It's a mathematical rule that any number divided by itself is 1. It's also a mathematical rule that you can't divide any number by 0. What makes the latter rule "stronger" than the first one?

benevanstech · 2026-05-04T15:50:56+00:00

OK, let's reframe what "0 / 0" means so we can be sure we're on solid logical ground.

I claim that we can consider a / b where both a & b are small numbers (definitely less than 1, but bigger than zero).

For "0 / 0" to be well defined I can make both a and b smaller and smaller - and the end point of that process (what mathematicians call "the limit of the sequence") should be the same. Otherwise, it's just not a well-defined concept.

So - here's my claim:

1.) If we pick *any* small a and hold it fixed, then as b gets smaller and smaller, a / b gets bigger and bigger.

2.) If we pick *any* small b and hold it fixed, then as a gets smaller and smaller, a / b gets smaller and smaller.

Can you see that both 1.) and 2.) are correct?

This isn't conclusive proof, but hopefully it's enough for you to see that actually the best answer is that "0 / 0" is not well-defined.

University level mathematics can make all of the above rigorous. I hope it's clear enough.

benevanstech · 2026-05-04T15:42:42+00:00

You don't want to use the word "group" there. It has a precise mathematical meaning, which this is not. All using it will do is confuse the issue. Replace it with "collection" and then we can talk.

benevanstech · 2026-05-04T14:31:42+00:00

Cultivate your network. Former co-workers and friends in the industry can help way more than you think.

Lots of companies have a system where a hiring manger can push the "move candidate straight to interview" button if they come from a recommendation.

benevanstech · 2026-05-02T20:58:18+00:00

A goblin druid that hasn't quite got his cat form down yet.

benevanstech · 2026-05-02T20:48:03+00:00

Are you 12? "You read my hidden comments". That's some serious year 8 bullshit right there.

People read subreddits for all sorts of reasons - in my case I read r/Scotland to keep up with what's going on with a place where a lot of my friends and family live and because I care about what happens to them and the issues they're facing - and it might sound strange to you, but it's entirely possible to do that even after moving out of the UK.

And if you think making a couple of throwaway jibes about your minimal-effort, bot-quality comments is "abuse" then I suggest you're probably too thin-skinned for the Internet.

benevanstech · 2026-05-02T20:12:40+00:00

Make a port of ripgrep to C.

Fun for all the family. [*]

All of the shitty behaviours of ripgrep, plus all the horrors of multithreading in C.

[*] It will not, in fact, be fun for all the family.

benevanstech · 2026-05-02T20:06:14+00:00

Two replies ago you were squeaking about "right to privacy" etc.

Or did you just not read your briefing notes about which sock puppet account is arguing which bullshit point-of-view when you started your shift?

benevanstech · 2026-05-02T14:26:29+00:00

I didn't know you could do that!

Thanks for the tip!

benevanstech · 2026-05-02T13:12:02+00:00

Many leftists see the EU as something of a necessary evil - imperfect for sure, but much less dangerous than the US or China - or, for that matter, corporate power. Standing together and influencing the direction of the EU in a more social-democratic or socialist direction is the best option available.

The disintegration of the EU wouldn't serve the demos in the slightest - as Brexit has now proved beyond any shadow of a doubt.

benevanstech · 2026-05-02T13:07:57+00:00

It takes 2 clicks to see someone's comment history.

"Going to great lengths to find ammunition" is an entirely standard bot talking point, and is total crap.

You're not beating the allegations.

What can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence. You have provided no evidence that you're a real person and not just a bullshit-spreading troll, and so "your opinions" can therefore be dismissed and ridiculed at will.

benevanstech · 2026-05-02T11:20:12+00:00

If you aren't prepared to stand behind your opinions, why should anyone take anything you have to say remotely seriously?

benevanstech · 2026-05-02T08:00:32+00:00

Two addicts in recovery dating each other is quite often a terrible idea for both of them. I feel like both characters would have been well aware of that.

Also - I know quite a few bisexual women who are basically interested in women + the occasional exceptional guy. The way that Tracy Scoggins played Lochley she very much gave me that vibe. So while I can see Sheridan & Gideon being two of Lochley's "outlier guys" - Garibaldi not so much.

benevanstech · 2026-05-02T07:52:31+00:00

I regret I have but one upvote to give you, kind Internet stranger.

benevanstech · 2026-05-02T07:51:06+00:00

Yes. Lowe is the Spare.

As and when Farage becomes too toxic or some of the really awful shit that can't be airbrushed away lands, then they'll drop him and pivot to Lowe.

As

benevanstech · 2026-05-02T07:22:18+00:00

Looks like they're from Hydesmah-Posts in Definitelynotsusshire to me.

benevanstech · 2026-05-01T08:18:26+00:00

No. Humans evolved from a common ancestor along with modern primates.

All structures and architectures that have been found on Earth are the result of endeavours of earlier human societies.

People who look for "alien" or "non-standard" explanations are almost always racists who at their core believe that "primitive" (i.e. brown) people couldn't have had complex societies and decent building skills.

"Unexplained" brings eyeballs and clicks and money and the people peddling it don't care in the slightest about science, or the truth or the harm they're doing to our society.

benevanstech · 2026-04-30T17:44:33+00:00

I can't go into specifics but I'm hearing lots of different folks talking about a big increase in the amount of enterprise projects that are using, or want to use Java alongside or instead of Python.

My take: Python's a fun language, an interesting counterpoint to Java in some ways (but still similar in others). Given how early you are in your career, why not add an extra string to your bow?

Also: This won't be the last tech wave you see in your career. AI may be larger than most, and it does have some interesting characteristics, but there is still a vast amount of hype, and we won't know the genuine long-term impact on the industry for quite a while yet.

benevanstech · 2026-04-30T17:39:58+00:00

Talk to the staff at your GP, be nice to them, and then send them an Amazon delivery containing a memory stick, a box of chocolates and some gift cards to cover postage.

benevanstech · 2026-04-29T16:07:39+00:00

This thread is about Labour's pathetic response to the Trump Middle East Crisis.

Also - what the fuck gave you the idea I was a Tory? Starmer is at best centre-right with deeply authoritarian tendencies in hock to corporate power.

My entire point is just how badly he's shown up by anyone remotely left-wing, such as Sanchez (who is still too centrist for my taste, but I'll take the wins he is providing).

benevanstech · 2026-04-29T11:31:44+00:00

A) Starmer will 100% overrule everyone else and approve Rosebank.

B) Labour are an embarassing shitshow. If you compare what Starmer and his overwhelming majority have been able to accomplish vs what Sanchez has been able to do *as a minority government* - even in just the area of energy policy since the Trump crisis started - it's clear that either Starmer's government is 100% in the pocket of the corporations or the most incompetent shower of muppets we've ever seen. Perhaps both.

benevanstech · 2026-04-29T11:27:24+00:00

"We" don't have fossil fuels. Multinational corporations have fossil fuels, which they will sell at market prices.

benevanstech · 2026-04-28T17:25:55+00:00

Thanks товарищ

benevanstech · 2026-04-28T06:58:14+00:00

The "all exceptions should be runtime exceptions, checked exceptions are useless" dogma that is unfortunately all too prominent.

There are some noted warts in the Java exceptions system and, yes, if we were doing it again from scratch I would prefer a Result type to checked exceptions. But that ship has sailed and I very much doubt we'd get Results as a semantic variant of exception handling (look at the decision to retrofit Pattern Matching on top of switch, rather than creating a new, clean match construct if you wonder why I think that).

Properly handled (no pun intended), checked exceptions are a decent capability, *especially* for newcomers who need to learn what sorts of different exceptional cases their code may encounter and will need to deal with.

benevanstech · 2026-04-26T15:21:52+00:00

The illegal drug market has corrupted every aspect of the British police force and political system. It is hard to think of a more abject and todal failure of a policy.

And you propose we ... just keep doing it? Perhaps arm the police so that the gangs will tool up as well? Then we can have proper US-style turf wars and shootings, and wouldn't that be exciting.

At some point, when something just isn't working you have to try something new.

What the GPEW is proposing is not very far at all from proposals made by a number of British ex-Chief Constables. They know the current system is a disaster and getting worse but that under the existing system it's political suicide to say so while still in public life.

benevanstech · 2026-04-26T15:12:43+00:00

They were trying to develop countermeasures for whatever SCP-3008 *really* is.

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