I also think a lot of programmers could get a sort of enlightenment by getting very proficient in SQL. (To the point where you can do general programming in it using recursive CTEs if you have to, even though probably impractical for real use cases.)
Readit NewsWill_Parker commented on The seven programming ur-languages (2021) madhadron.com/programming... · Posted by u/surprisetalk
Dead Comment
Will_Parker commented on Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns axisofeasy.com/aoe/amazon... · Posted by u/StuntPope
It's explained in point two. We're talking about large quantities of people here. Technically mask blocks droplets. But if you tell everyone to use a mask, does it reduce transmission on average?
What's your plausible scientific reason that blocking droplets doesn't reduce the chance of spreading the virus? My prior is, it does, based on my experience of the mask getting wet when talking.
Will_Parker commented on Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns axisofeasy.com/aoe/amazon... · Posted by u/StuntPope
> It's a disease spread by exhaled droplets. How the heck could masks _not_ work?
You should really get some information on the topic you're discussing, because either you are oblivious to the point you're trying to argue against or are disingenuously misrepresenting what was actually and repeatedly said.
The main argument against wearing any protective equipment, including latex gloves which you casually omitted, was that a) it provided a false sense of safety that ironically ends up increasing the risk of contagion of everyone around you, b) create incentives for those wearing the gear to repeatedly touch their face with a much higher frequency, c) deplete the supply of protective equipment and thus deprive healthcare workers who directly contact with covid19 patients from having basic safety measures.
So how does it not work? I talk, mask gets wet. Doesn't it mean it's blocking some of the droplets from spraying out? Why not?
Will_Parker commented on Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns axisofeasy.com/aoe/amazon... · Posted by u/StuntPope
There was an article on the front page yesterday about the retraction of one of the hydroxychloroquine papers; all of the comments on the original article were of the "they don't want you to know the truth" sort.
You cannot win against true believers.
> You cannot win against true believers
I'm a true believer in the drug's seventy year safety record when given as a prophylactic for malaria prevention millions of times and over the counter in many places.
Will_Parker commented on Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns axisofeasy.com/aoe/amazon... · Posted by u/StuntPope
I'm pretty sure all of that is still true. In some cases, for some people, wearing a mask can be neutral or even net-negative. Maybe we learned enough to find that for the population at large wearing masks is better than not, but it's still a trade off.
> In some cases, for some people, wearing a mask can be neutral or even net-negative.
If you don't wear it on your face.
Will_Parker commented on Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns axisofeasy.com/aoe/amazon... · Posted by u/StuntPope
At least two of those links had nuanced reasons that matched the parent's remarks. One even literately had a three point explanation:
* There is no scientific evidence they are effective in reducing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission
* Their use may result in those wearing the masks to relax other distancing efforts because they have a sense of protection
* We need to preserve the supply of surgical masks for at-risk healthcare workers.
> There is no scientific evidence they are effective in reducing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission
It's a disease spread by exhaled droplets. How the heck could masks _not_ work? Why has common sense, as an acceptable way to obtain knowledge, died in the general public?
Will_Parker commented on Never Use Floats for Money (2016) husobee.github.io/money/f... · Posted by u/adunk
In terms of purity, sure, but pragmatically, meh. You do need to round to cents in ui and after every calculation though. Exercise: how large do amounts need to be before losing a penny?
I used to evangelize integer cents but then I worked on a few systems with floats and the world didn't fall over.
Will_Parker commented on Why Discord is switching from Go to Rust blog.discordapp.com/why-d... · Posted by u/Sikul
> everyone can read the code with the indentation they prefer, while the file stays the same.
Have you ever worked in a code base with many contributors that changed over the course of years? In my experience it always ends up a jumble where indentation is screwed up and no particular tab setting makes things right. I've worked on files where different lines in the same file might assume tab spacing of 2, 3, 4, or 8.
For example, say there is a function with a lot of parameters, so the argument list gets split across lines. The first line has, say, two tabs before the start of the function call. The continuation line ideally should be two tabs then a bunch of spaces to make the arguments line up with the arguments from the first line. But in practice people end up putting three or four tabs to make the 2nd line line up with the arguments of the first line. It looks great with whatever tab setting the person used at that moment, but then change tab spacing and it no longer is aligned.
> In my experience it always ends up a jumble where indentation is screwed up and no particular tab setting makes things right.
Consider linting tools in your build.
I would maybe add SQL as an ur-language as well. It's not quite general purpose like most of these, but it should have a place in this list, I think. It has some kinship with Prolog and the declarative style, but it's really it's own thing.
You could also maybe argue for something like LabView. Many programmers look down on purely graphical programming languages, but with Houdini, Unreal's Blueprints and the various node-based shader/material systems in gamedev, I think it probably deserves it's own little branch of this family tree.
And, not to put too fine a point on it, being extremely proficient will give you a massive competitive edge in the industry.