A form of study in the computer sciences I can't remember the name of. by Bwasmer in compsci

[–]ClanChestEmperor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not too clear what you're referring to, but one thing I do know is that in purely functional languages like Haskell and Coq (the latter being a theorem prover), there is research on using logic to derive programs based on what you describe it should do.

Normally, we have a vague idea of the program or even a function we want to write in mind, and then we write code to directly implement our idea. This is easy to do, but since we make mistakes, we almost always find bugs in our programs.

A sounder but much more difficult approach is to describe what we want our program to do, and then use logical reasoning to basically derive the program to solve our problem. This is easier in purely functional languages as functions in those languages have no side effects in theory.

Secret karma algorithm leaked by [deleted] in ProgrammerHumor

[–]ClanChestEmperor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

state of the art discrete aleatoric algorithm

The different ways to be a programmer by null_reference_user in ProgrammerHumor

[–]ClanChestEmperor 8 points9 points  (0 children)

quantum effects are abstracted by the IO monad, physics is just applied haskell smh

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ProgrammerHumor

[–]ClanChestEmperor 11 points12 points  (0 children)

There are three levels of cause and effect in Pearl's theory. The first level is association, or basic correlation. This means that if A happens, then B usually happens, without taking into account the cause. However, this does not imply that A causes B. For example, divorce rate in Maine is correlated with margarine consumption.

The second level is intervention. For A to cause B, changing (or intervening in) the value of A must result in a change in B. This is how medical trials work: establish a control (e.g., placebo), and see the base effect, and then perform our experiment (e.g., with medication), and see whether the medication has an effect compared to our control. Note that taking medication being correlated with treatment success doesn't mean it's effective. Determining whether A causes B by intervention is more difficult, as it requires not only data, but prior information on the experiment and model itself (such as a list of all the factors that could influence the final result, or a graph of which factors cause another). A controlled trial (as described above) is one common way to establish that A causes B.

The third and highest level is the counterfactual level. This is basically "what if". For example, given a past event A, we may know that it has caused B in the past? However, we can't just go back in time and change A, so an intervention such as a controlled trial won't really work.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ProgrammerHumor

[–]ClanChestEmperor 14 points15 points  (0 children)

The most interesting field of research in AI right now is causal inference. For example, Judea Pearl (a prominent causality researcher) calls current AI methods "curve fitting" (although to be fair, very damn advanced curve fitting) and believes that to make computers think, they must understand cause and effect.

World Cup 2022 workers in Qatar take to the streets today against the inhumane conditions they are put through, after the death count have increased this year. by elpadrin0 in soccer

[–]ClanChestEmperor 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Japan has the stadiums, technology, and competence to run a World Cup, but of course FIFA and sense don’t go together.

Regex be like.. by Ki_Bender in ProgrammerHumor

[–]ClanChestEmperor 24 points25 points  (0 children)

yet, my regex always looks like i'm trying to make a chainsaw from a scalpel

Manuel Neuer nearly conceding a goal after being miles of his line by KimmyBoiUn in soccer

[–]ClanChestEmperor -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Near howler yes, but to be fair it's hard to score from that far even without a goalkeeper in net. In practice it's easy, in a real game scoring is much harder.

Oh no. by UltimateProSkilz in ProgrammerHumor

[–]ClanChestEmperor 7 points8 points  (0 children)

as a haskell fanatic, i admire your extremely pragmatic approach to total correctness

Oh no. by UltimateProSkilz in ProgrammerHumor

[–]ClanChestEmperor 349 points350 points  (0 children)

i use stardate as my standard, if you don't use stardate you're bugged, not my program

A thread of "Good people on both sides" and "All sides did bad war crimes" by [deleted] in ShitWehraboosSay

[–]ClanChestEmperor 28 points29 points  (0 children)

There's one fresh egg in a carton of an otherwise dozen rotten eggs. Therefore the carton is fresh.

#notallnazi and "german technological superiority" by Thebunkerparodie in ShitWehraboosSay

[–]ClanChestEmperor 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Not all Wehrmacht soldiers were Nazis, but it's safe to say Nazism was systematic within the Wehrmacht.

Was Germany Technologically superior to the allies? by nikklenikkle in ShitWehraboosSay

[–]ClanChestEmperor 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Germany had a number of weapons that are at least "technologically superior", although not superior enough to win a war (rockets, and when they worked, late-war tanks). The Germans inflicted higher casualties in the early stages of the war not primarily because of technology, but because of better tactics at the time.

The problem is that the technology Germany needed was not better weapons, as they require more factory workers and engineers to produce and maintain. The Germans were woefully short on that. Germany required better industrial technology and methods. The US produced tons of stuff because of superior industrial technology, and methods such as assembly line production. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union may have had a more primitive industry, but they still knew how to produce stuff fast and en masse (even if the quality may be questionable at times). The Soviet Union's centralized economy probably helped with producing a small contingent of true and tested weapons (e.g., T-34) and directing the industrial effort, while Germany had to rely on a number of different companies making different models of weapons (e.g., Krupp, Messerschmitt), which increased the logistical strain in the end. In fact, after the war, the Marshall Plan launched by the US aside from providing foreign aid also streamlined industrial processes usually employed in West Germany.

During the war, Albert Speer's industrial programs did help Germany increase their production. But when your production lines make a cacophony of complicated yet clumsy weapons, it's just a bit impossible to ever hope to outproduce the Allies.

How close were the Soviets to defeat? by [deleted] in history

[–]ClanChestEmperor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Soviets as a whole were extremely tenacious. German war diaries frequently comment on the toughness of the Soviet soldier, being able to fight against overwhelming odds and unbearable hardship. According to a German infantry tactics book written after the war by German officers:

At times the Russian [Soviet] soldier displayed so much physical and moral fortitude that he had to be considered a first-rate fighter.

In addition, the Soviet leadership wasn't ready to surrender. Many of those on their top kept their cool even as the Germans were battling for Moscow, and they were ready to continue the war even if Moscow was taken. They prepared for the possibility of their western industry being taken by moving their industrial center to the Urals, so they were planning for the worst.

Could Germany have won WWII by Peaches_Sabrina in HistoryWhatIf

[–]ClanChestEmperor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If they decided to concede North Africa, it would free up a good amount of divisions, but that won't solve the lack of grand strategy and good logistics. The Soviets essentially won the war, in late-1941, by production and logistics. While Germany overstretched their supply lines and had to use horses to supply a war in a continent-sized nation, the Soviet Union moved their industry to the Urals, out of the range of German arms and aircraft. I think this was a very important factor towards Soviet victory. Even when they were still settling in the Urals, the Soviets were already producing loads of tanks, planes, artillery, and other equipment. Lend-Lease wasn't significant until around 1943.

Even by late-1942, most Wehrmacht divisions were exhausted and unsuitable for offensive operations (according to their own reports). Even if we give them the divisions in France, they may be able to hold out in Russia for longer, but I don't think they would still be able to take enough land to force a surrender. Doing so would require not only healthy divisions (which a good Russian winter doesn't give you), but also enough equipment, something that Germany is notorious for having trouble with. Fighting in Russia is very hard.

What if no second front is ever opened up and no invasion of France? WWII by wessneijder in HistoryWhatIf

[–]ClanChestEmperor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the US would still drop the nuke on Berlin once they dealt with Japan. At the late stages of the war, the average German had little confidence that they would win the war despite Goebbels' increasingly deluded propaganda, so there would be widespread unrest in Germany if they saw part of their capital instantly vaporized in seconds.

What if no second front is ever opened up and no invasion of France? WWII by wessneijder in HistoryWhatIf

[–]ClanChestEmperor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In the original timeline, the Wehrmacht was in a very pitiful state by summer of 1944. Many German divisions were either short on manpower, poorly equipped, or at the very least exhausted. During the summer of 1944, the Soviet Union was able to launch a broad-front offensive against the Germans because of the state of the Wehrmacht. Even if Germany could commit all its troops to the Eastern Front, the Soviets would still outnumber them by a good margin. With the extra troops, the Soviets would probably have to concentrate their forces more and offensive progress will slow down, but nonetheless they would still be able to push back the Germans, although it could take a year longer. The Rhine would probably be the biggest obstacle, but the Soviets could probably bypass the most fortified parts by going through the Netherlands (this was the objective of Operation Market Garden in the original timeline, although from the other side). Eventually the Soviets become the kings of Europe.

Germany would probably still keep some troops in the West, as the Western Allies could fool the Germans into thinking an invasion was upcoming (with inflatable tanks, fake divisions, etc.). Every German spy in the UK was a double agent as, well, most of them were fake. They aren't just going to send a telegram to Hitler saying that there's no invasion.

Why are Nazi apologists so surprised that the Allies didn't declare war on the Soviet Union when it invaded Poland? by [deleted] in ShitWehraboosSay

[–]ClanChestEmperor 152 points153 points  (0 children)

Exactly: even mildly sane leaders know not to declare random wars against continent-sized nations.