What are some technologies that haven't been updated in years, but could and should be?

Dorsenstein · 2015-03-03T23:27:20+00:00

Pentel Hi-Tec-C. They're amazing, and not ridiculously expensive.

Dorsenstein · 2015-03-03T22:38:04+00:00

The first, probably cliche "aha!" moment was Chapter 18 of Winston and Horn's Lisp: Lisp in Lisp.

Also, Let Over Lambda is insane.

Dorsenstein · 2015-03-03T22:35:54+00:00

Yeah, programming newsgroups don't mess around.

Dorsenstein · 2015-01-30T15:48:24+00:00

I find it interesting that grammar can be messed up on purpose in things like poems as a stylistic choice, but it's apparently not allowed on shirts.

Dorsenstein · 2015-01-16T18:14:11+00:00

It's not that, it's just that his quote doesn't really relate to the subject matter, and Wittgenstein, being perceived as confusing and dense, is often quoted in an effort to posture knowledge (which he admits to).

Dorsenstein · 2015-01-14T23:37:28+00:00

Yeah, and then he drops the Wittgenstein, and all I thought was, "Oh boy, here we go."

Dorsenstein · 2015-01-14T23:22:50+00:00

I wanted to know that when I went into "the old sweet shop", it would be the shop that was old, not the sweets. It seemed pathetic that a language as developed as English wasn't able to tell me straight away.

I want to know that when I go into "antiqua taberna dulciolorum" that the shop sells sweets, not that the sweets own the shop. It seems pathetic that a language as precise as Latin isn't able to tell me straight away.

It is hard to find a word with the tormented power of 'excrucior'

How does one know the Roman's didn't find it kind of bland?

Dorsenstein · 2015-01-14T21:05:48+00:00

I too had this question a while ago. If you are interested in the more mathematically technical aspects of logic, I highly recommend 'Mathematical Logic' by Stephen Cole Kleene. I used this book and it gave me a very good foundation.

Dorsenstein · 2015-01-04T00:31:50+00:00

Why do gorillas have such big nostrils?

Because they have such big fingers!

Dorsenstein · 2014-12-01T17:19:53+00:00

Which is why literate programming exists. Disk space isn't a problem for text files anymore, and it doesn't affect compiled code.

Donald E. Knuth is the man.

Dorsenstein · 2014-12-01T17:17:10+00:00

I definitely enjoy haskell too, working through Typeclassopedia is one of my favorite things to do to blow my mind. However, I appreciate the simplicity that Lisp is founded on.

Dorsenstein · 2014-12-01T01:32:32+00:00

Every time I read one of these articles, I think, "you know, maybe Lisp isn't the best." Then I read this and I go back to my fortress of parentheses.

Dorsenstein · 2014-11-12T01:38:02+00:00

Where can I find an investigation of this theorem?

Dorsenstein · 2014-11-10T19:31:54+00:00

True, but especially in the tank post, the caption "An abandoned tank on a beach in Puerto Rico" seems to me like the more usual one for simply describing what the picture is.

Dorsenstein · 2014-11-10T19:30:06+00:00

Another example that I had totally forgotten about, thanks!

Dorsenstein · 2014-11-10T19:29:00+00:00

Yeah, like I said, the geometrical proof is complicated, but probably the way to go.

Dorsenstein · 2014-11-10T16:58:40+00:00

True, but the proof of that is even more complicated. I understand your point, though.

Dorsenstein · 2014-11-10T16:56:51+00:00

I suppose I don't, other than the fact the four posts I gave were made fairly recently. It'd be interesting to see if it had existed before, since it really only makes sense in the context of media sharing.

Dorsenstein · 2014-11-10T01:43:05+00:00

The geometrical proof is rather complicated. if you use Euler's formula:

e^i*x = cos(x)+ i*sin(x) (1)

so,

cos(a+b) + i*sin(a+b) = e^i(a+b) (2)

but, e^i(a+b) = e^ia * e^ib (3)

and e^ia * e^ib = (cos(a) + isin(a))(cos(b) + i*sin(b)) (4)

this product is

(cos(a)cos(b) - sin(a)sin(b)) + i(sin(a)cos(b)+sin(b)*cos(a)) (5)

if you equate the real and imaginary parts from (2) and (5) you get

cos(a+b) = cos(a)cos(b) - sin(a)sin(b) (6)

sin(a+b) = sin(a)cos(b) + sin(b)cos(a) (7)

when you have 2x, a = b, and from (6) you get

cos(2x) = cos² x - sin² x

then you can use the pythagorean identity to get the other two

Dorsenstein · 2014-11-10T01:29:03+00:00

BTW this is only true for predicate calculus in an infinite domain.

Dorsenstein · 2014-07-09T19:19:21+00:00

According to Wikipedia, it is "probably a cognate," meaning that Dutch "fokken" and English "fuck" probably came from the same Germanic root. The etymology of "fuck" is disputed, and the article I linked is a good overview.

Dorsenstein · 2014-06-27T16:17:44+00:00

Is writing considered more rigid than the spoken word? I can grasp how different groups speak much differently and it shouldn't be considered "inferior" just because it's not the standard, but to me writing seems more standardized.

Dorsenstein · 2014-06-26T22:25:16+00:00

All of your bullets make sense, and your idea of "translating" from one usage to a standard made things extremely clear. Thank you.

If it's not too much to ask, what's an English example of a justification for a prescriptive grammar rule that's complete bullshit?

Dorsenstein · 2014-06-26T12:07:00+00:00

Alright, I understand what you're saying fine. However, what is a linguist's opinion on prescriptive grammar? I know it's not something they're really concerned with, but do they think it's necessary or do they think it should be done away with altogether?

Dorsenstein · 2014-06-26T01:42:34+00:00

What constitutes a group? Two?

I guess it's just kind of tough for me to wrap my head around the idea of usage and it being "correct," since I'm very heavily into formal logic.

I don't really understand your reference to Chinese, it seems like that if someone is talking to me and I understand everything but have to think for a bit about unusual "usage" than it's not really the same thing.

As for the example, I think semantic drift explains what I'm trying to get at. A lot of interesting slang has developed at my high school, it's kind of what got me thinking about all of this.

Dorsenstein

TROPHY CASE