What Boeing did to all the guys who remember how to build a plane
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alden's recent activity
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Comment on On Bleem v. Sony and the legality of emulators in ~games
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Comment on What is the "bible" of your hobby or activity? in ~hobbies
alden LinkI 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.
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Comment on Shaun on Palestine in ~misc
alden Link ParentI 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.
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Comment on Shaun on Palestine in ~misc
alden Link ParentI 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.
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Comment on The man who owes Nintendo $14m: Gary Bowser and gaming’s most infamous piracy case in ~games
alden LinkIt bothers me how much Nintendo tries to use this case as an example of someone being punished for software piracy. His criminal sentence was for wire fraud. The penalty for software piracy is...It bothers me how much Nintendo tries to use this case as an example of someone being punished for software piracy. His criminal sentence was for wire fraud. The penalty for software piracy is just a fine.
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Comment on The misguided war on the SAT in ~humanities
alden Link ParentDo you think so? It's not obvious to me why that would be the case.The SAT does too, but it’s relatively easier for poorer students to play it in their favor.
Do you think so? It's not obvious to me why that would be the case.
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Comment on The misguided war on the SAT in ~humanities
alden LinkThis op-ed falls into a common trap, failing to question the premises of its argument. The SAT is designed to predict how well a student will score in their college courses. When College Board...This op-ed falls into a common trap, failing to question the premises of its argument. The SAT is designed to predict how well a student will score in their college courses. When College Board evaluates a question for inclusion on the test, their main criterion is whether it accurately predicts what a student's grades will be. The article spends the whole time defending the SAT on the grounds that it does accurately predict what a student's grades will be, but it does not question why you would want to predict that.
Here are a few other reliable predictors of college student grades:
- Students get better grades if their parents went to college.
- Students get better grades if their parents are wealthy.
- Students get better grades if they were raised in a wealthy zip code.
- Students get better grades if they attended an expensive private school.
- Students get better grades if they are perceived as white, because of structural racism in the college environment.
- Students get better grades in engineering courses if they are men, because of structural sexism.
- Students get better grades if they don't have a major disability.
I could go on. I think it's obvious why it would be wrong to use any of those as criteria for admissions. Part of the goal of a university is to provide opportunity to the disadvantaged. It would be wrong to adopt an admissions practice which reinforces existing social inequalities, even if it does result in a student body which gets better grades.
College Board goes to great lengths to control for effects of race, gender, and class in their tests. They are entirely aware of this criticism. Personally, I think they are fighting a losing battle. I don't think it is possible to create a test of "scholastic aptitude" which does not simply reinforce existing social inequality. In psychometry jargon, I don't think the construct is well-defined. Instead of trying to sort students into the categories of will-do-well and will-not-do-well, I believe that we should direct our energy to making colleges work for all students.
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Comment on What’s something you wish more people understood? in ~talk
alden LinkQuantitative does not mean the same thing as objective. Many measures are objective and quantitative -- it's 50°F outside, this rock weighs seven pounds, that tree is 80 years old. Many measures...- Exemplary
Quantitative does not mean the same thing as objective. Many measures are objective and quantitative -- it's 50°F outside, this rock weighs seven pounds, that tree is 80 years old. Many measures are subjective and qualitative -- that painting is beautiful, this person is kind. Lots of people miss the fact that measures can be objective and qualitative. I remember my college chemistry course a decade ago had a unit on qualitative analysis, where you would mix reagents with an unknown compound and determine visually how it responded (the solution turns blue, a white precipitate forms, orange fumes rise up...). Those are qualitative assessments, but it's not just an opinion that the solution turned blue rather than red.
The category I really wish people would recognize more is the measures that are both quantitative and subjective. When Roger Ebert says a film is a four star film, that doesn't mean it's an objectively good film. Even though he used a number, it's still just his opinion. I read an op-ed last week whining that schools should only be using objective measures to choose who to admit, like SAT scores. SAT scores are quantitative, yes, but they are subjective. They are the opinion of College Board Incorporated, based on a couple of hours of observation. They reflect all the preferences, biases, and limitations of the people designing and grading the assessment. Similarly, a person's GPA is quantitative and subjective. The teachers give a number to represent their opinion of a student's ability. Sure, you could say "the student's GPA is objectively 3.5", but that's just like saying "the film's Ebert score is objectively four stars". Neither of these is an objective measure of merit.
This is not to say it's wrong to use subjective measures. Subjective measures are great. When well-used they can meet you directly at the level of sensation, bypassing the interpretation step of "hang on, is seven pounds a heavy rock or a light rock?" At the end of the day we all can only understand things by relating to our own subjective experience, so it is helpful to hear about other people's subjective experiences. Just don't mistake them for objective facts when an opinion has a number attached.
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Comment on Best Buy is discontinuing physical media in Q1 2024 in ~tech
alden Link ParentIf I am reading the article correctly, it only refers to discontinuing DVD/Blu-ray sales. It seems they will continue to stock video games.If I am reading the article correctly, it only refers to discontinuing DVD/Blu-ray sales. It seems they will continue to stock video games.
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Comment on Opinion - Antonin Scalia was wrong about the meaning of ‘bear arms’ in ~misc
alden Link ParentI can see how a person might think that, especially with the way some people talk about the second amendment in the news. However, that stance makes no sense in the cultural context of when the...I can see how a person might think that, especially with the way some people talk about the second amendment in the news. However, that stance makes no sense in the cultural context of when the Constitution was written. In between the revolution and the Constitution, the United States has the Continental Congress. The Continental Congress had a much weaker roll than the Federal government does under the Constitution. For example, they had trouble getting states to actually pay taxes to the Continental Congress. The Constitution was meant to strengthen the position of the Federal government. They did not have enough support to get the first draft signed, so they created the bill of rights to address the concerns of states who refused to sign the first draft. For example, some minority religious groups feared that a stronger federal government would be a threat to their religious practices, and the first amendment was meant to allay those fears.
In this context the second amendment makes much more sense. States feared that with a stronger federal government they would no longer be able to keep their own state militias. The second amendment was meant to allay that fear, essentially codifying the right to maintain a national guard separate from the military. That's the way the law was interpreted until 2008, too.
Until the 14th amendment passed, the bill of rights was judged to be a limit on what the federal government could do. It was meant to strengthen the positions of states relative to the federal government. This notion that the second amendment was intended to promote armed rebellion by individuals is, when considering the historical context of the bill of rights, bonkers.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden is still trying to forgive student debt in ‘a very direct confrontation’ with US Supreme Court, expert says in ~finance
alden Link ParentRegarding textbooks: there is not one university in this country which does not already have the infrastructure to simply lend students the books they need. Libraries can handle it. It would also...Regarding textbooks: there is not one university in this country which does not already have the infrastructure to simply lend students the books they need. Libraries can handle it. It would also cost less money over all, compared to requiring each student to buy their books, since the books can be used for multiple semesters. It would also be cheaper than renting over all, since the book rental company would not take a cut. I see no reason why the university should not simply buy enough books to lend to all the students who want to borrow. The university is uniquely positioned to be able to predict the demand, so this would also reduce the start-of-semester chaos where students don't have their books yet, or have the wrong editions. Since the university would be buying in bulk, they could negotiate much better pricing.
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Comment on US President Joe Biden is still trying to forgive student debt in ‘a very direct confrontation’ with US Supreme Court, expert says in ~finance
alden Link ParentI am curious where you are getting your information about college enrollments. Over the last decade enrollment in both 4-year and 2-year programs in the US has been on a steady decline,...I am curious where you are getting your information about college enrollments. Over the last decade enrollment in both 4-year and 2-year programs in the US has been on a steady decline, accelerating somewhat during COVID. The vast, vast majority of college students in the US attend public colleges, not for-profit colleges. Here is a source with a variety of enrollment breakdowns over the past decade: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cha
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Comment on Widening US highways doesn't fix traffic. So why do we keep doing it? in ~transport
alden Link ParentI hope you will forgive a bit of pedantry on my part here. When you increase the diameter of a pipe and get a quadratic change in area, that is called geometric. When you add another lane and get...I hope you will forgive a bit of pedantry on my part here. When you increase the diameter of a pipe and get a quadratic change in area, that is called geometric. When you add another lane and get a proportional increase in capacity that is called linear. Neither is these is called exponential.
Perhaps we can still use your analogy. Traffic comes in big waves at rush hours, so perhaps the situation is more aligned with flooding and drout mitigation. Instead of building bigger pipes (highways) we should look for ways to decrease water consumption (make it easier for people to meet their needs without driving) and introduce flood control channels (public transportation which is fast and reliable enough to get commuters off the roads at peak hours).
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Comment on Recommendations for learning how to think and reason in ~books
alden Link ParentWhile many math students find it helpful, Polya's intended audience was actually math teachers, not mathematicians. The examples he chooses are mostly from mathematics, but the heuristics he...While many math students find it helpful, Polya's intended audience was actually math teachers, not mathematicians. The examples he chooses are mostly from mathematics, but the heuristics he introduces are all applicable to other subjects as well.
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Comment on Recommendations for learning how to think and reason in ~books
alden LinkMost of the comments thus far have focused on the questions of "how to make persuasive arguments" or "how to express ideas clearly". I recognize that those questions have a place, but personally,...Most of the comments thus far have focused on the questions of "how to make persuasive arguments" or "how to express ideas clearly". I recognize that those questions have a place, but personally, I find them less interesting than the questions of "how to have good thoughts" and "how to produce a logically sound argument". If my opinions are wrong, I would rather my argument not be persuasive. Maybe this is naive, but I think that if you focus first on getting good ideas and coming by them honestly, it won't be so hard to convince others.
To that end, I suggest two books which have had a big impact on how I think about thinking. First, the psychology book thinking fast and slow by kahneman. It goes into some of the counterintuitive ways people actually do thinking, how people make choices, and the kinds of biases everybody has. The book is starting to show its age, it contains several errors, but I do think it is a generally good book.
Second is the teaching book how to solve it by Polya. This is the best book there is about the actual procedures mathematicians follow when confronted with a problem they don't understand. Polya provides a short, practical list of heuristics which can be used to solve any problem, and writes pages and pages of examples showing how to use each one. While the subject matter is built on Polya's experience as a mathematician and as an educator, the strategies explained in the book are generally applicable to most kinds of problems.
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Comment on How do I use up all this mint? in ~food
alden LinkA sprig of mint is nice on vanilla ice cream. One time when I had too much mint I dried it, I had good mint tea for the next year or so.A sprig of mint is nice on vanilla ice cream.
One time when I had too much mint I dried it, I had good mint tea for the next year or so.
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Comment on Why are so many movies super long now? in ~movies
alden LinkAre they getting longer? The movie It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World was released in 1963, and it's 2 hours 40 minutes. The Godfather was released in 1972 and runs 2 hours 50 minutes. Titanic was...Are they getting longer? The movie It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World was released in 1963, and it's 2 hours 40 minutes. The Godfather was released in 1972 and runs 2 hours 50 minutes. Titanic was released in 1997 and runs 3 hours 15 minutes. Haven't big budget films always run on the longer side?
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Comment on New users: Ask your questions about Tildes here! (v2) in ~tildes
alden LinkWhat is the appropriate response to sealioning, or to posts sharing misinformation? On other platforms I would just downvote and move along, and maybe submit a misinformation report. I'm not...What is the appropriate response to sealioning, or to posts sharing misinformation? On other platforms I would just downvote and move along, and maybe submit a misinformation report. I'm not interested in spending my time writing a reply to every ill-informed post, and I think replying can be a harmful response to any kind of trolling.
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Comment on Permanent archival formats. Do they exist? in ~tech
alden LinkThe Library of Congress has a nice list of recommendations for how to store any media. They even tell you what digital file types to use. I remember hearing a talk from a history professor a few...The Library of Congress has a nice list of recommendations for how to store any media. They even tell you what digital file types to use.
I remember hearing a talk from a history professor a few years ago where they were suggesting ways we can make materials more useful for future historians. They said that if you want to be sure your media can be read in the future, nothing beats high-quality paper. That's the one format which has stood the test of time, which we can be sure will be readable indefinitely.
Of course, that's not exactly practical for a video or a database or a song. If you want to store your digital data for a long time, an LTO Ultrium cartridge will cost about $2 per terabyte and is designed to safely sit on a shelf for 30 years. Of course, the cartridge reader itself will set you back about $1000, and you can only read your data back a few hundred times before the tape wears out. For most people it's more practical to use a cloud backup service and a regular spinning platter hard drive for local backups.
Remember, it's not a question of whether your backups will fail. All methods can fail. What matters is that failures are few and far between, that you notice when it happens, and you can recover gracefully from a failure.
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.