Benoît Fleury
@benfle.com
"I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible that you may be mistaken."
https://benfle.com
https://benfle.com
Reposted by Benoît Fleury
this fall I worked with the core Git folks on writing an official data model for Git and it just got merged! I learned a few new things from writing it. github.com/git/git/blob...
git/Documentation/gitdatamodel.adoc at master · git/git
Git Source Code Mirror - This is a publish-only repository but pull requests can be turned into patches to the mailing list via GitGitGadget (https://gitgitgadget.github.io/). Please follow Documen...
github.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:01 PM
this fall I worked with the core Git folks on writing an official data model for Git and it just got merged! I learned a few new things from writing it. github.com/git/git/blob...
Reposted by Benoît Fleury
Please Donate to the Internet Archive. $25 helps.... a lot.
Useful to Journalists,
Useful to Students,
Useful to more than 2 million people a day.
Collections growing at 150TBytes/day
@internetarchive
archive.org/donate
www.cnn.com/2025/11/16/b...
Useful to Journalists,
Useful to Students,
Useful to more than 2 million people a day.
Collections growing at 150TBytes/day
@internetarchive
archive.org/donate
www.cnn.com/2025/11/16/b...
November 29, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Please Donate to the Internet Archive. $25 helps.... a lot.
Useful to Journalists,
Useful to Students,
Useful to more than 2 million people a day.
Collections growing at 150TBytes/day
@internetarchive
archive.org/donate
www.cnn.com/2025/11/16/b...
Useful to Journalists,
Useful to Students,
Useful to more than 2 million people a day.
Collections growing at 150TBytes/day
@internetarchive
archive.org/donate
www.cnn.com/2025/11/16/b...
Reposted by Benoît Fleury
"The very best creative people will only go to work in a few places." / "What I try to do is create the environment where these incredible people can make films." Man, this is what real leadership looks like. They don't make 'em like this anymore. youtu.be/R0XmBKsRJF8?...
Pixar's Early Days - A Never-Before-Seen Interview With Steve Jobs, 1996
YouTube video by Steve Jobs Archive
youtu.be
November 23, 2025 at 5:37 PM
"The very best creative people will only go to work in a few places." / "What I try to do is create the environment where these incredible people can make films." Man, this is what real leadership looks like. They don't make 'em like this anymore. youtu.be/R0XmBKsRJF8?...
"There is no royal road to geometry."
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 9:17 PM
"There is no royal road to geometry."
Reposted by Benoît Fleury
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 12:49 PM
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Reposted by Benoît Fleury
Lots of reasons to love using Clojure, but Netflix reminded us of why we don’t want to use anything else…
In 12 years, over 7 different versions of Clojure (from 1.5.1 to 1.12.0) they had zero migrations!
I don’t know how to express how amazing that is
In 12 years, over 7 different versions of Clojure (from 1.5.1 to 1.12.0) they had zero migrations!
I don’t know how to express how amazing that is
November 16, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Lots of reasons to love using Clojure, but Netflix reminded us of why we don’t want to use anything else…
In 12 years, over 7 different versions of Clojure (from 1.5.1 to 1.12.0) they had zero migrations!
I don’t know how to express how amazing that is
In 12 years, over 7 different versions of Clojure (from 1.5.1 to 1.12.0) they had zero migrations!
I don’t know how to express how amazing that is
Reposted by Benoît Fleury
This was a really great event , amazingly good communication given the great range of disciplines, and a tribute to Sean and Jennan.
This year we folded the annual #NaturalPhilosophy Distinguished Lecture into the inaugural Symposium. Very honored to have Alison Gopnik @alisongopnik.bsky.social as this year's speaker, on The Evolution of Human Intelligences.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBmz...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBmz...
October 30, 2025 at 7:23 PM
This was a really great event , amazingly good communication given the great range of disciplines, and a tribute to Sean and Jennan.
Reposted by Benoît Fleury
Happy Internet Archive Day to all who celebrate.
The Internet Archive is hitting its trillionth webpage archived, and - as a long time collaborator and historian of both web archiving more generally as well as the Internet Archive specifically - am happy to join them for this milestone.
The Internet Archive is hitting its trillionth webpage archived, and - as a long time collaborator and historian of both web archiving more generally as well as the Internet Archive specifically - am happy to join them for this milestone.
October 21, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Happy Internet Archive Day to all who celebrate.
The Internet Archive is hitting its trillionth webpage archived, and - as a long time collaborator and historian of both web archiving more generally as well as the Internet Archive specifically - am happy to join them for this milestone.
The Internet Archive is hitting its trillionth webpage archived, and - as a long time collaborator and historian of both web archiving more generally as well as the Internet Archive specifically - am happy to join them for this milestone.
Reposted by Benoît Fleury
I hear from informed sources that these #NoKings rallies are more than twice as big as last time, making them easily the largest protests in US history. Thanks to everyone and especially organizers.
October 18, 2025 at 8:22 PM
I hear from informed sources that these #NoKings rallies are more than twice as big as last time, making them easily the largest protests in US history. Thanks to everyone and especially organizers.
"Man desires a world where good and evil can be clearly distinguished, for he has an innate and irrepressible desire to judge before he understands."
— Milan Kundera, The Art of the Novel
— Milan Kundera, The Art of the Novel
October 17, 2025 at 2:59 PM
"Man desires a world where good and evil can be clearly distinguished, for he has an innate and irrepressible desire to judge before he understands."
— Milan Kundera, The Art of the Novel
— Milan Kundera, The Art of the Novel
Reposted by Benoît Fleury
Special education isn't a "nice thing to have." It isn't "charity" or doing something to make us feel better. It is a right. The right to a Free Appropriate Public Education is codified in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, signed by a Republican president.
U.S. Department of Education fired nearly everyone in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in a wave of new layoffs that began Friday, according to the union representing the agency's employees. www.usatoday.com/story/news/e...
Education Department wipes out special ed office in shutdown layoffs, union says
The Education Department laid off nearly everyone at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
www.usatoday.com
October 13, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Special education isn't a "nice thing to have." It isn't "charity" or doing something to make us feel better. It is a right. The right to a Free Appropriate Public Education is codified in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, signed by a Republican president.
Reposted by Benoît Fleury
No Kings. October 18th. Free speech is action. Please join in.
www.nokings.org
www.nokings.org
No Kings
As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power ...
www.nokings.org
October 9, 2025 at 12:29 PM
No Kings. October 18th. Free speech is action. Please join in.
www.nokings.org
www.nokings.org
We can interpret Euclid's first three postulates as *independent* primitives to construct figures made out of line segments.
The postulates let you change independently the magnitude and the orientation of the line segments.
The postulates let you change independently the magnitude and the orientation of the line segments.
October 6, 2025 at 2:14 PM
We can interpret Euclid's first three postulates as *independent* primitives to construct figures made out of line segments.
The postulates let you change independently the magnitude and the orientation of the line segments.
The postulates let you change independently the magnitude and the orientation of the line segments.
Reposted by Benoît Fleury
"We are told that AI is inevitable, that we must adapt or be left behind. But universities are not tech companies. Our role is to foster critical thinking, not to follow industry trends uncritically." www.ru.nl/en/research/...
September 12, 2025 at 10:45 AM
"We are told that AI is inevitable, that we must adapt or be left behind. But universities are not tech companies. Our role is to foster critical thinking, not to follow industry trends uncritically." www.ru.nl/en/research/...
Abstraction, probably the most important idea in computing.
Thanks to @yoshikiohshima.bsky.social I found the Alan Kay story that this reminded me of.
From "The Early History of Smalltalk": worrydream.com/EarlyHistory...
From "The Early History of Smalltalk": worrydream.com/EarlyHistory...
September 12, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Abstraction, probably the most important idea in computing.
Crafting a new cover letter...
September 9, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Crafting a new cover letter...
The main problem of design is finding the right independent primitives for your domain.
Why independent? Because the user should be able to compose the primitives to solve their specific problem.
You can fail by being too high-level or too low-level.
Why independent? Because the user should be able to compose the primitives to solve their specific problem.
You can fail by being too high-level or too low-level.
September 5, 2025 at 4:46 PM
The main problem of design is finding the right independent primitives for your domain.
Why independent? Because the user should be able to compose the primitives to solve their specific problem.
You can fail by being too high-level or too low-level.
Why independent? Because the user should be able to compose the primitives to solve their specific problem.
You can fail by being too high-level or too low-level.
+1
REST is an architectural style for worldwide hypermedia applications. What you want for the API of your distributed system is RPC.
REST is an architectural style for worldwide hypermedia applications. What you want for the API of your distributed system is RPC.
#dev
Hot take. I think REST as an API model is bad.
The semantics of caching and side-effects are good, and the meta headers are useful, but the interface model of verbs on paths maps to nothing in programming languages and leads developers to writing endless boilerplate.
Hot take. I think REST as an API model is bad.
The semantics of caching and side-effects are good, and the meta headers are useful, but the interface model of verbs on paths maps to nothing in programming languages and leads developers to writing endless boilerplate.
August 22, 2025 at 9:43 PM
+1
REST is an architectural style for worldwide hypermedia applications. What you want for the API of your distributed system is RPC.
REST is an architectural style for worldwide hypermedia applications. What you want for the API of your distributed system is RPC.
Reposted by Benoît Fleury
Not just art. Talking. Writing. Editing. Designing. Coding. Thinking.
Doing well at anything takes years of practice. Ceding that to a machine defeats the whole purpose of taking pleasure from one's chosen path in life.
Doing well at anything takes years of practice. Ceding that to a machine defeats the whole purpose of taking pleasure from one's chosen path in life.
just saw someone sincerely arguing that they need AI bc they don't have "natural" artistic talent and idk how to make you understand that nobody comes by this shit naturally. it's just...work. it's being bad at it for a really, really, really long time. it's intention, pursued over time! wtf!!!
August 18, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Not just art. Talking. Writing. Editing. Designing. Coding. Thinking.
Doing well at anything takes years of practice. Ceding that to a machine defeats the whole purpose of taking pleasure from one's chosen path in life.
Doing well at anything takes years of practice. Ceding that to a machine defeats the whole purpose of taking pleasure from one's chosen path in life.
Reposted by Benoît Fleury
my statement on Ai from the mini-comic I'm making as syllabus for a new class I'm teaching this fall. It's simple, but I pretty much said all I have to say on it - it robs you of decisions and struggle - and the joy of being surprised. It robs you of learning...
August 12, 2025 at 7:37 PM
my statement on Ai from the mini-comic I'm making as syllabus for a new class I'm teaching this fall. It's simple, but I pretty much said all I have to say on it - it robs you of decisions and struggle - and the joy of being surprised. It robs you of learning...
"There is, perhaps, no surer mark of folly than an attempt to correct the natural infirmities of those we love." — Henry Fielding, "Tom Jones"
August 12, 2025 at 3:03 PM
"There is, perhaps, no surer mark of folly than an attempt to correct the natural infirmities of those we love." — Henry Fielding, "Tom Jones"
"Because — as humans — we suffer from many cognitive biases — and a deep one is “confirmation bias” — it’s critical — no matter how much we think something is true — to maintain a little area where doubt can operate."
— www.quora.com/If-Alan-Kay-...
— www.quora.com/If-Alan-Kay-...
August 6, 2025 at 1:27 PM
"Because — as humans — we suffer from many cognitive biases — and a deep one is “confirmation bias” — it’s critical — no matter how much we think something is true — to maintain a little area where doubt can operate."
— www.quora.com/If-Alan-Kay-...
— www.quora.com/If-Alan-Kay-...
Reposted by Benoît Fleury
“Languages should be designed not by adding features but by removing weaknesses that make more features seem necessary.”
#Abelson and #Sussman
#Abelson and #Sussman
August 1, 2025 at 6:00 AM
“Languages should be designed not by adding features but by removing weaknesses that make more features seem necessary.”
#Abelson and #Sussman
#Abelson and #Sussman