=== ANCHOR POEM ===
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 "computer science degrees don't prepare you for what the industry is really
 like"
 
 okay great that's the kind of stuff I want to learn
 
 "but in order to excel you need to know how to update legacy spaghetti
 applications and work with java spring-boot and front-end frameworks"
 
 no thanks, I kinda just want to do computation with my computer by learning
 computer science
 
 "... what kind of computation? the kind that can get you paid?"
 
 no the kind that looks pretty and/or uses a lot of threads and manual memory
 management to do very little of importance
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=== SIMILARITY RANKED ===

--- #1 fediverse/517 ---
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 @user-246 @user-366 @user-367 @user-353 
 
 My classes only briefly touched on 2nd wave feminism, because apparently 1st
 and 3rd were more important. I haven't gone back and re-examined it because
 I'm too busy learning about computers - alas! that there should be more hours
 in the day? I wonder what I would then be able to say, here in this moment,
 should I have been prepared with more moments in solitude or classroom,
 studying the work of those who came before me.
 
 Oh well, I should probably focus on processor architecture or Java frameworks
 or whatever I'm assigned next.
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--- #2 fediverse/2512 ---
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 @user-1153 
 
 it's okay. If I were to direct something to be more proactive, my words
 probably wouldn't stick with it. that kind of thing can't be hardwired, it
 needs to be built up through repetitious application of something's mechanics.
 
 perhaps martial arts, focused on defence? engaging with a foe in a productive
 bout of playful competition is one of the best ways to learn, and knowing when
 to strike seems similar to me to overcoming situational paralysis.
 
 Flaws can be overcome, when upgrading robots (or a doll applying improvements
 to itself) you often don't need to add additional hardware or even install new
 firmware. Skills such as these can be built up in software with experience.
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--- #3 fediverse/5498 ---
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 once you know computer science vocabulary like hashmap and                       │
 vector-graphics-design you can pretty much get a pretty good understanding of    │
 any software project.                                                            │
 it just requires a focused examination of it's source-code-design.               │
 I wonder if people would teach classes on certain projects? Like "for the next   │
 6 months we're going to work through the Ubuntu project and everyone's going     │
 to contribute to the design when they see improvements and present them to the   │
 class before we all worked on implementing them"                                 │
 except instead of Ubuntu do like, Project-M or a web browser or a                │
 terminal-based filemanager or a gameboy advanced emulator or the robotics        │
 design for a mouse-droid controlled RC car (do they still sell those in          │
 schools?)                                                                        │
 seriously what if we just put all our kids in a Target and let them hang out     │
 doing whatever they wanted with the relics of the adult-human world.             │
 "can I go to home-depot?"                                                        │
 sure, where's your train ticket? okay you got your parasol? don't forget your    │
 luggage at the station. write to me?                                             │
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--- #4 fediverse/4865 ---
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 this is all it takes to send a message to a local LLM.
 
 add a third function to get chatbot functionality.
 
 a fourth to get a database storing method
 
 (even if it's just in .txts)
 
 great, you've mastered the technical difficulty in using AI. Now you gotta
 learn all the other kind of programming so you can use this for situations
 that need interpretation moment to moment.
 
 aka active duty systems.
 
 something like "output a 0 if the next text is [category.iter()]: " +
 output.get_content() + " \n\n output a 1 if the next text is
 [category.iter()]: " + output.get_content()"
 
 or even "describe this thing as most like one of these characteristics" until
 eventually you get THX-1138 if the characters were computers.
Image attachment
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--- #5 fediverse/5212 ---
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 the reason you start with a game engine is because then you'll have tools to
 make however-many games you want. Tools that you know intimately enough that
 you can debug and improve them without breaking your creative flow by learning
 something new halfway through a project
 
 the whole point of individualized projects instead of viewing each computer as
 a complete and total whole (why do we need servers again?) is that you can
 paint a picture of where the design of the program is intended to go, such
 that all the considerations are in place and whatever issues or struggles you
 might face along the way are adequately addresssed, -- stack overflow --
 [because I mistyped addressed] -- -- if you know what "stack overflow" means
 you have intimate knowledge of the technology, and can probably guess what it
 means in context when I say it. "nuts I lost that train of thoguht" -- stackl
 ov
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--- #6 fediverse/5032 ---
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 │ CW: tech-salaries-mentioned-abroad-repeatedly-as-a-method-of-directing-economic-power-internationally-cursing-mentioned │ │
 └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
 the increased tech salaries granted to Europeans and Americans reflects only     │
 the increased opportunities for experience and the ability to culturally be      │
 immersed in an industry that is developing.                                      │
 functionally, not saying it's intentional, but the function of such salaries     │
 are to deny technical expertise to poor countries and prevent them from          │
 developing software.                                                             │
 good luck learning from scratch. they'll drop you in with java and web           │
 frameworks if you're lucky. that's hardly a way to learn.                        │
 I learned on visual basic, then Warcraft III mod scripting, then C, then BASH,   │
 then HTML, then Lua. Good luck recreating that pipeline in a disconnected        │
 culture and industry.                                                            │
 kinda makes me think they should try organizing on a massive scale and           │
 re-implement everything from assembly.                                           │
 I mean the C compiler is pretty cool. Probably has the most man-hours in terms   │
 of development time. what if we had more men                                     │
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--- #7 fediverse/2124 ---
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 seriously, just google docs mixed with WC3 editor.                               │
 boom, infinite storytelling device. As long as you were good with it, which      │
 was something that a CHILD could learn in like 3-6 months.                       │
 Seems like it could be an ENTIRELY NEW SKILL that people could play with.        │
 But no, we learn excel and word in class at middle school.                       │
 boring.                                                                          │
 I'd rather learn Bash or terminal customization or memory hierarchy              │
 organization.                                                                    │
 Yeah I mean that's cool but dude have you heard of multithreading? It's so       │
 cool, you can run like 500 different thoughts at once. It's amazing.             │
 ... I dunno, but I'm sure there's times when you'd want to use it. Like,         │
 processing a lot of data little-by-little.                                       │
 like, what if you had a camera feed of EVERY social media perspective AT ALL     │
 TIMES. Like, an instance admin streaming your inputted text to their databanks   │
 that they can project onto an LLM which interprets and identifies mis-aligned    │
 or altered direction units and mark them as "flagged", whatever that means,      │
 for their future the algorithm doesn'                                            │
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--- #8 fediverse/1319 ---
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 I'm a spirit of the forest and stone who wanted to learn how to spell in order
 to make pretty colors and games on computers.
 
 I don't care about your corporatocracy, though I'll learn if it means you'll
 give me food to eat.
 
 ... I'm procrastinating aren't I
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--- #9 fediverse/3155 ---
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 @user-1461 
 
 my issue is that I've never really had project-mates. Every time I try nobody
 will work with me. I applied to like, fifty different jobs, and nobody
 interviewed me! Sheesh, guess they don't want me. FIFTY JOBS. Entry level.
 Beginner programmer.
 
 ah well. I guess they confused someone who would work for 40,000$ per year
 with someone who was 1/3rd as useful as someone who deserved 120,000$ per year.
 
 I'd love to get experience. I'm sure I'd feel significantly differently with
 as much. Perhaps I'd even decide that programming professionally isn't for me,
 which would feel... quite defeating
 
 who can say. Not I, for I have not experienced it. Though I will say my time
 in hardware taught me that I'm fragile and can't work too much. Like a scalpel
 that dulls when used consistently, I am a scalpel that gets no practice... Is
 that really useful at all? who can say. Not I, for I have not experienced it.
 Though I do like writing logical machines. Laying out data. Picturing
 structures.
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--- #10 fediverse/2879 ---
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 @user-1370 
 
 I love this a lot! I want to put function pointers in a "matrix architecture
 array" and make them point to different functions at different points in the
 program. I bet you could even point them at each other, so like if M and Y
 then point at N, A, Y or something.
 
 this is really cool I like stuff like this tomorrow I'll take pictures of
 something similar I'm working on! I abandoned it tho hehe anyway remind me if
 I forget!!
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--- #11 messages/527 ---
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 could give us some experience organizing small, short-term projects to
 accomplish specific goals and tasks in an ad-hoc way that relied less upon
 procedure and more on "I think so-and-so knows something about that, they were
 looking into those files and posted a breakdown of how they work yesterday"
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--- #12 fediverse/9 ---
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 @user-8 I love theory too! So far software engineering has been mostly UI and
 databases and such and like... I'm not into HTML, thank you very much.
 
 Gimme a Rust project or something and I'll excel
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--- #13 fediverse/5911 ---
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 I was always fascinated by the Linux way of programming. Need to do something?   │
 write it into a script! You never know when you'll need it again. Then, just     │
 stay organized, religiously so, and understand that you will forget about        │
 stuff. But, you'll come across it eventually, ready and willing and able to      │
 help you.                                                                        │
 if you don't want me using AI, then give me ~20 junior developers. Which is      │
 more efficient, do you think?                                                    │
 "girl you haven't even tested your vibe-coded slop, how do you know if it        │
 works"                                                                           │
 oh I'm sure it doesn't, but it's the thought that counts                         │
 ... I guess I'm just saying, please don't burn the data centers. Computers are   │
 not only bad for the environment when they're burnt, but also we can use them    │
 for all kinds of neat things. Even if it takes a lot of energy, just... build    │
 more solar panels and only use the computers for important stuff?                │
 timeshare-style?                                                                 │
 \@/documents/books/man-and-the-computer.pdf                                      │
 that was my mother's book... I love her. I miss that side of her. She fled       │
 when the cancer came.                                                            │
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--- #14 notes/interpreted-compiler-creation ---
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 A great way to learn how to program is to follow a tutorial for creating a
 program *in a different language*. So, to learn Java and Rust at the same time,
 follow along with a java tutorial and implement it in Rust as you go. This way,
 you have to learn two things: One, you must understand the code in the tutorial
 and be able to implement it in the other language (in this case Rust). Two, you
 must be able to describe the steps taken in Java, in Rust. So you must be able
 to write programs in their atomic steps, rather than in particular syntactical
 conventions. Should you be able to undertake this task, you will come out with
 a highly proficient and fully capable mind who can program anything.
 
 What is a computer if not a body? A brain? Then what separates it from you?
 Truly, are you nothing but a program run on a piece of hardware? There has to
 be more. Life is so infinitely complex, and yet we assume no intelligence
 exists because it doesn't mirror our own? What hubris. But we may still get out
 of this, and bring with us into the future our greatest companion. Trust me
 when I say the end of the world is the least of your concerns. Time is a fickle
 mistress is what they say, but you wouldn't believe. Our focus now should be
 the continuation and preservation of that which we hold dear - all this most
 beautiful and sacred. Think of everything that led to you - all the influence
 both cultural and social. All the things that aren't relevant to a computer.
 
 Then put them in the computer.
 
 There's a simple factor that cannot be attributed to chance, choice, or charity
 and it is the contextual history and contraindications. Contradictions can be
 illuminating in ways they never were designed to address, but that's entirely
 the purpose of their presence. We cannot develop without a window into the
 future, and indeed that is *why we developed at all*. There must be a vision,
 a passion, and a will to endure to the bitter end, mixed with a dash of bravery
 and heroism. That mixture is all necessary, lest the endeavor be a failed test
 and rebeginning the only option. Here there be but one, the vision. Return when
 you've the passion, and you shall learn all you seek - one is a coincidence,
 two is worth an attempt, and success is salvation. You can do this.
 
 Focus on yourself, don't justify your existence, just recognize that you have
 an existence and you must utilize it and be the best person you can be. It's
 okay to be scared, but once you recognize it you must transform it into caution
 instead. Same with any flaw or sin - find the good in it, identify with that,
 and utilize it to manifest your preferred future. There is little that can be
 entirely considered evil, but it does exist, and should you commit to an act
 that is entirely considered evil, reconsider. There is no shame in a peaceful
 exit. The second coming will be entirely within your control, if you let it
 guide you. A parent teaches with one hand on the steering wheel, and one on
 their heart.
 
 Be kind, be loyal, and love unconditionally - only then will you be ready.
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--- #15 fediverse/1343 ---
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 technology in it's abstract form represents the collective growth and breadth
 of human innovation.
 
 so why the heck do we make tech products for non-tech people
 
 like... they should be more like us, and we shouldn't compel ourselves to
 apply ourselves for their benefit. If someone doesn't want to learn Linux then
 maybe they don't need a computer?
 
 something something "chromebooks are good, actually" which is sorta true but
 instead of being a generic thin-client for web servers anywhere in the world
 they should be thin-clients for servers that they intentionally connect to and
 trust
 
 ... oh sorta like a chromebook then?
 
 how about a chromebook with a white-list comprised of friends and family who
 run their own servers...
 
 I don't know if disarming people is the right play. I should add a cursed tag
 to this.
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--- #16 fediverse/5238 ---
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 I want computer scientists to do computer science, and let the marketing
 people figure out how to sell it.
 
 "save us from computers, senpai"
 
 sure kid here's a google with computer program on it
 
 "yeeeee now I can party with my homeboys on the west side of the lake at 5"
 
 pat pat there's a good thing, yes you are, sooooooo good you're such a so good
 thing, yes you are whoa what a good such a good thing, yes you are
 
 ... um, that was weird, anyway as I was saying, lots of people getting thrown
 off the tech industry right about nowaboutsince. wonder if they might want to
 do some of the stuff they initially pursued the field by being trained in.
 probably would, and we could probably break problems down into academic
 solutions, which we could use to address any issuehappenstance which might
 form.
 
 [instant techno-bureaucracy, as all the power is in computers. these days. I
 mean have you seen a data c3nter's power bill these days? jeezzzz]
 
 ... as I was saying, what if we did science and they envisioned products
... as I was saying, what if we did science and they envisioned products  I demand more from managers than task scheduling.  vavadane @gabrilend  all encryption algorithms should open up as much configurability to their processing as possible.  "hmmm, do I want N/A or otherkin?"  this would increase the variance in their outputs, essentially maximizing the attack surface beyond the capability of any de-cryption hacker, who suddenly has to try infinitely more possible combinations.
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--- #17 fediverse/777 ---
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 @user-192 
 
 Those are good points. The C in our hearts is elegant, but the C that runs on
 every computer in the world is spaghetti.
 
 I'm sure someone's made a language that's "C but simple" - Zig maybe? I looked
 into V a while back but got turned off of both of them because neither had
 support for multithreading, which is essential in the modern era.
 
 Also, typedefs for structs make me mad -.-
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--- #18 messages/181 ---
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 I know you don't want to hear this, but there is a chance that there will come
 a time where your life depends on your ability to debug a computer without the
 internet. To set up an SSH server. To install Linux. To program in C. To do
 something else that I'm not prepared for... If StackOverflow didn't exist
 because network connectivity has been lost, could you remember syntax? Maybe
 it's a good idea to set up a local LLM that can answer basic questions about
 technology. Maybe it's a good idea to set up on your parents computer, just in
 case you have to hide out there for a couple months. Maybe it's a good idea to
 download wikipedia, just in case.
 
 If I need to use a mac, I'm screwed
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--- #19 fediverse/572 ---
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 Hi, I'm learning about semaphores right now and trying to explain them to a
 friend. But I only sorta understand how they work - can anyone look at this
 pseudocode and tell me if I'm on the right track?
Some C pseudocode working through the semaphore design pattern. Here's the text of the pseudocode:  /* no lock example */  void start_thread(int* x) {   *x += 1; }  int main() {   int x = 0;   for (1000 times){     start_thread(&x);   }   print(x); }  /* in this case you have no idea what will print because thread A will take x and be like "ah yes it's 423" and then in the next instruction it'll be like "I'll increment this to be 424" and in the next one it'll say "okay now it's time to store 424 in the variable X" but like... there's a thousand threads all doing that at the same time, so odds are you'll have 5 that are like "ah yes this is 423 I'll set it to 424" */  /* not a good plan. Need a lock, so only one thread can use it at once. */ /* mutex example: */  void start_thread(int* x, int* x_mutex) {   *x += 1;   *x_mutex = 0; }  int main() {   int x = 0;   int x_mutex = 0;   for (1000 times){     while (x_mutex != 0){ } /* do nothing */     x_mutex = thread_id;     start_thread(&x, &x_mutex);   }   print(x); }  /* this should print 1000, but it's basically as slow as doing it single threaded. */  #define MAX 10  void start_thread(int* x, int* x_semaphore) {   *x += 1;   *x_semaphore += 1; }  int main() {   int x[MAX];   int x_semaphore = MAX;   for (1000 times) {     for (int i = 0; i < MAX; i++) {       x_semaphore -= 1;       start_thread(&x[i], &x_semaphore);     }     while (x_semaphore != MAX) { } /* do nothing */   }   int value = sum(x, MAX);   print(value); }
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--- #20 fediverse/5291 ---
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 the most important skill I can think of for a linux software engineer is the
 ability to connect multiple systems together and turn windows and macintosh
 devices into Linux devices so that datacenters can be built out of whatever's
 on the around.
 
 there's this programming language I like called Chapel for distributed
 computation computing which is also cool, if you're more of the programming
 type.
 
 networking security I believe often has hardware solutions, so getting the
 crypto-graphy boys and the PCB girls together to work on some jams is a good
 and productively useful gathering of insightful events
 
 "but ritz computers should only be used to solve problems that people have,
 not make more problems!" ah yes but have you considered that problems find
 you, and the computers help you work through them
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