Moonside

Moonside wrote

Tbh in that specific case I'd just use mathematics:

f(n+1) = f(n) * g(f(n))

which is almost an implementation in some functional languages. (Nb. it's very nice to be able to use n+1 or 2n style notation in parameters, it can clean up expressions a lot.) Obviously the base case ought to be treated somehow, but that's besides the point.

I would say that ad hoc usage of pseudocode seems innocuous to me - sometimes you have improvise and there's not an common agreed upon system to draw on. Perfect is the enemy of the good. But I think its virtues as a tool for planning and documentation aren't great. If you go forth and plan or prototype your project in pseudo before implementation, why?

I'm speculating here as I don't have access to any empirical research treating this topic.

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Moonside wrote

Reply to comment by voxpoplar in game of the decade by devtesla

Same, but honestly these best of the decade lists also show how out of the loop I am with arts and media. For example I'm currently playing through Fallout 2 (1998) and on the fourth season of King of the Hill (1999-2007). I don't regret it as it's fun to go back to old things that are out of the zeitgeist and see that they're good too, still.

I don't really know where to get introduced to good contemporary stuff in a way that doesn't bore or revolt me. Fannish hype of social media is a turn off, like I absolutely don't want to know anything Star Wars related unless Hbomberguy lands a video defending the prequels. I don't want to know about what MCU or Disney+ means for diversity/contemporary politics/whatever, not as a blanket dismissal of a topic, but I don't need to know about it. Criticism is an industry and has long been one, but now I can't be arsed to consume it.

I mostly post to unburden my mind of the things it's been bothered by, so let just this be the occasion to say out loud that I will ignore all podcast, streaming and TV recommendations next year and clear my to be read and watch later lists as well. I'll cultivate my Library of Stuff (because the decade taught me that physical media is occasionally very good) instead and go out to events more.

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Moonside wrote

There's all sorts of theology that's has been appropriated into support for Trump or his policies, like the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This has totally been ignored imho by the political opposition of Trump admin and a big part of younger folks against him are too secular to be familiar with this.

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Moonside wrote

Reply to 0.5 A presses by emma

I really don't get what the point was, is it the challenge or just that it's kinda stupid?

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Moonside wrote

Offtopic suggestions:

  1. More "podcasts" - turn Youtube videos into mp3s and listen to the files. Lots of talking head content really is that.
  2. Audio books are in practice like tightly edited and narrated multihour single episode podcasts. Many are freely available on Youtube (piracy or not) and libraries have more you can loan (or stream). There's only so much time I want to or get to spend sitting at home which is how I read paper books so I'm glad to steal some commute back to me.
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Moonside wrote

Honorary mentions:

  1. Citations Needed. A leftist debunking show. It's generally good stuff, but the debunking angle is inherently limiting imho.
  2. History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps. The last three words are the central gimmick, really. It's quite common to skip from Aristotle to Descartes in popular treatments of the topic so the treatment here is an ambitious corrective. The reason I hesitate to recommend it so strongly is that listeners who really want to learn should probably spend the time studying a paper history of philosophy instead. But it is still the best educational podcast I've listened to. There are also similar shows on Africana and Indian philosophy, which I can recommend with less hesitations as there is a lack good quality introductory material on those topics.
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Moonside wrote

  1. My favorite podcast at the moment is BBC Radio 4's In Our Time hosted by Melvyn Bragg. It basically makes most infotainment look bad. Its self-described focus is on ideas, which in practice means that the topics include history, arts, science, philosophy and religion and they are discussed by relevant experts as guests in the studio. Melvyn is very no-nonsense type of a host who gently guides the discussion for the benefits of the listeners. I've given a chance to a lots of podcasts and honestly it's professional stuff like this that demonstrates how much dead air they can contain.
  2. Finding Drago - a podcast about discovering the origins of a fan fiction novel about the iconic, though criminally underdeveloped, Soviet boxer character Ivan Drago from Rocky IV.
  3. Kubrick's Universe - The Stanley Kubrick podcast. I've listened to four episodes so far, which have featured really knowledgeable guests, my favorite so far being the one on Kubrick as a New York jewish intellectual. The hosts are not ridiculously enthusiastic, which is good for a fannish podcasting.
  4. Talking Simpsons is the best pop culture podcast I've listened to, though I can understand why someone could have a difficult time listening to a 2 hour episode on a 22 minute cartoon episode. It's frequently hilarious and the hosts actually do their job in contextualizing the episodes. The episode on The Simpsons Spin-off Showcase is a good entry point.
  5. Heidi Matthews on Demand Podcast. She's a law professor who occasionally drops a podcast on whatever she's fancying from a leftist perspective. Leftist online content often has the problem of turning their energies into campaigns, taking potshots at current events or discussing praxis and strategy like the revolution was coming any second now.
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