Micycle_the_Bichael's recent activity
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Comment on Contempt culture and its currency in ~tech
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Comment on Paper: Feminism in Programming Language Design in ~comp
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentI was reading "On Lisp" by Paul Graham (free download of the book can be found here) and something he said made me think of your comment. Sorry for the wall of text but I wanted to include as much...I was reading "On Lisp" by Paul Graham (free download of the book can be found here) and something he said made me think of your comment. Sorry for the wall of text but I wanted to include as much context for the quote as possible. The quote starts at the bottom of page
viof the preface and runs onto most of pagevii. Emphasis is mine:Understandably, introductory Lisp books do not emphasize the differences between Lisp and other languages. They have to get their message across to students who have, for the most part, been schooled to think of programs in Pascal terms. It would only confuse matters to explain that, while defun looks like a
procedure definition, it is actually a program-writing program that generates code which builds a functional object and indexes it under the symbol given as the first argument.
One of the purposes of this book is to explain what makes Lisp different from other languages. When I began, I knew that, all other things being equal, I would much rather write programs in Lisp than in C or Pascal or Fortran. I knew also that this was not merely a question of taste. But I realized that if I was actually going to claim that Lisp was in some ways a better language, I had better be prepared to explain why.
When someone asked Louis Armstrong what jazz was, he replied “If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.” But he did answer the question in a way: he showed people what jazz was. That’s one way to explain the power of Lisp—to demonstrate techniques that would be difficult or impossible in other languages. Most books on programming—even books on Lisp programming—deal with the kinds of programs you could write in any language. On Lisp deals mostly with the kinds of programs you could only write in Lisp. Extensibility, bottom-up programming, interactive development, source code transformation, embedded languages—this is where Lisp shows to advantage.
In principle, of course, any Turing-equivalent programming language can do the same things as any other. But that kind of power is not what programming languages are about. In principle, anything you can do with a programming language you can do with a Turing machine; in practice, programming a Turing machine is not worth the trouble.
So when I say that this book is about how to do things that are impossible in other languages, I don’t mean “impossible” in the mathematical sense, but in the sense that matters for programming languages. That is, if you had to write some of the programs in this book in C, you might as well do it by writing a Lisp compiler in C first. Embedding Prolog in C, for example—can you imagine the amount of work that would take? Chapter 24 shows how to do it in 180 lines of Lisp.
I hoped to do more than simply demonstrate the power of Lisp, though. I also wanted to explain why Lisp is different. This turns out to be a subtle question—too subtle to be answered with phrases like “symbolic computation.” What I have learned so far, I have tried to explain as clearly as I can. -
Comment on T1 (previously known as SKT T1) wins the 2024 League of Legends World Championship for the fifth time in ~games
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentI actually did watch a chunk of 2022 worlds! 2011-2020 I was watching every NA game, about 50% of EU, vods for a handful of other regions (CN, SK, BR, SA, OCE (never forget ;_;)), PLT/GLTS, and...I actually did watch a chunk of 2022 worlds! 2011-2020 I was watching every NA game, about 50% of EU, vods for a handful of other regions (CN, SK, BR, SA, OCE (never forget ;_;)), PLT/GLTS, and playoffs for every region. These days, I do still try to tune in for worlds. Some years it has only been finals, some years it has been all of main-stage. Just don't have the time or passion for it the way I use to.
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Comment on T1 (previously known as SKT T1) wins the 2024 League of Legends World Championship for the fifth time in ~games
Micycle_the_Bichael LinkI think the most amazing part of all of this is how unphased and unsurprised I am reading that headline. I haven’t followed LoL closely for a couple years now, but I was a die-hard fan from...I think the most amazing part of all of this is how unphased and unsurprised I am reading that headline. I haven’t followed LoL closely for a couple years now, but I was a die-hard fan from 2011-2021ish. Off the headline alone I was like “oh neat. I bet Faker pulled some absolutely inhuman shit to pull them to another worlds title”. Faker is just so absurdly good that I can believe any team that has him on it has the ability to win worlds
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Comment on AI is killing remote work in ~tech
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentI agree that I think a lot of it comes down to personal preference. What works for you might not work for me, and vice versa. To give the reverse perspective: I would do anything for my company to...I agree that I think a lot of it comes down to personal preference. What works for you might not work for me, and vice versa.
To give the reverse perspective: I would do anything for my company to force people to come into the office 1-2 days a week. This isn't flawless, but I tried to track how much work I would get accomplished in equivalent meeting types between video calls and in-person white boarding over the course of a few months. In a single day of 4hrs solo-work and 4hrs meetings, my team can get done the same amount of work that it takes us an entire week to get done when everyone is remote.
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Comment on Paper: Feminism in Programming Language Design in ~comp
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentI think that is a massive flaw in how we teach STEM at undergraduate levels and does a massive disservice to students.I think that is a massive flaw in how we teach STEM at undergraduate levels and does a massive disservice to students.
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Comment on The misogynistic, bigoted and crude US rally remarks Donald Trump hasn’t disavowed in ~society
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentI just finished watching the first 5 minutes of the Bill Burr video. I was unimpressed. IMO, the use of f*g wasn't necessary for the joke and really didn't add or do anything for the joke. I have...I just finished watching the first 5 minutes of the Bill Burr video. I was unimpressed. IMO, the use of f*g wasn't necessary for the joke and really didn't add or do anything for the joke. I have heard slurs used in jokes that I have found extremely funny, this was not one of them. You didn't miss much by not watching.
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Comment on Paper: Feminism in Programming Language Design in ~comp
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentThis is the big sticking point in my experience. Idk why but STEM folk almost seem allergic to the idea that there can be multiple equally-valid way to analyze something, or that there is value in...Not every paper is trying to take an authoritative stance, especially from within the humanities
This is the big sticking point in my experience. Idk why but STEM folk almost seem allergic to the idea that there can be multiple equally-valid way to analyze something, or that there is value in analyzing problems from different baseline assumptions inherent to the act of doing the analysis itself and not just what the conclusion is.
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Comment on Paper: Feminism in Programming Language Design in ~comp
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentI don't disagree with you that a lot of STEM kids wouldn't take the courses seriously. I double majored in math and cs at a liberal arts school; I saw and heard how my peers talked about the...I don't disagree with you that a lot of STEM kids wouldn't take the courses seriously. I double majored in math and cs at a liberal arts school; I saw and heard how my peers talked about the required non-STEM courses. However, I also took a Native American Religion and Culture class freshman year to satisfy some of my graduation requirements and decided to minor in Religious Studies. I had 0 interest in religious studies prior to walking into that class. The requirement to take that course drastically changed my life. If I am purely trying to appeal to STEM kids and focusing on the things they value: the skills I learned from my humanities classes have helped me stand out in job interviews, I am better at communicating my ideas and explaining things, especially to non-technical people like managers which has let me advance in my career at a faster rate than the other people I know in similar fields. Personally, I think it is worth it to make them required. A bunch of people wont learn anything, but plenty of people will and that is enough for me. Especially given the current consequences of the bulk of the tech field having a lack of understanding and/or respect for the humanities.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentI feel like I have tried and given a fair chance to Cowboy Bebop and Steins;Gate dubs. Which is sad because I would love to add Cowboy Bebop to the list of shows I can passively enjoy having on in...I feel like I have tried and given a fair chance to Cowboy Bebop and Steins;Gate dubs. Which is sad because I would love to add Cowboy Bebop to the list of shows I can passively enjoy having on in the background while I am knitting or something.
Baccano is a weird case. I think it is the dub that I feel is the best-done. Unfortunately(?), I first watched the Baccano sub in my formative years and it immediately became and has remained one of my favorite pieces of media ever. I've watched it countless times and shown it to everyone I know. It's just a very special piece of media for me and so hearing the dubbed voice I can't stop thinking "that's not what that character's voice sounds like". No offense to the voice actors of the dub; the parts I saw were good! I'm just too married to the version of the show I watched when I was younger.
Never heard of stand alone complex, but I am adding it to my list to try!
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentAre you watching subbed or dubbed? I keep searching for dubs I enjoy and I just cannot do it, but I am always willing to try again if someone says the dub is spectacularAre you watching subbed or dubbed? I keep searching for dubs I enjoy and I just cannot do it, but I am always willing to try again if someone says the dub is spectacular
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Comment on Paper: Feminism in Programming Language Design in ~comp
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentSorry, I want to make sure I answer the right question: are you asking how human assumptions and biases impact programming language design and by extension how problems are approached and solved?Sorry, I want to make sure I answer the right question: are you asking how human assumptions and biases impact programming language design and by extension how problems are approached and solved?
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Comment on Paper: Feminism in Programming Language Design in ~comp
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentWhat you are describing here is the act of analyzing something through a feminist lens, which is what the author states they are doing throughout the paper. Feminism isn't just a socio-political...Alright, I don't think that's really feminism either. What this paper reads like is, someone has a really strong interest in feminism, and has come to the not unsurprising realization that there are parallels in feminist thought that resonate with inequality and disparity in other areas of life.
What you are describing here is the act of analyzing something through a feminist lens, which is what the author states they are doing throughout the paper. Feminism isn't just a socio-political movement, it is also a philosophical framework.
However, one could do this from any other critique of society and do the same thing and it would read identically, but be identically wrong. This could equally have been written as "decolonization in programming language design" or "class consciousness in programming language design" or any other similar angle, and they'd be equally shallow.
I don't think they are wrong. You can think that a feminist lens isn't a useful perspective for this subject, but from my reading of the paper they are correctly applying a feminist lens to PL design. What do you see in the paper that is an inaccurate assessment when thinking from a feminist framework?
Honestly, analyzing PL design from a lens of decolonization or class consciousness would be a great thing to do! We should be analyzing everything from multiple frameworks/lenses. Some of those analyses might be summed up as "this basically aligns with the status quo" or "this framework wasn't particularly applicable or useful for analysis", and those would be good, worthwhile things to do. I don't know if this applies to you, but this is something I encounter A LOT when talking to people who have more traditional-STEM backgrounds: there is not one "correct" lens to analyze something from; there are infinitely many. It seems like the STEM people I talk to view a paper like this as something that is either "correct" or "incorrect" based on if they personally agree with the conclusions the author makes, and that just isn't how the humanities would approach a paper like this. The questions of "Is this a correct application of a feminist lens to PL design" and "How much value do I think this lens has with respect to PL design" are independent questions, neither of which is guaranteed to have a binary result.
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Comment on Paper: Feminism in Programming Language Design in ~comp
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentA computer is a tool that humans interact with in order to accomplish a task. The baseline assumptions the creator of a tool makes are reflected in that design. The method and language for...However, computers are just overgrown calculators. You're not going to stray too far from mathematics and logic at the end of the day.
A computer is a tool that humans interact with in order to accomplish a task. The baseline assumptions the creator of a tool makes are reflected in that design. The method and language for interacting with that tool influences how users approach completing that task. You move beyond mathematics and logic the second a human gets involved in the process.
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Comment on Paper: Feminism in Programming Language Design in ~comp
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentI'd argue that from how many people in the lobsters and this comment thread seem to be unwilling or unable to understand the difference between "feminism" and a "feminist lens", that the preamble...Also, the preamble about feminism takes up a big chunk of the paper; I'd have preferred that they just assume a basic level of knowledge and/or provide references for those who need it.
I'd argue that from how many people in the lobsters and this comment thread seem to be unwilling or unable to understand the difference between "feminism" and a "feminist lens", that the preamble was very necessary. Honestly, it has reaffirmed my belief that every STEM major should be required to take two humanities courses, if not more. The stuff people are getting stuck on are concepts tackled in an advanced 100-level or 200-level English course at University.
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Comment on Topless men: should they be banned if they’re not at the pool or the beach? in ~life.men
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentThat’s why I asked the question, because I could tell I didn’t understand what you were saying and didn’t want to assume what you meant. I was thinking about public transit bus, not an elementary...That’s why I asked the question, because I could tell I didn’t understand what you were saying and didn’t want to assume what you meant. I was thinking about public transit bus, not an elementary school. And yes, I agree intent matters.
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Comment on Topless men: should they be banned if they’re not at the pool or the beach? in ~life.men
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentFor clarification, would an alternative wording of this be "It is perfectly reasonable to punish someone for being nude in their home, if they live within eyeshot of a place people gather"? Or...It's reasonable not to want the bus stop having full frontal every day
For clarification, would an alternative wording of this be "It is perfectly reasonable to punish someone for being nude in their home, if they live within eyeshot of a place people gather"? Or would "it is perfectly reasonable for an individual person to prefer not seeing naked people while doing something in public" be closer?
I am assuming in either case that we are talking about non-sexual nudity and not someone jerking off while making eye contact people.
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Comment on Topless men: should they be banned if they’re not at the pool or the beach? in ~life.men
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentThat's the thing that really gets me about all of this; I don't even like being naked. If I am running around my apartment naked, 99% chance it is because I forgot to grab a towel before getting...That's the thing that really gets me about all of this; I don't even like being naked. If I am running around my apartment naked, 99% chance it is because I forgot to grab a towel before getting in the shower. This isn't some "oh I love being naked" thing. I just do not agree that a person doing something harmless in their place of residence should be penalized because a random person was made uncomfortable by what they saw while invading that person's privacy.
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Comment on Topless men: should they be banned if they’re not at the pool or the beach? in ~life.men
Micycle_the_Bichael Link ParentA great point! And I guess by extension, what about queer men? Should we start police how men dress? I mean, men are horny monkeys after all. We can’t expect straight men to control their urges,...A great point! And I guess by extension, what about queer men? Should we start police how men dress? I mean, men are horny monkeys after all. We can’t expect straight men to control their urges, why should we expect queer men to be able to? Both are men, and so are horny primal beasts that can’t control their urges.
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Comment on Topless men: should they be banned if they’re not at the pool or the beach? in ~life.men
Micycle_the_Bichael (edited )Link ParentI currently live on the ground floor of a duplex in a densely-packed neighborhood of all houses that have at most 10ft between the front door and the sidewalk. Some of the houses in the...I currently live on the ground floor of a duplex in a densely-packed neighborhood of all houses that have at most 10ft between the front door and the sidewalk. Some of the houses in the neighborhood are single family, some are multi-family. Before that I lived for 5 years in various apartments and condos. Before that I lived with my parents in the suburbs. I feel the same way about all of them. I go for extended walks around my neighborhood for exercise every day. I walk past a bunch of houses walking to and from the bus stop every day. I'm sorry but it really is not difficult to avoid looking into people's windows. [edit: I originally phrased this like I have never glanced in someone's window before, which is not accurate. Rephrasing to better represent that] And when I glance into someone's window and don't like what I see, I don't think "man, that person shouldn't do that in their house because I don't like it." I think "man, I wish I hadn't seen that. Guess I will make sure not to look in that window anymore."
Edit: I also want to add that in the last decade of living in the city, in all the times I have accidentally looked in someone's window, I have never seen a naked person. I would be fascinated to find out how many people have actually had this happen to them.
yeah I think a lot of people (myself included) will often conflate “Fuck PHP, it’s a shit language” with “Fuck PHP, I hate using it”. I am forever on the “fuck PHP” train because of my experiences working with it in college and for a few years at my current job; I just find it extremely frustrating to work with every time I am asked to. But that doesn’t mean it’s inherently a bad language or that people should feel bad for liking/using it. So usually I just keep my thoughts on it to myself unless directly asked.