brian_spiering (u/brian_spiering)

brian_spiering commented on Effective learning: Rules of formulating knowledge (1999) supermemo.com/en/blog/twe... · Posted by u/swatson741

greymalik · a day ago

It feels circular. How is learning different from understanding? How is understanding different from knowledge? I’m supposed to understand before I learn. How do I understand if not through learning? I’m supposed to understand to gain knowledge. Isn’t knowledge understanding?

brian_spiering · a day ago

You are correct that those concepts are interrelated. It works well not to get caught up in precise definitions. Instead, reflect on your current level and take the next best step.

brian_spiering commented on The half-life of tech skills haraldagterhuis.substack.... · Posted by u/j-a-a-p

jujube3 · a month ago

Do people really believe that knowledge from more than 30 months ago has no value? Even the people doing keyword searches on resumes are smarter than that.

brian_spiering · a month ago

The Lindy effect can be a useful heuristic. Something invented 30 months probably has less long-term value something that was invented 10 years ago and is being used.

brian_spiering commented on Underwater turbine spinning for 6 years off Scotland's coast is a breakthrough apnews.com/article/tidal-... · Posted by u/djoldman

sneilan1 · 2 months ago

Not to sound like a crazy person, but, does taking energy from tidal waves mean taking energy from the momentum of the earth itself? I read a long time ago somewhere that if we extract enough tidal energy, the earth's rotation could slow down somehow. Obviously as a layperson on this matter I'm not that well-informed but just curious of the possibilities if anyone knows.

brian_spiering · 2 months ago

Given the current rate of development, it probably won't be an issue for a while.

brian_spiering commented on Buying a Home Is Probably Even Worse Than NYTimes/NerdWallet Calculators Imply tinkerdeck.com/projects/r... · Posted by u/weepinbell

ivape · 2 months ago

Is there any country where housing is not considered a primary asset?

brian_spiering · 2 months ago

In Japan, houses are presumed to have a limited lifespan and depreciate in value over time.

brian_spiering commented on Ask HN: Seeking ways to improve my planning skills and follow-through · Posted by u/skuuuLaPoo

brian_spiering · 3 months ago

Try David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD), part of which is the Natural Planning Model.

brian_spiering commented on Unhappy Meals (2007) michaelpollan.com/article... · Posted by u/pramodbiligiri

Aziell · 3 months ago

That line "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." really hit me.

Sometimes when I go shopping, I catch myself checking fat and sugar first, then looking for added omega-3. The more I read, the more complicated eating seems to become. I keep staring at nutrition labels, and end up feeling more confused about what I should actually eat.

brian_spiering · 3 months ago

One heuristic is to choose foods without nutrition labels.

brian_spiering commented on The Real Book (2021) 99percentinvisible.org/ep... · Posted by u/Tomte

xanderlewis · 5 months ago

Who looks down on the Real Book?

brian_spiering · 5 months ago

The Real Book is an excellent resource for what it is. However since it is the primary book of jazz, it can have too much of an influence. The Real Book has a limited number of songs and entire subgenres of jazz are not represented. The structure of the songs is relatively narrow. Songs are rarely added.

brian_spiering commented on When a winter storm trapped a luxury passenger train near Donner Pass smithsonianmag.com/histor... · Posted by u/pseudolus

stickfigure · 8 months ago

Anyone know where this happened? The article says "near Yuba pass" but Yuba Pass is on the 49, far north of Donner Pass and not on the RR line. It also mentions the rescue train from Reno got stuck at Soda Springs, which _is_ on the RR line and west of Donner Pass.

EDIT: Seems to be more detail (and better pictures) here:

http://cprr.org/Museum/Stranded_Streamliner_1952/index.html

(tiny link from the article, easy to miss)

brian_spiering · 8 months ago

There is the nearby Yuba Gap.

brian_spiering commented on Coding interviews are stupid (ish) darrenkopp.com/posts/2024... · Posted by u/darrenkopp

ok123456 · a year ago

I've found that asking them to review some obviously bad code with glaring errors and problems is more informative than asking them to solve some random DSA problem.

Candidates who can code well can point out code that has obvious problems. Just ask if this is good or bad, and if it is bad, how they could improve it. This demonstrates competency and doesn't make the interview seem like a grind but instead more like a conversation.

brian_spiering · a year ago

I use the "launch ramp" technique. Ask a series of prompts (instead of a single prompt with a long answer). Explain the prompts that will get progressively more complex, aka the ramp will gradually get steeper and get very steep later. I can stop the interview quickly if the candidate can not find simple mistakes and how to remedy them. I can also jump ahead to complex issues to engage highly qualified candidates.

brian_spiering commented on Experience report: It will never work in theory computer.org/csdl/magazin... · Posted by u/mpweiher

llm_trw · a year ago

>In the wake of recent political events, our community’s energy and attention should be focused on more important things.

Living like this sounds exhausting. The only thing worse I can imagine is having to listen to people who actually think like this.

brian_spiering · a year ago

I was working with a non-profit that taught people around the world how to teach tech skills in their local communities. There was a shift to focusing on recent political events which was a major reason for my leaving. My take was if you personally want to do that, go for it. However, reacting to recent political events was not part of the group's mission. I wanted to spend my limited time on the group's primary mission of education.

u/brian_spiering

KarmaCake day203June 8, 2016

About

A consultant specializing in Natural Language Processing (NLP), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning. Providing training to engineers and add advice on implementing cutting-edge algorithms and research to build data products.

Drop me a line - bspiering@gmail.com

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