the flood!
Readit NewsNOAA is fantastic, I was alpine climbing in the very bottom of south america near El Chalten and NOAA is pretty much the only place to get a reliable forecast down there. Fantastic service.
smfjaw commented on When are two proofs essentially the same? (2007) gowers.wordpress.com/2007... · Posted by u/ColinWright
Reducing two mathematical proofs to being 'essentially the same' just because they reach the same conclusion overlooks something crucial: each proof isn’t merely a path to a result but a unique expression of understanding. A proof has its own logical and conceptual structure, and that structure isn’t interchangeable without losing some of its inherent value. Comparing proofs shouldn’t just focus on a shared outcome: the path taken, the relationships it establishes, and the concepts it explores are as fundamental as the conclusion itself. Perhaps it’s time to view mathematics not just as calculation, but as a real act of knowledge that in its diversity deepens our grasp of reality
computational reducibility/irreducibility is a big topic in computer science and is incredibly interesting. It allows us to prove that certain "computers" are the same through proofs and that they can carry out the same tasks regardless of the actions that take place within them. I would suggest looking into that as it really opens your eyes to just how similar computationally so many things are
Dead Comment
smfjaw commented on My business card runs Linux and Ultrix (2022) dmitry.gr/?r=05.Projects&... · Posted by u/caned
subtle off green PCB, my god, that's really nice
I wonder why no one has introduced a hybrid of the two, for example, you have a private key on your Gov ID, you turn up to the polling station, sign your paper with your ID, bob's your dads brother.
Seems like this would solve the ballot stuffing issues as well as being easily electronically verifiable, it's just not a fully digital solution
smfjaw commented on Amazon's exabyte-scale migration from Apache Spark to Ray on EC2 aws.amazon.com/blogs/open... · Posted by u/nojito
Im curious, how do data scientists use these massive datasets, especially the old stuff. Is it more of a compliance and need/should-save type thing or is the data actually useful? Im baffled by these numbers having never used a large BI tool, and am genuinely curious how the data is actually used operationally.
As a layman, I imagine lots of it loses relevancy very quickly, e.g Amazon sales data from 5 years ago is marginally useful to determining future trends and analyzing new consumer behavior regimes?
I work in finance and it's great having big historical datasets, even if the figures are far lower in previous years it's good to see system 'shocks' and these can be used at a different magnitude/scaled for future forecasting
smfjaw commented on Why Discover is no American Express popularfintech.com/p/why-... · Posted by u/kazanins
One thing not discussed is the relationship between AmEx's big purchases and its fees. American Express puts a lot of effort into keeping its paying consumers happy because they are both American Express customers (because they pay fees) and because customers really want to use American Express cards at merchants (and so American Express can charge those merchants higher fees).
I'll give you an example. Years ago, I bought a fancy sofa online. The merchant sent periodic "don't worry, we're just behind schedule" every week or so for months, and then sent one last email saying they had declared bankruptcy. I was way out of my chargeback window, but when I called American Express, they instantly refunded me my purchase anyway. That experience meant that, if I ever make another big purchase online, I will go out of my way to use an American Express card, including switching merchants if necessary.
Keeping customers who make big purchases happy costs money, both in losses and in administrative overhead, but it pays out on both the customer and merchant side in the long run.
Amex isn't very popular in my country but they meet a really good intersection between the old school white glove service and an easily usable hassle free modern service
smfjaw commented on Pay $1 to Hear Wu-Tang Clan’s Secret Album (Eventually) nytimes.com/2024/06/13/ar... · Posted by u/throwawaycities
Hopefully Shkreli nuts up, chances some more jail time, and releases his copy so these crypto freaks get some amount less than they would've had it not been free. I know the article says they're "in talks" with the artists but I don't believe for a second that the people who actually did the work will get what they deserve for having made it, or even close to what these vampires will get for shitting on the original point of the album.
I imagine the "talks" amount to one of them (probably ghostface) telling them to go f themselves
I don't presume that I am important enough that it should be necessary to invite me to discussions with esteemed people, nor that my opinion is imported enough that everyone should hear it, but I would least like to know that such events are happening in my neighbourhood and who I can share ideas with.
This isn't really a criticism of this specific event or even topic, but the overall feeling that things in the world are being discussed in places where I and presumably many other people with valuable input in their individual domains have no voice. Maybe in this particular event it was just a group of individuals who wanted to learn more about the topic, on the other hand, maybe some of those people will end up drafting policy.
There's a small part of me that's just feeling like I'm not one of the cool kids. The greater and more rational concern isn't so much about me as a person but me as a data point. If I am interested in a field, have a viewpoint I'd like to share and yet remain unaware of opportunities to talk to others, how many others does this happen to? If these are conversations that are important to humanity, are they being discussed in a collection of non overlapping bubbles?
I think the fact that this was in New Zealand is kind of irrelevant anyway, given how easy it is to communicate globally. It just served to for the title capture my attention.
(I hope, at least, that Simon or Jack attended)