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From novice to master, and back again (2013)

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Re: From novice to master, and back again (2013)

#71

Post by tanseydavid »

eurasiantiger wrote: post #70
alpaca128 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reminds me of how after learning how CPUs, memory, operating systems etc work I thought "wow, it really is all ones and zeroes". A simple phrase but it became more meaningful with deeper understanding.

Sorry, but ”computers work by ones and zeroes” is one of my pet peeves. It is true in the sense that 1 and 0 are common representations for true and false in computer science, but really, it is false and almost certainly establishes magical thinking in the layperson. Modern computers run on electricity, and in electrical circuits such as computers, true/false is represented as a transistor semiconductor being in a co…

It still functions like an abacus.

Re: From novice to master, and back again (2013)

#72

Post by elteto »

icambron wrote: post #27
hcks wrote: post #17

This reminds me of an old joke I heard a while back, which is that the opposite of "it's like riding a bike" is "it's like the UNIX command line". No matter how many times you do it, you will have to re-learn it every single time.

I use the `ln` command a lot. I use the `man ln` command _almost_ as much.

What finally got the `ln` argument order engraved in my mind was learning that you can skip the destination argument:

    ln -s /foo/bar/baz
will create a soft link in the CWD named baz, pointing to /foo/bar/baz.

So you see, if you know that you can always skip the destination, then, logically, the source must be the first one!

Re: From novice to master, and back again (2013)

#73

Post by falcor84 »

eurasiantiger wrote: post #70
alpaca128 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reminds me of how after learning how CPUs, memory, operating systems etc work I thought "wow, it really is all ones and zeroes". A simple phrase but it became more meaningful with deeper understanding.

Sorry, but ”computers work by ones and zeroes” is one of my pet peeves. It is true in the sense that 1 and 0 are common representations for true and false in computer science, but really, it is false and almost certainly establishes magical thinking in the layperson. Modern computers run on electricity, and in electrical circuits such as computers, true/false is represented as a transistor semiconductor being in a co…

> 1 and 0 are common representations for true and false in computer science

Long before standing for true or false, 1 and 0 have stood for the presence or absence of something arbitrary, so I don't see any issue here.

Re: From novice to master, and back again (2013)

#75

Post by vivzkestrel »

404mm wrote: post #68
Underphil wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Worse : You Google a question and realise you yourself asked it many moons ago and it never got answered.

Worst: you find your own answer that says: “Nvm, fixed the issue.”

this is why I have made it a point these days that when I fix an issue, I immediately go to all the forums, subreddits and stackoverflow sites where I posted the question and post the relevant solution. Its a lot of work but totally beats figuring out what you did 6 months later

Re: From novice to master, and back again (2013)

#76

Post by hinkley »

fezfight wrote: post #48
hinkley wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before enlightenment: chop wood, carry water After enlightenment: chop wood, carry water

Where does existential dread fit in there?

Somewhere in the middle. Hopefully not while sharpening the axe or staring into the well.

Re: From novice to master, and back again (2013)

#77

Post by geysersam »

elteto wrote: post #72
icambron wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use the `ln` command a lot. I use the `man ln` command _almost_ as much.

What finally got the `ln` argument order engraved in my mind was learning that you can skip the destination argument: ln -s /foo/bar/baz will create a soft link in the CWD named baz, pointing to /foo/bar/baz. So you see, if you know that you can always skip the destination, then, logically, the source must be the first one!

Finally! Somehow I've never been able to remember that either.

Re: From novice to master, and back again (2013)

#78

Post by hinkley »

latexr wrote: post #59
fezfight wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where does existential dread fit in there?

There’s plenty of opportunity to ponder one’s own existence while chopping wood and carrying water. Or to listen to a podcast.

I do a lot of podcasts or audiobooks while gardening of late. I’m tapering off because it’s not the same experience. I started by listening to just nature based books. It was different. More in some ways, less in others.

If you can’t be alone with your own thoughts then brother are you in a bad place. Everything in moderation.

Re: From novice to master, and back again (2013)

#79

Post by ealexhudson »

eurasiantiger wrote: post #70
alpaca128 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reminds me of how after learning how CPUs, memory, operating systems etc work I thought "wow, it really is all ones and zeroes". A simple phrase but it became more meaningful with deeper understanding.

Sorry, but ”computers work by ones and zeroes” is one of my pet peeves. It is true in the sense that 1 and 0 are common representations for true and false in computer science, but really, it is false and almost certainly establishes magical thinking in the layperson. Modern computers run on electricity, and in electrical circuits such as computers, true/false is represented as a transistor semiconductor being in a co…

Is 1 indicative of current flowing? Or not flowing? Is that consistent with a given chip, let alone an entire system? Is it always DC current, or can it be AC? In fact, is the 1 represented by current, voltage, and/or frequency?

There's lots of different answers here in different contexts. The reason 1s and 0s are good is because they represent the information in the digital domain, not the implementation in the analogue.

Re: From novice to master, and back again (2013)

#80

Post by ryanianian »

elteto wrote: post #72
icambron wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use the `ln` command a lot. I use the `man ln` command _almost_ as much.

What finally got the `ln` argument order engraved in my mind was learning that you can skip the destination argument: ln -s /foo/bar/baz will create a soft link in the CWD named baz, pointing to /foo/bar/baz. So you see, if you know that you can always skip the destination, then, logically, the source must be the first one!

I remember this as "ln=long -s=short $long $short" as in "ln -s $long $short" creates a $short file pointing to $longfile. But to your point, $short is defaulted to basename($long).
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