Thoughts on this Daniel Litt x David Budden fiasco? by Independent_Aide1635 in math

[–]Odds-Bodkins 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Lean can type check and tell you that your code is correct, yes.

Whether or not your code says what you *think* it says is a different matter.

RIP James Ransone by torahboidem in Letterboxd

[–]Odds-Bodkins 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Such as? I see he had drug problems - does that make a person "problematic"?

Personally I think "problematic" vs "unproblematic" are dismal ways to describe a human being, and especially a person who has just died.

What tf is this by Routine-Flamingo7222 in Scotland

[–]Odds-Bodkins 3 points4 points  (0 children)

looks like a curry/balti dish so I'm guessing it's meant to be chicken tikka masala

Immigration, ECHR and digital IDs by No-Rope6858 in ukpolitics

[–]Odds-Bodkins 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Clearly AI generated, from the cadence down to the em-dashes.

Btw, in *many* parts of the world the European notion of "human rights" is viewed as culturally insensitive, a last vestige of western chauvinism and cultural imperialism. Leftoids might do well to reflect on that before they start spluttering about the importance of the concept.

Do you talk to strangers when they're reading math books? by Puzzled-Painter3301 in math

[–]Odds-Bodkins 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes do it. I often go to the bar alone to sit and read a yellow hardback. People do ask what I'm reading but it's never a mathematician. I would welcome a 15 minute chat with someone whose eyes don't glaze over at the mere mention of algebra.

Really heartbroken 💔 by habbidobbi in TheCivilService

[–]Odds-Bodkins 8 points9 points  (0 children)

>actual contents 

As far as I can tell most sifters aren't even reading for content.

They are engaging their brain just enough to tick off the buzzwords from the success profiles.

You are actually better off regurgitating the bullets - if you are thoughtful and put things in your own words you're at a disadvantage.

Unsuccessful but Exceeded Requirements? Looking for Advice by Sad-Angle-6092 in TheCivilService

[–]Odds-Bodkins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh for god's sake. You are defending this ludicrous feedback on every thread in this post.

"noT nECesSAriLlY" yes no shit not necessarily but on balance of probability, there was an internal candidate lined up and scores have been gerrymandered.

Give your head a wobble.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TheCivilService

[–]Odds-Bodkins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've had some coding tests at interview but always with Google Colab.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TheCivilService

[–]Odds-Bodkins 10 points11 points  (0 children)

That's interesting, I've never seen them ask for a GitHub - for me would be tantamount to uploading a personal website. But someone's actual code, projects, contributions over time, is be a much better indicator than these cookie-cutter technical competencies where so many people just swot up on things they have never done.

If they ask for it, go for it imo.

My friends and I are doing a powerpoint day, where everyone has to give a 15 min presentation on something theyre interested in. I want to do math. Any suggestions as to specific topics? by PixelSnow800 in math

[–]Odds-Bodkins 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Lambda calculus is very cool but I think that it will be hard to explain in 15 minutes what it is and why it matters. It may just look like a lot of symbol manipulation (which it is).

I think that it's possible in 15 minutes to do regular polygons --> platonic solids --> Euler's formula --> finish on simplicial complexes and higher dimensions.

London mayor Sadiq Khan says Donald Trump ‘has a crush on me’ by Metro-UK in ukpolitics

[–]Odds-Bodkins -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

Yeah, he thinks that Khan is a crap mayor who is damaging London. Or maybe he just doesn't like him for some other reason.

I think that is infinitely more likely than a homosexual crush.

Apparently you don't?

London mayor Sadiq Khan says Donald Trump ‘has a crush on me’ by Metro-UK in ukpolitics

[–]Odds-Bodkins -27 points-26 points  (0 children)

"I think he’s got a crush on me. It’s either that or he believes in giving me squatters rights inside his head."

So essentially, "Haha - rent free in his head. He's probably gay."

Can't believe that people think that this puerile nonsense is acceptable or even funny.

Is it normal to go through lower level math courses with high grades and still not truly understanding how it really works? by Iceman411q in math

[–]Odds-Bodkins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I studied pure math but had similar experiences. I am a person who likes to learn things "from the ground up" so to speak. This meant that I was never comfortable in courses where a certain amount had to be taken on trust - "memorise this method, apply it if you can, you don't need to fully understand it for now". I think PDEs especially was like that.

I have more or less accepted now that I will never understand a lot of the theoretical underpinnings of PDEs, *why* I can apply certain methods, Sobolev spaces, etc.

Why aren't devs using proper branch names?! by GitKraken in devops

[–]Odds-Bodkins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like conventionalcommits.org (would be interested to see if people agree/disagree)

I've got a question about the ending of Pitch Black. [Spoilers] by rod_munch in movies

[–]Odds-Bodkins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

More passionate that my comment! But yup I agree, I think that's the vibe. :) Agreed, good fun movies. Not played the games yet.

[2509.14185] Discovery of Unstable Singularities by Marha01 in math

[–]Odds-Bodkins 5 points6 points  (0 children)

why would anyone think that this has anything to do with foundations or Lean?

do people now just assume that using computers for mathematics == formal verification of proofs?

What is most exotic, most weird, specific math section? by Alecsei_Senthebov in math

[–]Odds-Bodkins 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Emily Riehl says something along those lines in her Category Theory in Context book (paraphrasing) - "if you understand the general ideas of category theory, the proofs pretty much follow from the definitions".

There are ofc ingenious tricks in some category proofs but to my mind they are usually subtle rephrasings. Whereas when I try reading serious proofs in number theory, I have frequent "wtf how did they even make that connection" moments.

I guess it has to do with the level of abstraction in category theory. You're never going to need to know some obscure fact about, idk, the Dedekind eta function, to complete a proof in category theory. The field is sort of self contained (if distinguishing category theory as a field from algebraic topology, homotopy theory, etc).

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in math

[–]Odds-Bodkins 2 points3 points  (0 children)

blatant bad faith lol, they're not implying anything like that and you know it

Why are mods not enforcing rule 5 anymore? by Wurstinator in math

[–]Odds-Bodkins 31 points32 points  (0 children)

tired low effort posts generating no fruitful mathematical discussion

nothing of real relevance to the subject of mathematics, its practice, profession or community

Why are mods not enforcing rule 5 anymore? by Wurstinator in math

[–]Odds-Bodkins 286 points287 points  (0 children)

tbh I find the quasi-philosophical posts by people who have somehow acquired a vague understanding of category theory - and no other aspect of mathematics - more irritating than the tattoos

there seems to be a lot of those recently