We type theory enjoyers have partly earned this reputation through the history of type theory people insisting that computers be bent to fit our toy models even when the impedance mismatch is severe, whether it's obsessing too far over immutability, lazy evaluation, overusing cache-inefficient data structures or patterns that require intrusive garbage collection, etc. I want to use formalisms that meet the computer in the middle: that allow me to reason about and prove statements about the ways that the computers we have can be put to their most effective use while preventing chaotic and intractable behaviour. Not bend the computer to an abstract system whose features that cannot be implemented without crippling its capabilities.

“Morning Sir we’ve had reports you’ve been scrolling X without signing in with your Digital ID Sir it’s not mandatory to Sir you are within Your Rights not to Sir just it’s going to be difficult to find gainful employment if you don’t sign in Sir it’s to Protect Our Kids see Sir”

New post: on why you should not use AI to write.

According to Labour, 16/17 year olds are independent adults who should have the right to vote but also little babies who need a comprehensive surveillance state to enforce bedtime Actually incoherent ideology

We type theory enjoyers have partly earned this reputation through the history of type theory people insisting that computers be bent to fit our toy models even when the impedance mismatch is severe, whether it's obsessing too far over immutability, lazy evaluation, overusing cache-inefficient data structures or patterns that require intrusive garbage collection, etc. I want to use formalisms that meet the computer in the middle: that allow me to reason about and prove statements about the ways that the computers we have can be put to their most effective use while preventing chaotic and intractable behaviour. Not bend the computer to an abstract system whose features that cannot be implemented without crippling its capabilities.

One of the things that seems so stupid and infantilizing about modern culture is that you can’t just talk to people like an adult now and reason through things and make the case for this or that and encounter people with agency to do anything about it. There’s nobody at the company to whom you can give a firm handshake and the sales pitch. In its place as a process. You follow the process. And then a decision is made in the background. Everything is like applying to college. So for example I ordered a water heater and I guess I didn’t notice that there was a separate option to have the guys carry it in for you. I got one of these fancy new heat pump water heaters and it’s much heavier than a normal water heater, which is already pretty bulky and heavy, and I can’t get it downstairs by myself. So I called to see if we can’t get the guys back out here to get it down into the basement. But of course there’s no making that happen. There’s no amount of money I could offer, no sweet talking. You can’t get anybody on the phone who has any agency to make this happen. There’s a process. And what I want is not part of the process. So instead what we have to do is I’m returning the original water heater and I ordered a new one and this time I checked the box to have the guys carry it into the basement. So later today, some people will come in a truck to take the original, perfectly fine water heater away. And then later different people will deliver a different water heater and carry it into my basement, because this time I checked the box that says they’re allowed to do that. This is all completely absurd. I am capable of understanding that everything is optimized for the more common case and that this is probably more efficient at scale. I can understand the benefits of that just fine. It’s just that the society it creates when things go wrong is one that feels very stupid and unsatisfying to normal people. And that’s a downside that actually does need to be registered.

Found where TfL get all their tube advert poems from

The poem Scriabin wrote to accompany his fourth piano sonata:

There is no demand for huge quantities of slop. More commits / LOC / PRs does not equate to more valuable productivity. Users want fewer, but better, programs.

this FAQ entry from the website for the open-source robot vacuum software Valetudo is a beautiful and refreshing thing to see in our degenerate era: valetudo.cloud/pages/faq/#wh…