Patrick Beart

@DJSnM I did something similar with memory-mapped IO for controls instead, which is possibly more effective (although I really have no idea how this would have worked in the early days of computer controlled aerospace)

Flying a simulated spacecraft controlled by a ZX Spectrum and Sinclair BASIC my first computer and programming language. Terribly inefficient right now because the serial port is so slow and the CPU spends lots of cycles bit banging to talk to it. There's a Python program in between which talks to KRPC and translates the important numbers to the serial port for the Spectrum to work from.

@asmeurer @francoisfleuret Could you give a clue as to how you might encode a factorial in a polynomial?

Note that it says "the polynomial also takes on negative values". The given polynomial is if the form (k+2)(1 - ). Those nonnegative (squared) terms are constructed so that they can only all be simultaneously 0 if k+2 is prime. This is done by encoding Wilson's theorem, which says that (k+1) is prime iff (k+1) | (k!+1). Note that the inputs required to actually get a prime out of this equation are astronomically large and no one has ever actually observed a prime number come out of it. (Source: the French paper linked in the reply. I recommend feeding it to ChatGPT if you want more info)

Can someone tl;dr? My very remote intuitive incomprehension is that a prime is something arbitrary large, and that it feels that "you need a loop" to characterize them all, while a polynomial is something finite.

@owenbroadcast I used to stay awake in bed for hours as a tween convinced that the loss of consciousness of sleep couldn't be any different than dying

the concept of "transferring minds" is interesting because we all take it as intuitive, because it makes logical sense, but to square it with the present modern conception of the mind and self is extremely difficult. it makes sense intuitively because what is being transferred is something like a soul or spirit - you can even see this in "science" style cartoons - rick and morty, futurama, whatever: someone uses a device to transfer themselves into another body. most people wouldn't say it this way, but what's transferred is really "the self" - the spirit of that individual. if you attempt to square this with modern conceptions of the mind, you end up in a really bizarre place. at best, in the modern worldview, "you" are patterns in your brain, and something like the continuation of your physical self over time. so, what is transferred in this modern cultural trope? the physical brain isn't transferred (this usually isn't the case, it's always via some high tech device with rays and light and electrodes and such things), so, that's out. that just leaves the patterns. this means that in situations like the below example, you're ultimately seeing a kind of trick: there's "the girl" - her brain is turned off, or something (this is really something like death), and all the patterns we associate with her (her likes, dislikes, worldview, inclinations, talking style, and so on) are then perfectly reproduced in another mind. this means that, really, when you're looking at any popular media that features something like transfer of consciousness, from an atheist scientific materialist perspective, the initial person is basically killed, and a reproduction of their mental patterns is artificially induced in another mind. that's what "the transfer" of an individual actually would be in that paradigm. but, no one sees it this way, because we all intuitively understand that something like "the soul" exists, and that's what would be transferred in such a situation - even if that's antithetical to the worldview we're pretending to inhabit.

@taktoa1 @effectfully the coefficients certainly look (from a quick inspection) to be increasing then decreasing, centered roughly around the b_215 term. unless I'm misunderstanding something, wouldn't the pattern you're describing create parallel stripes?

@effectfully A uniform random number with up to N digits has a nonzero first digit with 90% probability. So nearly all the numbers have length N. Then you resize the terminal to width t and now you're visualizing level sets of "(x + ty) mod N mod t".

I once looked into the single-line output my ZK compiler produced for some random program and it somehow formed a clear pattern on the screen. That was rather weird, there's no way the program being compiled inherently had any sort of pattern to it.

@effectfully would guess that sequences like binomial expansion which have increasing then decreasing coefficients (and therefore lengths) would lead to this pattern

@aryehazan I think it's a real tragedy you don't (I didn't) get to see any number theory beyond LCM and HCF until more or less university

my fb friend posted this (his kid is like 8) I love this! in number theory, a middle school kid can ask a question that no-one on earth can answer in analysis, you're not supposed to be able to do that until well into you PhD studies and yet my binomial dilution sphinx problem appears to be something like that

@aryehazan Have you watched the video? It's pretty cut and dry, an agent approaches him with empty hands, does something at his waistband and leaves with a gun which looks like the one DHS posted, then another agent approaches and fires several shots into his back

@BeartPatrick while unarmed? are we confusing narratives here?

to all the constitutional law scholars sliding into my replies to tell me that I don't really understand 2A: 1. even senile Joe Biden mocked the idea of trying to oppose the gov't tanks and f16s with rifles. sorry, that era is long over 2. the founding fathers engaged in treason against the British crown and understood this very well. had the revolution not succeeded, they would have been hanged 3. if your argument is that this guy engaged in armed insurrection (never mind justified or not), then getting shot is a definite risk

@aryehazan this = being extrajudicially shot while unarmed, you = you

@BeartPatrick >> Is there anything you can do, other than not protest, to prevent this from happening to you? let's be very clear what is the "this" and who is the "you"

@sturgios Thought I recognised the exterior - probably not many other places the travels of I and the former shah of Iran have overlapped

Got chatting to the landlord of an old pub in Cambridgeshire and he got out his album of the day in the early eighties when the deposed Shah of Iran and his missus came to visit - and played darts.. Amazing

Stavatti is a very interesting company in that even the first line on their Wikipedia page roasts them

@teodorio yeah the parallels with an iterative process are quite interesting, often doing only a second round of thinking is enough to be significantly better than people doing only one

I've kinda mastered the skill of pulling off great replies in real life and this post outlines it quite well. Instead of going for the first thing that comes to mind, just take a small mental step back and a break. There is always a better answer. That's it.

@ubiquitousnewt I'm curious as to why money is so important, do you think having a lot more money would improve your life, or is it not consciously justifiable preference?

Fun question. Curiosity thrilled the cat, but I am not that different from other women. I have tried to analyse my patterns and I am aware I am prone to bias and self deception. I do not analyse my way into attraction. I feel the ancient rhythm of my quickening pulse first, and only then try to explain it. In terms of physical attractiveness, I do not have a type. They all look quite different but I perceive them to be very good looking. I do not have a major preference for hair or eye colour. Height has never been a major issue as I am petite and the vast majority of men are always taller than me. In terms of job, again, there is no major criterion other than “earns more than me, preferably significantly more” and “not illegally”. Some jobs are more prestigious and impressive than others. But maths and raw numbers are what counts at the end of the day. Personality is a little easier to dissect. I gravitate toward two profiles in particular. These are overrepresented in my dating and relationship history. One is high openness plus high neuroticism: deep and interesting, but prone to self doubt, withdrawal, and sometimes anxiety or depression. I have a soft spot for what I call neurotica: an emotionally charged meeting of negatively hued minds, creating depth and chemistry. A dinner date over the abyss. In trait terms it is high creativity plus volatility. I enjoy the intensity of the rich inner world of deep thinkers but there is a clear line between depth and disturbance. I cannot build a life inside that instability. The other is high openness plus higher conscientiousness. Creativity plus entrepreneurial drive. The same originality, but calm, decisive, and driven. I favour the commanding presence and steadiness in quiet resolve. It is a balm that soothes the irritant of my own mind. These types do not indulge abstract despair. They pull things back to earth. They do not puncture imagination, but simply anchor it. In terms of traits, this is high O, high C, and low N. I generally pair well with people who are extroverted, socially sharp and adventurous. I tend to clash with people who are overly rigid both intellectually and habitually. I see them as dull and turgid and they see me as wild and untameable. In terms of “ideal”, I do not have one. Ideals are delusions waiting to be betrayed. I like what I like and once or twice, I fall deeply in love in spite of flaws because evolution does not work on ideals or perfection, but rather tradeoffs. In terms of what gives me butterflies, I have always hated that phrase. For me it is not butterflies. It is maggots. Not decorative. Not a soft landing. Not a gentle thing. Raw life and appetite. Predatory, not some wholesome Hallmark feeling. Hunger, pursuit, leverage, competition. People posture, deceive, and bargain. It can make you irrational and it can reorder your life. Maggots reflect how I see and feel desire. It does not just add something sweet. It breaks things down. It corrodes composure, disrupts routines, exposes weakness, and sometimes burns down what was stable. Then something new grows in the aftermath. That is decay and renewal, not dainty, inoffensive prettiness. That is closer to how it feels in my body. Not light or delicate, but earthy and consequential. Savage, intrusive, transformative, and not morally pure. Butterflies flutter. Maggots invade. A crush is not a gentle shimmer. Love is worse. It takes up space, changes my behaviour, and unsettles me. It is a force. And it compels me to be more than I am. If it's a good day for my genes, it is a bad day for my heart. And I so hate to be distracted from my books.

@LilUziVartan @BenShindel I think you're missing that most people wouldn't eat shit for $100 - if I'm happy to get paid £Xk to work an office job then I'm getting a good deal, and so is the company (and crucially they wouldn't be willing to pay me in all the things I want that money for)

@BenShindel Wow almost whole point is that what they're doing isn't good for anything and actually increases suffering but they don't care because it moves money around

It's funny because if you replace "eating shit" with normal unsavory chores like one economist fixing the other's toilet and the other mowing the first one's lawn, or something, then everyone understands it's an appropriate way of measuring economic activity.

@MagnusShalefist @blacknredtext @shrek2fanboy What a horrible way to think about the world, you want to "be kept" by a woman who's interested in your "quality"? It's not enough to be good to the people you love?

@blacknredtext @shrek2fanboy While wholesome, note that she didn't pick or keep him for his quality, because he was willing to give of himself without being attached. This is why he's smiling at her insta of another man with her. True sacrificial love, but he's left holding the bag. Makes you think.

submit by @shrek2fanboy kinda wholesome

@aryehazan idk the combination of 2010s chud reddit smugness and pathetic pseudoviolent authoritarianism that you seem to have been increasingly overcome by

@BeartPatrick what are you sad about

ok this made me chuckle out loud kinda surprised at myself, thought I was more mature suave and debonair than that

@etirabys Also this sort of thing gives you ideas about stable ways-to-be that are totally outside your experience, that you might emulate more productively than totally invented and therefore not necessarily stable ways-to-be

Summer has read a lot of ethnography; these are her recs. I think ethnographies are *very* high ROI nonfiction. They're easy to read because every culture is bonkers to every other culture. And they're valuable because they teach you about the distribution of human societies.

@Benjaminfash23 @adisaolashile Is that an ethnic group?

@adisaolashile Yoruba supremacy ✨

In summer 2025, I photographed the Nigerian diaspora in Peckham. One day this series of pictures will make sense

@emmadmazhari like only hiring developers with a riced terminal lol, it's the "bare minimum" to signal that you care about being perceived as part of what you think the elite in your field is

perhaps i’m stupid but how is custom domain and email an indication of talent and skill?