cia_plant

20 ms·

121.
by cia_plant 18y ago
I find that the preface of a book is often highly indicative of the content of the book. The preface of a good book will generally talk about a few abstract themes which guide the exposition. The preface of a poor book will be a sort of ran
122.
by cia_plant 18y ago
You do realize that sentence was a joke, right?
123.
by cia_plant 18y ago
Do software programmers really worry too much about optimization? If that's the case, why are so many programs slow as a crippled sloth? Why does it take 10 seconds to open a freaking email client, when 1980s technology can do this in less
124.
by cia_plant 18y ago
The premise that one language needs to "catch up" to another by adding more features is absurd. Languages are not like automobiles, which are better the more "perks" are added. A programming language should be as small as possible while sti
125.
by cia_plant 18y ago
For some unexplained reason, Rosling sets GDP on a logarithmic scale. This basically normalizes the assumption that wealth is extremely unequal (i.e., follows some sort of exponential curve). Which is not to say that this isn't the natural
126.
by cia_plant 18y ago
Macros haven't flown into mainstream languages, but they've been smuggled in through the back door. C++ templates were not intended to be as useful as they are, but now many of the most powerful C++ libraries use templates as a compile-time
127.
by cia_plant 18y ago
They're certainly a middleman in the patent system. The question is whether they're a middleman for positive exchanges (good) or a middleman for extortionate exchanges (bad). Most people seem to be assuming the latter; you seem to be assumi
128.
by cia_plant 18y ago
Seems a bit silly to compare spam page avoidance between PageRank and BrowseRank, when all the spam pages have been specifically targetted to get a high PageRank.
129.
by cia_plant 18y ago
If we can't convert them to peaceful Western values then it's going to be missiles. Doesn't this seem self-contradictory to you? What, exactly, is "peaceful" about a value system that advocates aggressive, ideologically motivated war?
130.
by cia_plant 18y ago
Atwood seems to equivocate between "monkey patching," "monkey patching built in classes like String," and "metaprogramming." There are good reasons to be careful of monkey-patching, especially monkey-patching of built in classes, but they a
131.
by cia_plant 18y ago
it's a funny headline, but the business idea seems completely plausible.
132.
by cia_plant 18y ago
Are people really going to pay more than $30 for a t-shirt? I would think that people who like to spend a lot of money on clothes usually buy things other than t-shirts.
133.
by cia_plant 18y ago
the conversion factor would be life expectancy * 2, wouldn't it be? So ~160*11.6 / 1000 = 1.86. Overestimate since life expectancy is just shy of eighty.
134.
by cia_plant 18y ago
"Lawyers" is listed in the same column as the three mental disorders. Was that intentional?
135.
by cia_plant 18y ago
If the job were public relations or something, this would be understandable to me. But I've known many people who were extremely competent in a field, but didn't really care about things that didn't interest them (such as job applications).
136.
by cia_plant 18y ago
Funny. The research seems to show that an ability to quiet one's mind, listen to others even if you're not interested, and follow arbitrary orders is helpful in school. To me, this is obvious, and once again reinforces the fact that school
137.
by cia_plant 18y ago
Yes, they're charging the price that they can get away with. But they can only get away with it because it's an anticompetitive industry. Publishing house X should see the inflated price of ebooks as a revenue opportunity - undercut everyon
138.
by cia_plant 18y ago
The fact remains that the Wall Street Journal's editorial board has an obvious agenda and few scruples about pushing it with bad statistics. Other arguments I've seen on that page: America is a classless society (evidence: if you look at pe
139.
by cia_plant 18y ago
We can't conclude from this chart that the two curves are independent - only that they have been independent historically. One explanation that leaps to mind is that the total tax level will remain constant because the government will alway
140.
by cia_plant 18y ago
The Wall Street Journal needs to have its statistics license taken away. Every editorial manages to commit some sort of statistical fallacy. highest marginal tax rate is charted against total revenue as a percent of GDP. Absolutely wort
141.
by cia_plant 18y ago
Up until "connection machine," I was thinking that this seemed naive even for an MIT AI researcher.
142.
by cia_plant 18y ago
Unless you are a strict vegetarian (vegan), you can obtain B12 from eggs or dairy products. Most vegans are well aware of the danger of B12 deficiency, and either take supplements or eat foods fortified with B12. B12 supplements are inexpen
143.
by cia_plant 18y ago
The American Dietetic Association, at least, disagrees: "Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence." h
144.
by cia_plant 18y ago
Old-style AI solved a few of the "smart" things that people do, such as playing chess and proving (simple) mathematical theorems. I predict that new-style AI will solve a few of the "dumb" things that people do, such as keeping our balance
145.
by cia_plant 19y ago
The emphasis is obviously on the "public" more than the "intellectual." Witness Thomas Friedman's place on the list!
146.
by cia_plant 19y ago
I found Artin to be overly wordy and often imprecise. I found Hungerford to be extremely dry and boring, but admittedly I only got through a short part of it. Lang is very good, IMO, but more difficult.
147.
by cia_plant 19y ago
When I was first trying to teach myself abstract algebra, Herstein's book seemed the most user-friendly. It doesn't go very far, but it's very clear and well-written. No solutions I'm afraid - but that's not common with any mathematics text
148.
by cia_plant 19y ago
Ah, I never realized that. Thanks for the clarification. I do think that analytic philosophy is a useful point of view. It just frustrated me that at my school, it was the only point of view offered.
149.
by cia_plant 19y ago
Is there actually a 'divide'? I was under the strong impression that analytic philosophy completely dominates American universities. Continental philosophy is mostly discussed in English Lit., Cultural Studies, etc. For instance, Harvard ha