Viewing profile — BoredAstronaut

Um http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_span_replacement_of_the...

I have a degree in English literature and criticism. I later followed it with a degree in applied computer science. I'm glad for both, and was disappointed in both, for multiple di…

What gets me about this description is how it's all about having indirect feelings for things in your mind. The imagination is a pretty late-stage evolved trait. I often think it's…

From the outside looking it, I would say it just looks like a rational model is being imposed on a chaotic system as a means to control and understand the risks. Can we take it for…

I think the deeper question that is being ignored is that of how we decide what is valuable: how we measure value. The market approach that is being espoused, and favoured by some …

I refer you to Celine's Laws, #2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celines_laws "Communication is only possible between equals". Equality is a perception, but the one with the power to…

There's a so-so TED talk about the pleasant/passionate/meaningful life distinction. http://www.ted.com/talks/martin_seligman_on_the_state_of_psy...

Most big problems cannot be solved, except theoretically, with information processing. In other words, software and computer networks and data mining and such will not actually sol…

There are first world problems, and then there are "white whines". Solving the problems of wealthy people might be rewarding and enriching (for the solver), but the actual impact o…

If I must speak directly to the point of "for the money" -- it's probably good sense to go for the money, first, and then changing the world (instead of the other way around). Whet…

I'm not sure how long the OP has been an arm-chair social scientist, but I've been one for twenty-five years, and I feel like I might be able to share some insights. Firstly, his t…

Single-item submenus and super-long submenus are to be avoided at all costs. They are not user friendly. The former has no reason for being -- put the contents in the parent menu a…

Not many people know this, but the iPhone was a stop-gap on the way to developing the iPad. I know a chap who was on the iPad R&D team, as an intern, before the iPhone came out.

Straw man thinks DRY applies to two-line function. Straw man is a straw man. Also, less code > DRY. In fact, less code -> DRY. If refactoring makes for more code, not really DRY. M…

What I didn't like this article was that it was so full of self-congratulation and completely bereft of any mention of serious problems visible on the horizon. Unbounded self-assur…

So what happens if the price of natural gas goes up again? Isn't this just another example of a lucky break that won't last forever (much like the history of cheap oil)? Granted, i…

How do you measure the is-ness of the state? By it's budgetary expenditures? Many existent states (like Canada) have relatively small military budgets. For them, wielding or even t…

Even the strongest encryption is only as strong as the will of the person who knows the key. And what if the state decides to enforce controls over access to encryption algorithms …

This post reminded me of my time as a consulting systems support specialist. Lots of weird problem turned out to be bad hardware. Usually memory or disk, sometimes bad logic boards…

95% of writing a good iOS app involves knowledge and skills unrelated to the language. The tools, the frameworks, the design and interaction models, location awareness, and more. O…

That sounds like good (?) old-fashioned male competitiveness.

There is this old-fashioned idea called "professionalism", which seems to have been inadvertently discarded along with dress codes, and of which they were once emblematic. Work is …

Ryan, You make a good point, but as others have noted, it's not right to single out programmers. You are falling victim to a logical fallacy for lack of sufficient data. Casual, un…

If you want to be creative, be smart and well-informed. Being alone is primarily important for avoiding interruptions which destroy your train of thought. Being creative requires c…