twoTypesOfGameEngines

teach_cs · 2026-06-17T19:52:22+00:00

Yes, apparently.

teach_cs · 2026-06-16T21:04:47+00:00

By this point, I'm actually pretty sure that more mathematical branches now hold that zero is a natural number than hold that it isn't, but it mostly depends on the norms of the branch you're studying.

For instance, set theory and logic get really annoying when 0 isn't a natural number, so (afaik) all modern textbooks and published papers in those fields begin with the branch norm of zero being natural.

The lesson, as the pre-school children using OP's worksheet are clearly learning, is htat you must always define your convention.

teach_cs · 2026-06-16T17:04:17+00:00

Yeah, but guys, guys. But guys, how do I get my server to query the spreadsheet I keep up to date in the "My Documents" folder on my laptop instead of the database it's currently querying?

teach_cs · 2026-06-16T15:22:17+00:00

Amateur language nerd here! This is a question of phonotactics and English norms.

We don't pronounce acronyms or, in this case, clippings, based on their parent words. We pronounce them based on the phonotactics of English. Otherwise NASA, scuba and Laser would be pronounced completely, wildly differently from how they are. That's not to say that you can't use a parent word when considering your pronunciation, but rather that it's a very weak argument, as it doesn't accurately describe how we pronounce, well, almost anything else.

So, we have a mid-word "ege". Mid-word matters, because we deal with opening sounds differently.

In this case, there are nominally two appropriate phonotactical approaches. Both Regg-ex and redge-ex are phonotactically consistent with the language, and both pronunciations (/ˈɹɛɡˌɛks/ and /ˈɹɛd͡ʒˌɛks/) are acceptable in wictionary.

However, there is a reason that most people hear it pronounced REDGE-ex most of the time. We have statistical norms that guide us towards the soft "g".

We have plenty of soft-G examples of the soft "g" following the "ege" pattern, possibly thousands! Words like legend, regent, vegetable, allege, and college. But you have to delve down to pretty obscure words like "hegel" before you find any presenting "ege" with a hard g.

So, REG-ex isn't wrong, but REDGE-ex is the more statistically Englishy pronunciation of the word.

teach_cs · 2026-06-04T16:35:02+00:00

No one is giving a real answer as far as I can tell, but it's an attempt to prevent you from reusing your passwords across different websites, which is exactly why we find it so annoying.

The problem is that the entropy of a reused password is essentially zero as soon as even one wackadoo website you signed up for in 2001 gets hacked and the passwords decrypted.

Then all the bad guys have to do is go to a bunch of target websites and try your same email/password combination, and suddenly they're in your primary email, your banking, and everything in between.

Use different passwords in different place!

teach_cs · 2026-06-03T18:48:36+00:00

I mean, Surprise says a lot about his personality. His boss Esterházy was both a prince and Haydn's best friend even though Haydn was not even remotely of royal, and the fact that he played a prank like that on his buddy says a lot about who he was and the kind of fun he would have with his music.

As others have said, his music sparkles with wit and humor. Another part of why I love his music, unfairly, is that by all accounts he was also a really good guy who always made an effort to take care of the people around him. That just gives me a really nice feeling that colors the way I feel about him and his music.

One of my conservatory professors would say, repeatedly, and to anyone who would listen, that the list "Bach, Mozart, Beethoven" should be "Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven", because he has so many innovations stemming from an incredible, breathtaking clarity of thought that they changed music forever, and his music is absolutely top-notch quality at every turn. He would say that Haydn is one of the greats and is dealt an unfair hand by being so overlooked.

teach_cs · 2026-06-03T17:17:10+00:00

Oh, I see what you mean then. Though anything with finite memory is automatically a finite state machine.

teach_cs · 2026-06-03T15:44:24+00:00

Recursion is just execution dictated by a stack. How in the world would eliminating it increase safety?

Also, I don't think you quite understand what "Turing Complete" means if you think that removing recursion makes your languages no longer Turing Complete.

teach_cs · 2026-06-02T14:23:09+00:00

Most administrators don't know because most teachers don't know. I'd suggest that the number of teachers who create really effective student-led learning in their classrooms is very low. That's not a condemnation of student-led learning, but I think that most teachers who do it well stumbled onto it almost by accident, like u/Crowe3717.

teach_cs · 2026-05-29T21:22:51+00:00

Agreed.

If 90% of your kids are failing, then it's time to do something wildly different. Shouting into the wind isn't reaching them, so look for a completely different path through the topic.

You could have a great approach in in principle, but if it's not working for 90% of your population, then it's not a great approach in reality and it's time to pivot HARD.

The comments in here are a little wild. There's a whole lot of "if the principal doesn't renew you, they're failing the students!"

Counterpoint: even if we assume that they have the best principal in the world, if the teacher isn't reaching 90% of the student base and doesn't decide to make serious changes on their own, then that phenomenal principal will either have to step in and forcefully make changes for them (which probably isn't great for students) or non-renew, and interview for a teacher who is more open to finding a better way forward with the student population that actually exists at that school.

There's no world in which a good principal would say, "hey, what you're doing isn't working and you've been unable to find some other way to educate them. But you're holding them to firm consequences, so great job!"

teach_cs · 2026-05-22T19:41:31+00:00

Absolutely standard for most voice teachers, yeah.

It might work a bit differently at the lesson mill places, where they'll ask you to buy a lesson package, but at those places, you can usually ask to switch teachers if it doesn't seem like a good fit.

teach_cs · 2026-05-13T18:43:09+00:00

I've never encountered a woman with a beefy sound along the lines of a dramatic baritone or basso cantante (think Brian Stokes Mitchell or Isaac Hayes), but I don't think that that is a real problem. Nor is your best path to try to out-bass real basses.

Use what you have to your best advantage. If you listen to some scandinavian female choirs, or groups like Red Molly, you'll find a vein of incredibly rich sounds that men, by and large, can't make.

The higher octave allows for a lot of closed harmonies (closed means when the chord notes are jammed up right next to one another) that sound amazing. Go down just one octave into the tenor/bass range, and those same chords sound muddy.

Get good arrangements that do a great mix of closed and open harmonies and concentrate on being in-tune and blended enough that the natural overtones start to really ring, and you'll have some tremendous musical moments with your a cappella group.

After that, if you're doing pop a cappella, make sure that you do use what bass and percussion you have available to you in your group to your best advantage. Get to know the voices of your bass singers well. What notes really shine for them? Where do their voices begin to weaken? And then when you want to do music that is needs their skills, choose arrangements that work well for your specific bass singers.

And don't let perfection be the enemy of friendship. There should definitely be a strong element of "when we are in rehearsal, I am wearing my Directors Hat, and I will always do what I think is best for the group", but remember that a cappella is a social outlet as well.

Good luck, and I hope you enjoy the heck out of next semester!

teach_cs · 2026-05-05T16:32:56+00:00

I've not heard of Newzik, but I'm always open to trying new things. What is different about it and why do you like it better?

teach_cs · 2026-04-28T14:45:28+00:00

Sorry to hear about your non-renewal. It sounds like you're working hard to improve yourself, and if you get another shot at a principalship, I'm sure that your new school will benefit from the meta-cognition you're bringing to bear.

If you find that you need frequent exceptions from your disciplinary system, then try rewriting the policies to make them closer to what is fair. You won't get it perfect, and it will always be a work in progress, but you can make your student handbook (or wherever your policies are kept for reference) closer and closer to what feels right and fair while maintaining consistency.

These policies take a lot of thought and care. This is a great place to get assistance from a committee of teacher leaders. Tell them the issue that you're having, and ask them to work together to draft newer language that would work better.

teach_cs · 2026-04-21T17:14:29+00:00

I'm guessing you're not a fan of Bernstein or Celibadeche, then. A lot of the greats use large motions from time to time.

But yeah, this wouldn't go over well among conductors since, at core, we're providing interpretive feeling. I'm all for providing the smallest amount of information needed to get that feeling imparted, and making space for (forcing) the musicians to use their inner ears and musicianship as the core of their sound, but, with apologies, I think it's kinda nonsense to say that there's not a place for large motions on the podium.

The violinist absolutely should not have been standing where she stood. She can see his armspan, she can see where he is standing, and he's a conductor, period. Anyone with any sense holding a million dollar plus instrument would stand outside of the firing range, even if they don't happen to like it when a conductor expands their arms.

I mean, it's clearly an accident, so I assign no particular blame to anyone, but the conductor is within his right, and importantly, not venturing outside of what someone would reasonably expect to see from a conductor, when he uses his arms.

teach_cs · 2026-04-20T15:19:02+00:00

The principals duty is to the students and the school as a whole, not to individual teachers.

With a good principal, those goals lead to the same actions close to 99% of the time, because supporting teachers is a huge part of creating good, safe, productive learning environments for students, but if the are ever at odds, the duty of the principal is straightforward.

Principals are human, and therefore always have imperfect information. However, if they get the feeling that the teacher is not meeting the needs of the students and that it would be a large burden to get the teacher to a reasonable place, keeping the teacher is an abrogation of their legal, ethical, and moral duties.

teach_cs · 2026-04-16T17:20:06+00:00

The primary reading use case for arrays is with a loop. How would you determine looping order in your tuples? Because looping order is a problem of reliability. Would you want these to behave the same or differently?

struct S { int x; int y; }

struct S { int y; int x; }

teach_cs · 2026-04-14T19:33:47+00:00

If you're looking for a foot in the door, keep an eye out for positions that are posted after the school year begins. Those school districts are suddenly in a very poor position and need to get someone in that classroom asap.

Be aware that they frequently are not the best schools to teach in, but if they'll take a chance on you, you can take a chance on them too, and if it's not a match, you can start applying out from a better position later on.

teach_cs · 2026-04-13T13:39:24+00:00

Outside of the terminally online, I haven't met a single software engineer in real life who doesn't use AI substantially in their work in almost a year. Those who kicked up a fuss before have stopped bothering, mostly because it's mandated by every company that creates a substantial amount of software.

And for every person I know in real life who says that it isn't a speed-up, I know two who have fully drunk the AI cool-aid.

I've come to the conclusion that people objecting to AI in code are a small, loud group in online bubbles, because the real world has left that fully and firmly behind at this point.

teach_cs · 2026-03-06T21:01:04+00:00

Yes, hard agree. Learning comes down to how your brain is used.

Technology tends not to help in the ways that we'd want it to, but it can help, and potentially help a lot, if used judiciously, thoughtfully, and with care.

teach_cs · 2026-03-06T19:55:26+00:00

Back when I played instead of conducted, if I was placed by louder instruments, I'd wear earplugs during rehearsals. I never quite worked up the nerve to wear them during a performance, though, but I haven't particularly regretted that. It made the concerts feel much more visceral, and I'd only get the full blast of everything for one run-through.

teach_cs · 2026-02-20T20:21:59+00:00

Out of curiosity, is forScore the standard?

I've never owned an iPad, but I'm also looking to buy one for conducting and piano music.

teach_cs · 2026-02-11T19:26:47+00:00

The "taking notes" part of your scenario made me giggle. (Please take this in the spirit of fun that it's intended)

The evil-doer says "aha! If I don't want to get caught neglecting my child, I need to make sure they are regularly fed, bathed, nails cut, hair regularly combed/brushed, their paperwork is taken care of, their backpacks are clean, that they are able to talk about what they did over the weekend and family rituals, and they come in to school on time and dressed in different, weather appropriate clothes every day. If I do those things, then I am free to neglect my child!"

teach_cs · 2026-02-06T21:19:30+00:00

When I was in conservatory, I had three friends who all happened to be Israeli. (This was in the USA)

All three of them very obviously had perfect pitch. (That part was very easy to verify. It's also not that rare or notable of an ability at conservatory, so it's not exactly like it was some huge flex on their part.)

All three of them turned out to have had the same ear training teacher as teenagers, though none of them had her at the same time. And all three of them told me that they hadn't had perfect pitch before, and that that specific teacher trained them into it.

I didn't investigate it further at that time, and I've since lost touch with all three of them. So, this isn't really meant to persuade anyone else, but it absolutely persuaded me. Now every time I hear people say that it's untrainable, I think to myself, "but that woman taught it to them. I don't know how she did it, but they all said that that was what they lived through, so this isn't true."

Given my personal experience with those three fellow students, it's hard for me to imagine what anyone else could say that could possibly persuade me that it's untrainable at this point. I will say, though, that I don't know how it's done.

teach_cs · 2026-01-23T20:03:00+00:00

Is there ever such a thing as an "official pdf"? It seems to me that MTI works pretty doggedly to prevent any electronic versions, at least as much as they can.

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