Kuiper Q-Q plot: are these the same?
Whenever we ask, "Is this thing, which I think is special, really different from this normal thing?" we are performing a generic hypothesis test. Here's a tool to do it easily! Also: brief, interesting history on tulipmania.
Intuition for distribution differences
Let's look at and compare cumulative distribution functions, and think about in which direction the divergence operator measures flux.
A full body MRI earns you a year of smoking
Exposing healthy people to full-body MRIs to screen for cancers might seem excessive, but it reduces risk about as much as not smoking for a year.
You could have invented type classes!
We look at how the authors of SICP almost invented type classes and some tricks for using them in Haskell. We also find out why the Apollo capsule position in lunar orbit was not known to greater precision than 10 metres.
Tagged data in Haskell (SICP 2.4.2)
We read a little part of SICP, the wizard book, and apply it to Haskell. Then we talk system robustness and liveness probes.
Entropic Thoughts Premium Newsletter #13-2
A sprawling newsletter covering computers, children, health, and a game that allows itself to be narratively complex.
Entropic Thoughts Premium Newsletter #13-1
A sprawling newsletter covering computers, children, health, and a game that allows itself to be narratively complex.
Lean, not backpressure (plus what congestion is)
We look at what Lucas Costa does to rein in code-generating robots, and learn where we can learn more about similar techniques.
LLMs write almost good code
I present a brief case study of when the LLM made things more complicated than necessary, and then we practice our intuition for risk sizing in betting.
More keyboard help! And Formula 1 winners from qualifying
I ask you again for help in completing the keyboard survey, we look at how to determine the effect of qualifying on winning a Formula 1 Grand Prix, and learn how much of a Fortran program is assignment.
Keyboard help! Stock market returns, and confidence intervals
I would like your help measuring a couple of your keyboard properties. After that, you can learn about what returns to expect from the stock market, and how to extrapolate a standard deviation from just two values.
Pythagorean addition in the head! And other things in the head
We learn how to quickly compute the combined variation of two processes without having to go through variance explicitly. We learn a fun technique to test situational awareness e.g. in pilots.
The Berkshire buff and fake contests of skill
We look at what it took to get article previews into the RSS feed of the main Entropic Thoughts site. We analyse the Henley Royal Regatta statistically. We get skeptical about fake contests of skill.
The best fizz buzz is monoidal
Learn about how to compose a fizz buzz that is extendable and contractable.
Entropic Thoughts Premium Newsletter #12
Hello! If this newsletter reads strangely or vontains odd typos, it is because it is typed on a new, fascinating keyboard. Read on to find out! New in my...
Understanding systems and parametric polymorphism
We learn about private tutoring, learning, and what makes parametric polymorphism different from ad hoc polymorphism.
Spaced repetition beginner guide and separating projectiles
We learn what's important for practicing spaced repetition, and then what's important for ballistic projectiles that separate into two parts.
OOP in Ada and OODA in Boyd
We learn a little about classes, encapsulation, inheritance, and memory management in Ada.
Your math proficiency, visualised
We take a look at the results of the maths survey you have been patiently responding to in the past three weeks. Then we learn a tiny bit of differential equations together.
MVC is a mistake, more math questions, and colours
MVC is very popular, but since it draws module boundaries along technical concerns it is a bad way to do modularisation.