cyrus_

17 ms·

121.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
foo = lambda x: lambda y: x + y bar = foo(10) This is perfectly correct Python code too if you prefer. The only real thing with Python's lambdas is that, because Python makes a distinction between statements and expressions, you can't easil
122.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
Alan Perlis coined the term "Turing tarpit" for this in one of his Epigrams on Programming. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_tarpit
123.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
In what way is Common Lisp using "non-textual presentation of program code"? S-expressions are still textual. For example, you can't associate information with S-expressions that is not visible on the screen. And you can use much more natur
124.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
The shuttle costs half a billion dollars per launch and the Soyuz has been rock solid in terms of reliability, present issues excluded. I don't think there was anyone seriously proposing keeping a shuttle around as a backup for the Soyuz.
125.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
Steve Jobs of all people should realize the value of choosing not to give the viewers exactly what they want and instead pushing them toward a higher standard, even if it costs a bit of money in the short run.
126.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
Its a wiki that uses a card metaphor, not a CMS. You could maybe use it as a CMS.
127.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
App Inventor was heavily based on the Scratch project which is also housed at MIT so it was only natural that they take it forward.
128.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
It isn't clear to me that the people with technical know-how deserve nearly all of the revenues from a country's indigenous natural resources. If that were the case, the most rational strategy for these countries would be to leave the oil i
129.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
For the same reason they don't just put Webkit into Internet Explorer and move the IE team to other projects -- they want control over the platform.
130.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
On your second question, they've tried that with things like JavaFX Script. Not sure why there isn't uptake.
131.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
This is a huge win for developer choice on one front -- choice of client language. Now you can use pretty much any language you want to write your client logic as long as a suitable binding to the DOM via the Pepper API has been developed.
132.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
The conversation we really should be having involves answering these three questions: 1. What work could be done that would create a better world for us? 2. Why isn't this work being done? Is it regulatory paralysis? Insufficient coordinati
133.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
Could do that too, but it doesn't have a module system (it just uses the CLI's mechanisms, which aren't that great). A good module system is worth knowing, even if you ultimately aren't able to use it for practical reasons.
134.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
Ocaml is probably the one at the sweet spot since its fairly practical (reasonable number of libraries and a good compiler) and has a simple-but-effective core type system (ADTs + modules). Plus you can transition to F# later if you want m
135.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft have all made rumblings at cloud-backed file storage recently -- Dropbox could lose a lot of paying subscribers overnight if one of these companies got a few dozen engineers to build a client on par with
136.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
As someone who makes extensive use of mind mapping and outlining tools, this is very ho-hum. The keyboard shortcuts are nearly non-existent, which immediately kills it. There is also no control over layout. For small maps the fan-out format
137.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
His tests don't seem to distinguish between H2 (recent visits by the friend) and H4 (recent interactions) very effectively. I could see H4 being a legitimate strategy but H2 is a bit more concerning.
138.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
This is absurd -- the hacker movement is too small and undisciplined, and it lacks substantial knowledge about engineering and physics, to make this its central project for the next 30+ years. I'm all for big projects, but the hacker commun
139.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
Why should the SMS use case limit the general use case? If someone wants to submit a review by SMS (really?) then they can deal with being limited to 140 characters. Problem solved.
140.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
Non-invasive BCIs will never be able to extract enough information to replace conventional interface elements. Its a basic physics thing (inverse problem and all that.)
141.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
This is basically what Quora is for, try asking there.
142.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
Human psychology operates in a realm only dimly linked to logic, my friend. Consider the response in the US to the "risk" of terrorism, which in quantitative terms is tiny.
143.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
A big topic in type theory nowadays is equational reasoning. The classic example is, how can you prove that two functions are observationally equivalent -- that they give the same output for all inputs? Bob discusses that in his book. More
144.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
You are correct, single neurons are not intrinsic oscillators in vivo as far as anyone can tell. They could theoretically be -- there are ion channel combinations that would put neurons into an intrinsic oscillatory regime -- but that isn't
145.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
Without jargon, it would be roughly impossible to talk about compound mathematical structures. But I certainly agree that more exposition and a greater number of worked-out examples are a great help when trying to understand abstract math.
146.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
How is it that we, who have built the free internet, are letting them, who stood in its path on every turn, take control? Why aren't hackers in positions of power?
147.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
Indeed, and I said as much in my comment. If you agree that there needs to be a territorial monopoly on force, the only thing you may disagree with is the extent of such territory. The United States is clearly too big a territory, with too
148.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
The article is very well-written and worth a read regardless of whether or not you are an anarchist [1], as the author appears to be. The naive advocacy for a society without a government monopoly on force at the end of the article falls fl
149.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
Also worth a look is PyDev, the Eclipse Python plug-in. http://pydev.org/
150.
by cyrus_ 15y ago
IANAL but I'm pretty sure that if they did get a NSL, they would be legally obligated to continue to signal that they didn't, just as the author of the piece had to lie.

More ›