Dealing with Haskell errors, and how 3G works so well
We learn to read Haskell errors by example, and then we find out which sequence of coin tosses is most likely – and what that has to do with 3G cellular communication.
The greatest procedural language in the world, and some obfuscation of it
We learn in what sense Haskell is the greatest procedural language in the world, and we debate whether or not to abstract over functions.
Survival, TLS certificates, and non-obvious interpretations
Two new articles: one on statistics and one more sysadminny. Then we learn what formulations are in ethnography.
Parser combinators vs. regexes, and slurping in Perl
We compare regexes to parser combinators for an early Advent of Code problem, and we learn some Perl peculiarities that help with reading files.
Good correlations and bad flashcards
This week's article is a long one, on correlations! Even if you think you know correlations, there's probably a thing or two you don't.
Insurance perils and US Army deployment planning
Domain jargon can be funny, as is the case with insurance perils. We also learn about how the US Army plans deployments – or didn't, in that one case in 2003.
Entropic Thoughts Premium Newsletter #4
Hello, premium subscribers! Aside from the link collection, I will not be recommending a book or two today, but tell you about my top 20 (twenty!) technical...
Emacs gushing, and secondary product development wastes
We take another look at how to use Emacs more, and we learn about the things that slow down software product development projects, despite hard work.
Web-based forecasting tool and model building tips
We get some tips on model building (specifically variable selection) and then also get our hands on a very sloppily made forecasting web tool.
Firewall configuration embarrassment and higher education
We learn how to avoid embarrassing ourselves when misconfiguring e.g. firewalls, and what higher education is for. (Among other things.)
Plus and minus takes the prize
We learn some of the most important research there is – on the superiority of linear models to expert judgment. We also learn how to easily find 30 % more problems when reviewing someone's code.
Deploying low-maintenance web apps and fluid dynamics
We lament how annoying it is to maintain side projects and celebrate by creating a side project that requires maintenance – although less than ordinarily. We also lament our lack of CFD knowledge.
Brier scores, language rants, and data-intensive applications
We learn about how we can compare forecasting accuracies, and a little about protocol design for avoiding forward compatibility.
Entropic Thoughts Premium Newsletter #3
Some links, a couple of book recommendations, a preview of a future article, and ACX 2025 forecasting contest rationales.
Experimental design for non-compliance, and Perl arcania
We learn a little experimental design for when subjects opt out of the treatment branch we have planned for them. We also learn about an extremely un-useful Perl feature.
Social constructions and high rates of scientific false positives
We take a brief look at how something seemingly-technical like "selling out" an event is a social construction, and we reason from basic principles how much of published science might be false positives.
Memory limits, the north pole is moving, and standard deviations
We learn a systemd trick and some history around the perception of physics. We also think about whether rote memorisation of standard deviations is a useful way to get a sense of variation, and if this in turn leads to better statistical literacy.
Statistical literacy and saving lives for $1,000,000
We hypothesise about something called statistical literacy, which may or may not be a developmental milestone. We also learn what it takes to save a life.
Entropic Thoughts Premium Newsletter #2
We get three links to good articles, we learn about talking empathetically, handling children, what reinsurance is, and get some forecasting tips.
The Basean Loom, and arguing for self-review
We learn how we can combine conditional probabilities into an implied base rate. Separately, we learn that self-review is about as efficient as peer review, although less effective.