Stackoverflow seems interesting as an inclusion of that level.
I've always used SO as a "read-only" source, and generally when I need an answer to a question not on there I ask on a relevant IRC channel. My github has quite a few OSS projects though.
I’ve never asked a question on SO. I don’t think most people should, because these days most questions will be duplicates, mistakes, or just too obscure for anyone to answer.
I’ve answered questions enough that I have enough rep to edit review queues, and probably 90% of what gets asked on SO these days is unnecessary.
I love the idea, either as a fusion drive or annihilation drive, but the world had better be damned peaceful before we start making that kind of thing. As Larry Niven explored several times, such a drive is also a weapon of mass destruction on a potentially global scale. It’s the ultimate dual use tech, because it’s effectiveness as a drive is directly proportional to its effectiveness as a weapon. Whether in the form of “The Kzinti Lesson” or a smalle scale like what’s found in The Ethics of Madness we’re talking about something serious. The only difference between peaceful use and militaristic use is just where and how you aim the exhaust.
Thst without worrying about someone turning a ship into an R-Bomb!
We already live in a world where if e.g. North Korea wanted to destroy the huge swaths of our entire species, they probably could. See things such as salted nukes, like a cobalt bomb. [1]. I think there's an even more general lesson there as well. We first utilized nuclear weapons in 1942. Up until that time major developed powers going to war with each other was a relatively normal part of existence. And given that reality, it would not have been unreasonable to predict nuclear weapons resulting in the end of the world. As Einstein witted, "I don't know what world war 3 will be fought with, but world war 4 will be fought with sticks and stones."
But after the realization of nuclear weapons, unrestrained war between developed nations simply ended. And we've entered in what is likely the safest and most peaceful 80 years of human existence ever. I realize how absurd that sounds, but statistically it is almost certainly true. It's hard to even imagine the death toll of previous wars. In World War 2, some 3% of the world's population was killed. Today that would be 231 million people. For some scale imagine a 9/11 type event happening, every single day, for 211 years. If you have kids when you're 30 then your great great great great great grandchildren would be experiencing a daily 9/11 event each and every day of their life. Now take all that death and suffering, and compress it into 6 years. Really puts our modern losses into context.
The point of this is that weapons (or equivalent) capable of immense harm don't necessarily have the impact you might expect. Similarly, get rid of all nukes in the world today while guaranteeing they could not be easily recreated - and you'd likely set in motion a series of actions that would lead to the violent deaths of what could be billions. I find unforeseen consequences endlessly fascinating. Bring on the planet busters. Hope there's nothing we're not foreseeing!
The thing is, there's the time when nobody has nukes, the time when multiple people have nukes and keep each other in check, and the time where one party has nukes. We've got plenty of experience with no nukes and multiple groups with nukes, but had a very short period where one side had nukes. How confident are we that they wouldn't be used much if that period lasted much longer, and the US was less blindsided by the Russian development of nuclear weapons?
I worry less about a future with lots of planet-killer grade weapons than I do about the period where one group has access to them and the others do not. There are any number of ways to justify violence to yourself when you don't have to worry much about the response. For example, preemptively striking before the other side get the same capability because that might lead to another MAD situation which is arguably worse for the species overall...
Also, regarding The Kzinti Lesson ("A reaction drive's efficiency as a weapon is in direct proportion to its efficiency as a drive.") I have to feel like you could drop 'reaction' and maintain accuracy... Given that reactionless drives are planet killers.
Agreed on Project Rho, it mixes entertainment and intellectual stimulation to the point I occasionally find myself giggling. Good point about reactionless drives too!
The point I am making is that war has and will always be part of human societies and therefore all technological progress will be applied to warfare. There's no point to complaining about potential use of new tech in war the same way that there's no point in complaining about the laws of physics.
You're right obviously, but a Matrioshka Brain would put out such a small amount of radiation, it'd be invisible for all sensor technology outside of, say, black hole lenses.
> a Matrioshka Brain would put out such a small amount of radiation, it'd be invisible for all sensor technology
A huge object emitting infrared radiation would be quite detectable.
At the level of energy output from our Sun, a Dyson sphere with a diameter of the Earth's orbit, would actually have a surface temperature of 395K or 122C. It would put out lots of infrared radiation, and would be very detectable against the cosmic background which has a radiation temperature of 2.7K.
Some SETI programs have looked for these, and already in 1984 we had the technology to observe, and as it turns out, to rule out any of these (Dyson spheres around stars with energy output comparable to our Sun) existing within the nearest 300 light years.
Music is helpful in other ways that might overpower any negative effect.
In my case, music helps me out with my tinitus, without it I'm in a lot of pain. And unlike, say, white noise, listening to music helps a ton with depressed mood. I can't get through my days without its help!
Surely others have similar or different reasons for using music while working!
Despite the title and article's claims, it appears that the researchers found the same:
> The third experiment - exposure to music with familiar lyrics- impaired creativity regardless of whether the music also boosted mood, induced a positive mood, was liked by the participants, or whether participants typically studied in the presence of music.
Given that they had to specify this, it would imply that for music without familiar lyrics creativity was not impaired (at least, to a statistically significant level) when participants enjoyed the music or usually study to music.
Not so severe in my case - your experience sounds rough :( - but music helps working in an open plan office.
A pair of good, ear covering headphones improves my focus in a huge way. Great for crunch times - especially with distraction prone ADHD.
Since I've been working there for a while, the headphones have become an analogue for a DND sign. Someone else in the office picks up my calls. Nobody disturbs unless it's our managing director with a pressing issue.
I've never used this pattern in Javascript, but it's somewhat common in Python because of how handy the dictionary.get() method is. A few problems TFA solves in JS are much easier with .get(), like defaults and false values.
Plus the fact that python doesn't have a switch statement so you kind of have to use a dict if you want that functionality without a long chain of if/elif/else.
You can currently purchase redwood seeds online to grow yourself! Plant them in peat moss in large groups to be sure they survive, as most seeds are not viable. Keep them warm until they germinate, too!
However, redwoods are really, really destructive anywhere that isn't a wide open field. Their roots will tear up concrete and pipes. Also, they shed branches like crazy during rapid growth, which deals damage to surrounding structures or flora.
Just something to keep in mind! If you have space and they won't be a danger to current inhabitants of the area, go for it.
I've always used SO as a "read-only" source, and generally when I need an answer to a question not on there I ask on a relevant IRC channel. My github has quite a few OSS projects though.
Do you find there are any other devs like that?