Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Type-checked non-empty strings

exploring-better-ways.bellroy.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 51 posts

Re: Type-checked non-empty strings

#21

Post by recursive »

nvme0n1p1 wrote: post #11
ivanjermakov wrote: post #2

Language is not mentioned in a title, so my first thought was about TypeScript type wizardry. Turns out it's as simple as `Exclude `. https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/utility-types.h... Edit: nevermind, LLM fooled me.

Daily reminder that TypeScript's type checker is not sound. https://www.typescriptlang.org/play/?#code/C4TwDgpgBAcg9gOwK...

Daily reminder that the unsoundness in Typescript's type checker is a practical compromise applied to a language that was never designed to be type checked in this way, and furthermore that many developers feel that it strikes a good balance between formal correctness and practical usability.

Re: Type-checked non-empty strings

#22

Post by saithound »

recursive wrote: post #19
saithound wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Astrology and Haskell are quite similar in that both are much much easier to do if you have a math degree.

Ok, I'll bite. How does a math degree help with astrology?

The starting point of casting a horoscope is calculating the apparent locations (this means "where you would have seen them had you looked up there and then") of a whole bunch of celestial objects at the time and place where a particular person was born.

You won't (write software to) do that without knowing a whole bunch of linear algebra and ODEs.

The fortune-telling part is not what needs the math degree.

Re: Type-checked non-empty strings

#23

Post by tialaramex »

saithound wrote: post #16
ambicapter wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I once saw a job ad for a company selling a horoscope app that required Haskell. An unusual conjunction for sure.

Astrology and Haskell are quite similar in that both are much much easier to do if you have a math degree.

Are you sure? I can see for Astronomy that's a branch of physics so sure, there's loads of tricky practical mathematics so if you're bad at mathematics you'll get stuff wrong, but surely for Astrology since it's just bullshit anyway you don't need to do mathematics as it wouldn't make a difference?

Re: Type-checked non-empty strings

#24

Post by kccqzy »

IshKebab wrote: post #5

"Huh never heard of Bellroy... I wonder what they're using Haskell for..." Turns out it's some kind of bags and accessories brand!

I bought a leather wallet from them in 2016 (the Hide & Seek) and it is still holding up well despite a few loose stitches. It’s much slimmer than my older wallet.

Re: Type-checked non-empty strings

#25

Post by saithound »

tialaramex wrote: post #23
saithound wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Astrology and Haskell are quite similar in that both are much much easier to do if you have a math degree.

Are you sure? I can see for Astronomy that's a branch of physics so sure, there's loads of tricky practical mathematics so if you're bad at mathematics you'll get stuff wrong, but surely for Astrology since it's just bullshit anyway you don't need to do mathematics as it wouldn't make a difference?

A horoscope is a fine mixture of fortune-telling bullshit and verifiable astronomical facts. The latter have the form of "where the celestial bodies could be seen at the hour of the client's birth", or "does Jupiter currently appear to be moving forward or backward in the sky".

The average Visual Basic programmer and the world's best mathematician are going to be about equally good at writing the fortune-telling part, but the mathematician will have a much easier time getting the factual part right.

Re: Type-checked non-empty strings

#26

Post by tialaramex »

saithound wrote: post #18
gib444 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using Haskell for a horoscope app is like hiring a mathematician to read tea leaves

Astrology is a mixture of factual verifiable information (such as apparent positions of celestial bodies at the time and location a certain person was born) and random baseless divinations. The "whale" users who account for a disproportionately large percentage of an astrologer's revenue tend to know the factual information surrounding their birth fairly well. An app/astrologer who doesn't get these facts right, even…

OK, I replied elsewhere without realising where you were going with this.

My impression (not interested in pseudo sciences so I haven't looked into this hard) was that Astrology froze before Kepler explains how the planets move, and so the model used by astrologers is just wrong and won't actually tell you what was in the sky when you were born for example?

You don't need Newton (who figured out why they do that) but you do need Kepler or your physical data will be wrong surely? It won't matter because this isn't actually a way to divine the future, but it will be wrong AIUI

Re: Type-checked non-empty strings

#27

Post by saithound »

tialaramex wrote: post #26
saithound wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Astrology is a mixture of factual verifiable information (such as apparent positions of celestial bodies at the time and location a certain person was born) and random baseless divinations. The "whale" users who account for a disproportionately large percentage of an astrologer's revenue tend to know the factual information surrounding their birth fairly well. An app/astrologer who doesn't get these facts right, even…

OK, I replied elsewhere without realising where you were going with this. My impression (not interested in pseudo sciences so I haven't looked into this hard) was that Astrology froze before Kepler explains how the planets move, and so the model used by astrologers is just wrong and won't actually tell you what was in the sky when you were born for example? You don't need Newton (who figured out why they do that) but…

Astrology didn't really freeze. The apparent position of celestial objects was important for mundane reasons such as navigation until the 1970s, and the people who compiled nautical almanacs kept doing astrological fortune telling on the side for extra cash, using the very same math for both. Kepler himself cast horoscopes as a side hustle, including for the Holy Roman Emperor, using the same (back then cutting edge) techniques and data that he used for serious work.

Modern ascendant calculations are "correct", in the sense that they'll match what you see in the sky. Apps like AstroMatrix work from NASA data.

As you rightly observed, it doesn't make a difference when it comes to foretelling the future. But it does make a difference if your aim is to make money selling it. The big spenders on these applications often care a great deal about getting the particulars just so.

Re: Type-checked non-empty strings

#28

Post by tialaramex »

saithound wrote: post #27
tialaramex wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OK, I replied elsewhere without realising where you were going with this. My impression (not interested in pseudo sciences so I haven't looked into this hard) was that Astrology froze before Kepler explains how the planets move, and so the model used by astrologers is just wrong and won't actually tell you what was in the sky when you were born for example? You don't need Newton (who figured out why they do that) but…

Astrology didn't really freeze. The apparent position of celestial objects was important for mundane reasons such as navigation until the 1970s, and the people who compiled nautical almanacs kept doing astrological fortune telling on the side for extra cash, using the very same math for both. Kepler himself cast horoscopes as a side hustle, including for the Holy Roman Emperor, using the same (back then cutting edge)…

Thanks, makes sense.

Re: Type-checked non-empty strings

#29

Post by throw-the-towel »

saithound wrote: post #16
ambicapter wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I once saw a job ad for a company selling a horoscope app that required Haskell. An unusual conjunction for sure.

Astrology and Haskell are quite similar in that both are much much easier to do if you have a math degree.

For what it's worth, one of my classmates pivoted into astrology, and we majored in Applied Mathematics.

Re: Type-checked non-empty strings

#30

Post by recursive »

saithound wrote: post #22
recursive wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, I'll bite. How does a math degree help with astrology?

The starting point of casting a horoscope is calculating the apparent locations (this means "where you would have seen them had you looked up there and then") of a whole bunch of celestial objects at the time and place where a particular person was born. You won't (write software to) do that without knowing a whole bunch of linear algebra and ODEs. The fortune-telling part is not what needs the math degree.

Does the quality of the astrology depend on the correctness of celestial object positioning? I always assumed it had more to do with the "bedside manner" of the practitioner, and less to do with any measurable falsifiable phenomenon.
Post reply on HN