mose's recent activity
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Comment on What do you think of LeetCode? Did anyone of you succeed thanks to it? in ~comp
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
mose LinkI've been reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. I'm really enjoying it. Something about the writing is very soothing in an interesting way. I've been having trouble remaining...I've been reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. I'm really enjoying it. Something about the writing is very soothing in an interesting way. I've been having trouble remaining committed to books lately, so I'm glad to have picked it up.
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Comment on When do you use singletons? in ~comp
mose Link ParentThat's interesting. I don't have experience with implementing languages, but that seems like a common (?) approach -- true, false, and nil are singletons in Ruby, I believe.That's interesting. I don't have experience with implementing languages, but that seems like a common (?) approach --
true,false, andnilare singletons in Ruby, I believe. -
Comment on Looking for career switching advice from Film/Business to Software Engineering in ~comp
mose Link ParentInventory management app sounds like a great project!Inventory management app sounds like a great project!
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Comment on Looking for career switching advice from Film/Business to Software Engineering in ~comp
mose (edited )LinkI made a switch from publishing (was a liberal arts major) to software engineering. I was self taught, and so I can say it definitely can be done. It's hard to comment on timetables etc, there are...- Exemplary
I made a switch from publishing (was a liberal arts major) to software engineering.
I was self taught, and so I can say it definitely can be done. It's hard to comment on timetables etc, there are so many variables in play. FWIW 6 months seems a bit tight. If it's a hard deadline, then so be it and you gotta work within that constraint. Either way, after 6 months of consistent self study (or some other route like a bootcamp), you will have learned a ton and you will be that much closer to your career switch. At minimum you will have gained a very valuable and useful skill to go along with your MBA. I wouldn't discount that at all.
For me, I taught myself over the course of two years while I had a full time job. I intentionally avoided setting a deadline for myself because I wanted to avoid burning out from the pressure of meeting that deadline. This of course is a luxury i had, since I had a good low stress job and could afford to take my time. But I would emphasize that if you genuinely enjoy programming, you will find yourself propelled much further and more easily when you are self teaching if you are learning material, building projects, reading for learnings sake (ie, not with the explicitly conscious intention of learning X for your resume). When self teaching, I found that things worked better for me if I focused more on the enjoyable pursuit of learning software as a hobby, and that if I followed this approach, one day I would wake up and know enough to get a job. When I found myself in a stretch where I was learning or doing something purely for the resume, I got much more fatigued.
FWIW, I did about 1.5 years of python and then 6 months of Ruby (some sql and JavaScript thrown in there too). I got a job at a rails shop (Ruby), though i do some python too. My advice is always to follow your interests, though, so not making an arg for those languages over some of the others you mentioned (eg c++).
As for learning fundamentals vs projects etc, i think this is a common but unhelpful framing. Programming is all about learning a variety of tools and putting them to use. You don't need to be a seamstress to sew a button on a shirt. In my former life, I was a copyeditor and I noticed that a frequent mistake folks would make would be to accidentally duplicate some word -- "I went to the the store". So one of my first projects was called "check4repeats" that scanned a text file for duplicate words. I also made a command line hangman game. These projects were bad! But getting into the habit of "okay I learned a few new things (tools), what small thing could I make to give them a spin?" will break you out of the tutorial, tutorial, tutorial cycle and allow you to learn to figure stuff out with fewer guardrails. It will also help you find your way to tools and concepts you didn't know you need to know ("ok how do I make this button do X? How do I store the users score in a database?")
Wrt bootcamps, I should mention, I've worked with bootcampers as well, and my company recently participated in a bootcamp show/tell, where every candidate there got hired. So from my perspective (probably depending on the bootcamp) bootcamps are absolutely a viable route. Obviously in most cases you have to put down money, can't keep a job, the time/day commitment is much greater than it might be if you're self taught. But they seem to work for many people. A lot of it probably comes down to style -- do you prefer structured guidance, a la a classroom vs unstructured self pursuit.
Finally, I should mention: You have an MBA, that should help you out. I was in publishing and got a job as a SWE at a publisher. Professional SWE is all about leveraging your programming skills and knowledge to solve business (or other kinds of) problems. So don't neglect that angle or think that your previous experience is not applicable.
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Comment on Best romantic movies? in ~movies
mose LinkBefore Sunrise. Directed by Richard Linklater. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy meet on a train and wander through Vienna together. Just an excellent movie overall, certainly romantic.Before Sunrise. Directed by Richard Linklater. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy meet on a train and wander through Vienna together. Just an excellent movie overall, certainly romantic.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
mose Link ParentMy favorite book ever. Completely wondrous and delightful, was hooked with that first "Snowballs have flown their arcs..." A similar book that is also really great and doesnt go too......My favorite book ever. Completely wondrous and delightful, was hooked with that first "Snowballs have flown their arcs..."
A similar book that is also really great and doesnt go too... pynchon...on you, is The Sot Weed Factor by John Barth. Lacks the magic of Mason and Dixon imo but still fantastic
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Comment on Stop trying to shame socialists into voting for Joe Biden: It’s really about performatively denouncing leftists as irresponsible, for the edification of the liberals who are watching in ~society
mose (edited )Link ParentI'll just say as explicit socialist entities it'd be kinda strange for DSA and Jacobin to endorse Biden. As it would be equally strange to see an article chastising Libertarians for not endorsing...I'll just say as explicit socialist entities it'd be kinda strange for DSA and Jacobin to endorse Biden. As it would be equally strange to see an article chastising Libertarians for not endorsing Biden (and they're actually going to run a candidate it sounds like). I'm not sure these non-endorsements are performative; they seem completely consistent and coherent with their ideological positions and missions.
Ultimately, most eligible voters aren't going to vote for Biden (Trump voters + 3rd party voters + non voters) (I will though fwiw). Given this, and with respect to doing and saying responsible things for the purpose of defeating Trump, I'd probably look more towards what the candidate (and folks who get op-ed space in a paper with 500k daily circulation) is doing to persuade these voters.
Not familiar with "GamerGate," so can't speak to the comparison.
Edit: Just to reiterate though I don't think shaming and scolding is a useful way to do politics and advance your agenda, whether it's in Jacobin or NYT.
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Comment on Stop trying to shame socialists into voting for Joe Biden: It’s really about performatively denouncing leftists as irresponsible, for the edification of the liberals who are watching in ~society
mose Link ParentHm I interpreted that parenthetical as "being able to call Trump a fascist in the NYT is evidence he's not a fascist" (not something I agree with, but that's how I read it)Hm I interpreted that parenthetical as "being able to call Trump a fascist in the NYT is evidence he's not a fascist" (not something I agree with, but that's how I read it)
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Comment on Stop trying to shame socialists into voting for Joe Biden: It’s really about performatively denouncing leftists as irresponsible, for the edification of the liberals who are watching in ~society
mose (edited )Link ParentShaming/scolding not an effective tactic across the board in my opinion. But the neoliberal shill stuff isn't necessarily (probably depends on the article) shaming/scolding in the same sense --...Shaming/scolding not an effective tactic across the board in my opinion. But the neoliberal shill stuff isn't necessarily (probably depends on the article) shaming/scolding in the same sense -- that's a substantive (again depends on the article) criticism if you think Buttigieg's platform embraces neoliberal policies and you think neoliberal policies are bad. I think it would clear the air a bit if the criticisms from the center were just straight "socialist policies are bad." But doing that would recognize the left as an independent constituency that must be considered alongside independents and moderate republicans.
Edit: just to add I think there's a performative element here too. A "this guy is a neoliberal shill" article could aim to persuade the center, but it's just as often about appealing to the base you already have or others (not necessarily moderates). And that's precisely the point made in the Jacobin piece:
it’s about performatively denouncing leftists as irresponsible, for the edification of the liberals who are watching.
Which is fine, I guess, it's just not persuasive.
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Comment on Stop trying to shame socialists into voting for Joe Biden: It’s really about performatively denouncing leftists as irresponsible, for the edification of the liberals who are watching in ~society
mose Link ParentI agree with your implicit point (if I understand it correctly as the current situation is so dire that one ought to vote against Trump by voting for Biden). But voting behavior will be what it is...I agree with your implicit point (if I understand it correctly as the current situation is so dire that one ought to vote against Trump by voting for Biden). But voting behavior will be what it is (we had 55.7% turnout of eligible voters in 2016) and usually the margin at the national level is relatively tight. And so persuasion is necessary to the extent that the needle can be moved in your direction in this context (get non voters to vote, get potential third party voters to vote for you, get opposition votes). For some reason, persuasion is viewed as a reasonable and good for the "get opposition votes" case, but -- as the Jacobin article argues -- is seen as something that shouldn't be necessary for the first two.
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Comment on Stop trying to shame socialists into voting for Joe Biden: It’s really about performatively denouncing leftists as irresponsible, for the edification of the liberals who are watching in ~society
mose (edited )Link ParentI think with respect to current Biden/DNC/etc overtures, leftists are (reasonably imo) skeptical of the sincerity and commitment a Biden administration will make to progressive priorities. They...I think with respect to current Biden/DNC/etc overtures, leftists are (reasonably imo) skeptical of the sincerity and commitment a Biden administration will make to progressive priorities. They may also be disappointed by some of the overtures (for instance, in https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/us/politics/biden-sanders-medicare-student-debt.html the proposal to lower the medicare age to 60 is pitched as a concession, but I suspect most leftists find that to be quite insufficient. In terms of concessions/overtures, I think something like medicare for all for children would go over much better). Of course, there's room enough to disagree about the sufficiency.
In any case, I think the notion of fault and blame is central here. Biden's proposed overtures aside, I think the referenced NYT article is representative of a common tendency and attitude of moderates (who overwhelmingly maintain control of the party) towards the leftwing. Shaming/scolding some constituency for their voting behavior doesn't really make sense as a method of political persuasion (but does make sense if you think you deserve those votes a priori). Biden himself was often quick to tell various voters on the campaign trail "go vote for Trump" when he received criticism from the left (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/11/22/joe-biden-tells-immigration-activist-you-should-vote-trump/4273814002/). This tendency seems to be in stark contrast to the approach moderate Democrats take towards moderate independents and Republicans. Which I think makes sense, because I think they (moderate Democrats) are really trying to appeal to those voters -- shaming them into voting D certainly isn't going to work.
It's interesting to compare the relationship both parties have to their more radical wings, as I don't see a similar dynamic between the center-right and the more radical right (though admittedly not an area I spend much time observing).
(In the end though fwiw, my bet is whatever percentage of left wing voters usually come out and vote for the Democrat will be the percentage that comes out in November).
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
mose Link ParentI loved that book -- particularly the prologue, which was published independently as Pafko at the Wall.I loved that book -- particularly the prologue, which was published independently as Pafko at the Wall.
When I was learning programming, I spent a lot of time using a similar site (Codewars). It does help you flex a certain programming 'muscle,' figuring out how to solve a certain types of programming problems efficiently and succinctly. Besides helping you strengthen this element of your thinking (and helping it come more naturally), the best thing I can say about these sites is that they show you how other people solved the problems and usually expose you to new methods/functionality of the language you're working in (e.g., standard library functions you may not have known existed).
For those reasons specifically, I think these sites can be quite beneficial. But I absolutely do not think they are necessary to become a good programmer and the problems themselves are completely divorced from 99% of the work I do on a day to day basis.