jpallen

17 ms·

121.
by jpallen 14y ago
I wrote this article, and I also founded and run ScribTeX so that's no coincidence! I'm now working with Henry on ShareLaTeX, where this blog is hosted, and we're about half way along with our plans to get git integrated there as well.
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by jpallen 14y ago
I'm really excited for this for http://www.sharelatex.com and other similar sites that are actually generating a PDF for you. With native PDF viewers there is no way to interact with the viewer via javascript and even just having the view
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Unit testing has made me a better programmer(gist.io)
1 points by jpallen 14y ago|0 comments
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by jpallen 14y ago
Unit testing will also force to decouple your code in a similar way. In the first example it is impossible test individually test all the things the code should do without worrying about everything else that is going on (e.g. you need make
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by jpallen 14y ago
I've done quite a bit of work getting a scalable cloud LaTeX compiler set up ( http://clsi.scribtex.com ). Send me an email at james@scribtex.com if you'd like to chat about some of the issues that you might be facing. LaTeX is surprisingly
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by jpallen 14y ago
If I've followed your argument correctly, then the same is also true of the rational numbers, but these are countable (i.e. the same 'size' as the integers). Oh fiddlesticks, the post was deleted before I'd even finished my reply! :(
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by jpallen 14y ago
No. 4 is something which I've solved in Backbone.js with about 50 lines of (commented) code. It's a pretty simple setup inspired by Rails and it has solved this problem in all use cases I've had. I've put it in a Gist here: https://gist.gi
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by jpallen 15y ago
I pretty much agree with you. I'm just worried that with all the comments about 'what is a number?', and 'sure, we can make infinity a well defined number', it will dilute the message of the article. Which is that infinity is not a 'number'
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by jpallen 15y ago
The problem is that "a number" is meaningless. No it isn't. It's fairly clear from the article that in this context a number is something which you can have that many of . You can have 3 dollars. It even makes sense to have -2.5 dollars.
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by jpallen 15y ago
I like the concept and it got me interested in joining, but I was really put off by the sexism as I scrolled down. Almost everything is perfect, except for the few columns in your table that just scream "we've stereotyped everyone into real
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by jpallen 15y ago
I don't think the article is aimed anyone who knows what an ordinal number is.
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We've hit "peak oil"; now comes permanent price volatility(arstechnica.com)
6 points by jpallen 15y ago|3 comments
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When startups are really multiple businesses(nathanwilliamsmbablog.blogspot.com)
1 points by jpallen 15y ago|0 comments
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by jpallen 15y ago
At ScribTeX we regularly get comments from users about how fast our compiling is. Even with the round trip to the server, the PDF appears in the user's browser quicker than if they compile it locally. This isn't due to anything especially c
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by jpallen 15y ago
I just had a look at the first thread and this looks like an excellent project. I won't be following along since I did maths as an undergrad and am now doing a phd, but I'd be happy to lend an experienced hand if anyone is having trouble. I
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by jpallen 15y ago
Thanks for the feedback, it's really useful. I think you're right that a big problem is the lack of compatibility between word and latex, particularly since few people know both well. We've been concentrating on just the latex side since it
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by jpallen 15y ago
Thanks, any feedback is really helpful, but don't worry if it's not an area you're familiar with.
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by jpallen 15y ago
Thanks, I didn't think the actual site was too important and didn't want to appear spammy. But you're right, actually what ScribTeX is can only help matters!
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by jpallen 15y ago
I'm trying to expand my online LaTeX editor into a viable business. My cofounder and I think there is potential for a great enterprise product where we could really improve the workflow in publishing houses and teaching, where LaTeX is used
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by jpallen 15y ago
I didn't have a specific system in mind for 'open peer review'. I just meant that while peer review only happens through journals at the moment it doesn't depend on them in any fundamental way. The reputation attached to them does.
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by jpallen 15y ago
I recently published in JHEP and when I tried to view my paper outside the university I was greeted with a pay wall :(. They wanted the going rate of about £30. All of my research to date and the work in that paper has been funded by the UK
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by jpallen 15y ago
> The reason is that the big publishers have rounded up the journals with the highest academic impact factors, in which publication is essential for researchers trying to secure grants and advance their careers(16). You can start readin
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by jpallen 15y ago
It sounds silly, but I find juggling is a great way to get a bit of exercise in the office. Once you can juggle it's a great way to step away from a problem and do something interesting but mindless for a while. After 10-15 minutes of it yo
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by jpallen 15y ago
It's difficult/impossible to get a merchant account without a previous trading history and money to show off. The financial spend isn't too bad, but from what I can tell you need to have some sizeable accounts before you can get one. Basica
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by jpallen 15y ago
> WHY From my experience in the UK it's the only option for accepting payment that doesn't have the serious admin and financial outlay of getting set up with a proper merchant account. Perhaps in this case going with EventBrite from the
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by jpallen 15y ago
Even with all the talk recently about how successive governments have failed the children of Britain, I still haven't heard any reasoned arguments about what can be done to change the situation. The excessive drinking culture we have isn't
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Anyone going to Leedshack this weekend?
1 points by jpallen 15y ago|1 comments
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by jpallen 15y ago
Don't worry, neither do physicists. When people talk about 'quantum gravity' they mean some theory which unites curving of space with the idea of gravity being 'quantised' in particles. Only string theory does this consistently (and here th
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by jpallen 15y ago
If the LHC finds nothing it would be interesting but I don't think it would be a good step forward for physics. Of course any step in the right direction is good, but we would have no where to specifically look, and have just blown a lot of
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by jpallen 15y ago
> Why are there no 16, 32, 64, and so on, dimensions of numbers? Would multiplication not be invertible with them? Yes, this is exactly why the 16 dimensional sedenions are not in the same category as the others. For it to be a division

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