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October 9, 2024

Feedback is necessary for expertise

We learn how to recognise fields in which experts can exist, and succinctly describe distributed systems.

I hope your week is going well!

New articles

No Feedback ∴ No Good

One can learn a lot from studying the techniques used to study expertise. For example, how does one find an expert in a field. How does one even know if a field is capable of supporting experts in the first place? Asking How do you know if you're doing a good job? takes you partway there.

Full article (2–4 minute read): No Feedback ∴ No Good

Flashcard of the week

I don't remember where I read this, but it rang so true with me that it became a flashcard.

How can one describe distributed systems?

The defining characteristic of distributed systems is failure.

When you have many moving parts, some of them will be broken at all times. For a sufficiently large system, there is not a single point in time in which the entire system is non-broken. The system needs to be built to handle this.

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