alden's recent activity
-
Comment on POSSE versus native text posts in ~tech
-
Comment on If eyes emitted light, could they still see? in ~science
alden Your eyes already do emit light! Quite a lot of light, in fact. Your whole body is constantly glowing with infrared light. It's just at too low a frequency for you to see.Your eyes already do emit light! Quite a lot of light, in fact. Your whole body is constantly glowing with infrared light. It's just at too low a frequency for you to see.
-
Comment on Square root of 0<x<2 in ~science
alden Others have mostly addressed the x<2 side of things, so I will tackle the other bit: why do we also need x>0? A student, approaching inequalities for the first time, will take x²<2x and divide by...Others have mostly addressed the x<2 side of things, so I will tackle the other bit: why do we also need x>0? A student, approaching inequalities for the first time, will take x²<2x and divide by x, suggesting that x²<2x whenever x<2. Of course, we know better: if it happens that x=-1, dividing by x should also reverse the direction of the inequality. We don't like dealing with special cases, so a better approach is not to divide at all.
Instead, we can solve by factoring. Subtract 2x from both sides of x²<2x, we find x²-2x<0. Factor, and we find x(x-2)<0. The solution is the interval where the polynomial x(x-2) dips below the x-axis, which is precisely 0<x<2.
This strategy is more powerful than considering special cases. When I teach inequalities, I advise my students to never multiply or divide by anything which could possibly by negative -- there is always a better way using addition, subtraction, and factoring.
We can easily reverse this method to make up inequalities with whatever solutions we wish. For example, if I want an inequality which is true when 2<x<5, I can start at (x-2)(x-5)<0, multiply it out to get x²-7x+10<0, and rearrange to write x²+10<7x. Put into words, we could ask: for what numbers is ten plus the square less than seven times the number?
I hope that makes it a bit clearer why there is a special relationship between x²<2x and 0<x<2. It is the same as the relationship between x²+10<7x and 2<x<5. One expresses the interval directly, the other as a polynomial.
-
Comment on Oatly loses right to call its drinks ‘milk’ in landmark UK ruling – lexical dispute with trade body Dairy UK argued slogan ‘Post Milk Generation’ was misleading to consumers in ~food
alden All this hullabaloo of "milk has to come from animals" is so bizarre to me. The word "milk" has referred to various white cloudy liquids for hundreds of years now. I'm thinking of examples like...All this hullabaloo of "milk has to come from animals" is so bizarre to me. The word "milk" has referred to various white cloudy liquids for hundreds of years now. I'm thinking of examples like coconut milk, or milk of magnesia. I don't see why the dairy industry should get exclusive use of a common English word.
-
Comment on Is the current war in Palestine the first time the victim wound up being seen as the aggressor? in ~humanities.history
alden I think some of what is shaping this perception is that a lot of people only started paying attention after October 2023, but the conflict was already well underway by that point. Certainly the...I think some of what is shaping this perception is that a lot of people only started paying attention after October 2023, but the conflict was already well underway by that point.
Certainly the October attacks accelerated it, but the data shows a picture of extreme escalation leading up to it. Just poking around some data from the UN, starting at the earliest point they have data for, we can see there were around 305 Israeli casualties between January 2008 and October 2023. Meanwhile, there were 302 Palestinian casualties just between October 2022 and October 2023, stopping the count at October 1st. Compare that to 144 Palestinian casualties the year before. The October attacks were brutal, and I would argue unjustified. It still doesn't make sense to view the attacks as unprovoked or out-of-the blue. Rather, they were a predictable response to Israeli escalation and expansion. -
Comment on Valve is possibly making a Steam Controller 2 and a ‘Roy’ for its Deckard in ~games
alden It seems to me that the author of that IGN article did not understand the patent. It's not a patent for Hall effect joysticks, lots of people already make Hall effect joysticks. It's a patent for...It seems to me that the author of that IGN article did not understand the patent. It's not a patent for Hall effect joysticks, lots of people already make Hall effect joysticks. It's a patent for a joystick which includes magnetorheological fluid for haptic feedback. If you want a controller which uses Hall effect joysticks, you can buy one today.
-
Comment on You're running for office on a somewhat petty, yet univerally-understood single issue. What is it? in ~talk
alden For the same reason people pay to use patents before they expire. For that decade, if you paid for it, you are the one making money. If it is successful, you could make a lot of money, and your...Why pay a writer for their book to make a video version out of it when you can just wait that decade out and get it for free?
For the same reason people pay to use patents before they expire. For that decade, if you paid for it, you are the one making money. If it is successful, you could make a lot of money, and your competitors could not touch you.
-
Comment on I walked away from my job as a queer educator in ~lgbt
alden Just chiming in to say this meshes beautifully with the Sisyphus myth. Sisyphus was sent to Tartarus because he pissed off Zeus, but the rolling-the-ball punishment didn't come until later when he...The alternative is to be in misery until you die.
Just chiming in to say this meshes beautifully with the Sisyphus myth. Sisyphus was sent to Tartarus because he pissed off Zeus, but the rolling-the-ball punishment didn't come until later when he cheated death, seeking to live forever. Pushing the ball up the hill is, literally within the story, the consequence of eternal life.
-
Comment on Which magazines do you read? in ~talk
alden I mostly go to magazines for current events/news. Here are my subscriptions: Harper's Current Affairs Jacobin Jewish CurrentsI mostly go to magazines for current events/news. Here are my subscriptions:
- Harper's
- Current Affairs
- Jacobin
- Jewish Currents
-
Comment on Pricing updates — Nebula in ~tech
alden The web interface is better, yes. Just off the top of my head for example, in the web interface you can filter your library to show only unwatched videos. That feature is missing on mobile.The web interface is better, yes. Just off the top of my head for example, in the web interface you can filter your library to show only unwatched videos. That feature is missing on mobile.
-
Comment on DuckDuckGo seems like a significantly worse search engine than Google despite SEO bloat, and I think community discussions mislead people by omitting that in ~tech
alden Actually, you can share the query for people without accounts! If you look in the triangle menu on Kagi, there is a "share this search" option which gives a link like this:...Actually, you can share the query for people without accounts! If you look in the triangle menu on Kagi, there is a "share this search" option which gives a link like this: https://kagi.com/search?q=why+do+wombats+poop+in+cubes%3F&r=us&sh=M7pYwDzNOvx53vfjb5mAFA
-
Comment on Riven (2024) | Launch trailer in ~games
alden This might be a tough genre line to draw, I am sure there's are games which straddle it, but I would classify Myst and Riven as puzzle games, while most of that...This might be a tough genre line to draw, I am sure there's are games which straddle it, but I would classify Myst and Riven as puzzle games, while most of that kleptomaniacal-inventory-combination comes from adventure games. In Myst (and Riven, if I remember correctly) you don't have an inventory. You don't need to bring things from one place to another to solve puzzles. Instead, if you need to get something, it will be a piece of information, a diagram, the code for a combination lock. You are encouraged to keep a paper and pencil nearby while you play.
-
Comment on I’ve stopped using box plots. Should you? in ~design
alden When I was a kid, they told me never to use a box plot unless I knew my data was unimodal. It seems to me that most of the cases this author complains about are situations where it is...When I was a kid, they told me never to use a box plot unless I knew my data was unimodal. It seems to me that most of the cases this author complains about are situations where it is inappropriate to use a box plot, so he misses out on what the box plot offers when it is appropriate.
Where a box plot really shines is when you are comparing multiple unimodal distributions, particularly if your data are sparse or noisy. There has been a trend over the last decade or so toward trying to squeeze every little bit of insight you can from your data, looking for any pattern you can see. I believe this is misguided, because it leads to statistics which are not robust against sampling errors. In contrast, the quantiles are very robust statistics, particularly if you terminate the whiskers at 5% and 95% quantiles rather than 0% and 100%. That is to say, even if the particular sample you have has a little cluster here or there, or if you have a few outliers sneaking in from a different underlying distribution, the quantiles still give you a reliable description of the distribution you are studying. If two samples have very different quantiles, you can reasonably infer that the underlying distributions are different.
As much as we like a visualization to reveal the data, it is just as important that it conceal the data. We are good at seeing patterns, even if they do not mean anything. The discipline in statistics is to remove those parts of the data which people are apt to misinterpret, hopefully leaving something useful. Box plots are designed to conceal the variability which (for example) a strip plot reveals.
-
Comment on Former US President Donald Trump has been found guilty of thirty-four counts of falsifying business records to influence the outcome of the 2016 election in ~society
alden If he were running for senate, the answer would be a bit more clear. Article 1, section 6: The constitution makes it clear that the usual privileges against arrest don't hold if a senator commits...If he were running for senate, the answer would be a bit more clear. Article 1, section 6:
The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
The constitution makes it clear that the usual privileges against arrest don't hold if a senator commits a felony. Of course, we are not talking about a senator here. There is no analogous clause for the president.
-
Comment on Nintendo pre-announces a Switch 2 announcement is coming… eventually in ~games
alden Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass, chapter VIII."You are sad," the Knight said in an anxious tone: "let me sing you a song to comfort you."
"Is it very long?" Alice asked, for she had heard a good deal of poetry that day.
"It's long," said the Knight, "but very, very beautiful. Everybody that hears me sing it—either it brings the tears into their eyes, or else—"
"Or else what?" said Alice, for the Knight had made a sudden pause.
"Or else it doesn't, you know. The name of the song is called 'Haddocks' Eyes'."
"Oh, that's the name of the song, is it?" Alice said, trying to feel interested.
"No, you don't understand," the Knight said, looking a little vexed.
"That's what the name is called. The name really is 'The Aged Aged Man'."
"Then I ought to have said 'That's what the song is called'?" Alice corrected herself.
"No, you oughtn't: that's quite another thing! The song is called 'Ways And Means': but that's only what it's called, you know!"
"Well, what is the song, then?" said Alice, who was by this time completely bewildered.
"I was coming to that," the Knight said. "The song really is 'A-sitting On A Gate': and the tune's my own invention."Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass, chapter VIII.
-
What Boeing did to all the guys who remember how to build a plane
54 votes -
Comment on On Bleem v. Sony and the legality of emulators in ~games
alden A lot of the reporting from that time (The Register, Gamespot) seems to be a bit muddled because of the much larger and more consequential case happening the same week, Sony v. Connectix. Here is...A lot of the reporting from that time (The Register, Gamespot) seems to be a bit muddled because of the much larger and more consequential case happening the same week, Sony v. Connectix. Here is a law review article explaining that case, which did set a precedent allowing reverse engineering for emulation.
-
Comment on What is the "bible" of your hobby or activity? in ~hobbies
alden I tinker with electronics on occasion, and the book The Art of Electronics by Horowitz and Hill is an essential reference. I also sometimes do recreational coding, for which The Art of Computer...I tinker with electronics on occasion, and the book The Art of Electronics by Horowitz and Hill is an essential reference. I also sometimes do recreational coding, for which The Art of Computer Programming by Knuth almost always contains good advice. Not a good introduction for a beginner though, unless they are highly motivated. In the kitchen I always have Joy of Cooking handy. Its recipes and advice are quite reliable, though somewhat plain or understated at times.
-
Comment on Shaun on Palestine in ~society
alden I have a hard time following the criticism presented in that Reddit thread. They seem to conceptualize racism as some crime which must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, rather than as a...I have a hard time following the criticism presented in that Reddit thread. They seem to conceptualize racism as some crime which must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, rather than as a foundational and pervasive part of American ideology. When you see racism as part of the ideology of the Truman administration, it comes across as bizarre to suggest that it did not play a role.
-
Comment on Shaun on Palestine in ~society
alden I thought the thesis was pretty clear. He repeated it a few times. He argued that a thorough understanding of the history of the conflict is not necessary to see that Israel is in the wrong. He...I thought the thesis was pretty clear. He repeated it a few times. He argued that a thorough understanding of the history of the conflict is not necessary to see that Israel is in the wrong. He also shared how he personally came to that conclusion.
I notice that the version of POSSE described here is different from, e g., the version promoted by Cory Doctorow. He not only shares a link to his own blog, but also repeats the entire text of his post on the sites he syndicates to. In my mind, that's what makes it syndication, rather than just self promotion.