Tech stuff and other ramblings
One cannot go anywhere on tech-X(f/k/a Twitter) without seeing some variant of "e/acc" in people's bios. For those outside the loop, it stands for "effective accelerationism" and more or less means "let's build huge AI and rockets and get to the 'future' asap"[1]. Those e/acc guys are a fun bunch. I wish everyone was as forward looking as them. But they are a vanguard and it shows. Take these…
There's an episode of The Office where Kevin Malone says: Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick? Kevin's simple nature hides the true depth of the question. I, like most people, didn’t think much about this statement until I read Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow . In the book he states we perceive those using a wider vocabulary as less intelligent than those using a narrow…
(if you want to be creative) Disclaimer: this article targets those that are trying to advance themselves in some way through creativity. If you are content with your life and you aren't striving towards some greater purpose, please do keep working out. Introduction If you want to further yourself in a way that requires creativity, such as founding a startup or becoming an artist, stop working…
Disclaimer: I am a professional software engineer, a mathematical hack, and a fixed-gear noob. Take what I say with a grain of salt ;) I've recently picked up a new hobby: riding fixed gear bicycles, or fixies for short. A fixie is a bike with: Only one speed. A fixed rear gear. If the chain moves, so does the wheel. As few brakes as possible. Why would a person want to ride such a bike? Because…
Because my mind is limited with respect to its storage space, I use external tools to manage my knowledge. I have developed three primary tools that I use to keep myself sharp. Firstly I have my scratch paper, which is like my RAM, my working memory. Secondly I have Obsidian, which I use like a hard drive, and indexible repository of well-formatted knowledge. Thirdly I have my paper journal, which…
TL;DR Find a way to make language learning fun. For me, it was to think of it as a problem-solving exercise, like programming. Don't be afraid to change your approach if something isn't working. Most things are achievable by most people with the right approach. If all you want is the results of my Quixotic journey to learn Spanish, scroll down to Approach #4 Introduction I am a software engineer…