn't drive after having a "few" drinks. Really, what is the world coming to when people start objecting to our God-given right to recklessly endan
126.
by camccann 17y ago
You can punt as much into the parsing stage as you like, of course. It's not like there's even any requirement that the two stages be separated. All of the stuff I mentioned gives you the choice of either more work during parsing (which is
127.
by camccann 17y ago
It also includes support for computations on quantum superpositions of multiple values! Truly, it is ahead of its time.
128.
by camccann 17y ago
As a random aside, Dr. Haskell Curry has the interesting distinctions of: 1) Having his first name borrowed for something, putting him in the company of Ada Byron and few others 2) Having his last name not merely borrowed, but frequently
129.
by camccann 17y ago
As an addendum: In some languages (who will remain unnamed) lexical analysis is actually a pain due to funny whitespace rules or syntax-dependent tokenizing. For instance, something like: * whitespace around operators is optional, except th
130.
by camccann 17y ago
Nitpick: Doesn't Lua use a prototype-based OO system? Insofar as Lua can really be said to have an OO system, that is.
131.
by camccann 17y ago
I don't really disagree with any of that as such, but it doesn't really mesh with the common usage of the word "faith", especially on something as utterly fundamental as the Second Law of Thermodynamics. From a standpoint of Bayesian confid
132.
by camccann 17y ago
From the "data is not the plural of anecdote department", I can say that personally, the more I use languages from the Lisp and ML families, the less desire I have to use Python, despite having spent a fair amount of time tinkering with it
133.
by camccann 17y ago
"The law that entropy always increases holds, I think, the supreme position among the laws of Nature. If someone points out to you that your pet theory of the universe is in disagreement with Maxwell's equations — then so much the worse fo
134.
by camccann 17y ago
You know, I sympathize with your argument, but... seriously, the second law of thermodynamics? If there's anything that qualifies as the cornerstone of sanity in physics, it's that. Of course it's illuminating to analyze the question and fi
135.
by camccann 17y ago
I think he was talking about recruiting firms, who (I think) typically get a commission for successful placement, proportional to the wages of the employee in question. So while theoretically they have an incentive to get you the best salar
136.
by camccann 17y ago
Yes. Because that's what those Russians were doing on the other side of the Iron Curtain... having massive orgies. Well that does put a slightly different spin on "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need".
137.
by camccann 17y ago
4. How appropriate, you fight like a cow! ...sorry, just seemed to fit the theme.
138.
by camccann 17y ago
Exactly--and since you're bringing economics into picture, the opportunity cost should exactly equal the wages expended on developing this. OP makes a valid point. Not necessarily, if his job includes some degree of "on demand" responsibi
139.
by camccann 17y ago
I just don't get libertarians. They're great at pointing out problems but never seem to offer realistic solutions. I think the default libertarian solution is "don't do anything, the problem will take care of itself", which in point of fa
140.
by camccann 17y ago
Mostly manufacturing, I believe. If memory serves me, the process involves supercritical drying--you put a liquid-based gel into a vessel under very high temperature and pressure until the gas/liquid states become interchangeable, then grad
141.
by camccann 17y ago
Really, now? I can't say I've ever seen dons be anything other than polite and helpful. Not to mention that he's one of the most knowledgeable Haskell programmers out there, especially on the "practical real world use" front.
142.
by camccann 17y ago
The legal system is not a programming language compiler, mindlessly deterministic and oblivious to loopholes. Violate the intent of the law egregiously enough, and they'll find something that will stick.
143.
by camccann 17y ago
The complaint from the right is that the federal government confiscates the wealth of its citizens and redistributes it, presumably suboptimally. No, that's the complaint from the Libertarians. The complaint from most of the right wing is
144.
by camccann 17y ago
When the Great Flood subsided and the Ark came to rest, Noah let the animals out with the admonition to go forth and multiply. Some time later, Noah went for a walk to check on the animals and their new families. All was well until he reach
145.
by camccann 17y ago
If you know of an easy supply of islands that aren't already claimed by some country, I'm sure they'd love to hear about it.
146.
by camccann 17y ago
I think the implied moral imperative is generally taken to be "markets should be freely competitive"; everything else is details. Prices not dropping is just an indicator that a market isn't competitive due to, e.g., barriers to entry or go
147.
by camccann 17y ago
Unfortunately in digital age, a consumer can get the product by illegal means even if they can't afford it and producer doesn't really have a way to stop this illegal behavior. What do you mean "in the digital age"? Ever heard the term "b
148.
by camccann 17y ago
This may be just me being impatient, but I often hit the Google cache if the site isn't down, but just responding slowly at the moment. It's a nice convenience factor when I'm looking for something quickly. As such, it annoys me when sites
149.
by camccann 17y ago
My impression (from talking to yooper coworkers) is that it's about half Wisconsin, half Canada up there. Either way, doesn't make sense to lump them in with us trolls.
150.
by camccann 17y ago
Hawaii is problematic, being a significant fraction of the target population level, yet very isolated. Alaska doesn't really make sense to combine with anything either, but its population is pretty much rounding error (it's got, what, as ma

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