Alex C. Viana
@alexcviana.bsky.social
Mashup of Engineering, Math, and Urbanism | Chicago | 🇺🇸🇧🇷 | acviana.com
Pinned
Alex C. Viana
@alexcviana.bsky.social
· Oct 28
I feel like I should put up a real profile pic so folks don’t think I’m a bot, but I find this coffee icon quite charming. ☕️
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
Happy snow to all that thrive in it
November 9, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Happy snow to all that thrive in it
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
A little rest from tile floors with this deco terra-cotta stunner.
October 2, 2025 at 12:11 AM
A little rest from tile floors with this deco terra-cotta stunner.
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
Hi Folks!
I am hiring a product designer to work on tooling for mechanical and aerospace engineers. It's a SUPER FUN domain.
Prefer prior experience in technical products.
Send an email to maggie at istaridigital dot com
I am hiring a product designer to work on tooling for mechanical and aerospace engineers. It's a SUPER FUN domain.
Prefer prior experience in technical products.
Send an email to maggie at istaridigital dot com
September 30, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Hi Folks!
I am hiring a product designer to work on tooling for mechanical and aerospace engineers. It's a SUPER FUN domain.
Prefer prior experience in technical products.
Send an email to maggie at istaridigital dot com
I am hiring a product designer to work on tooling for mechanical and aerospace engineers. It's a SUPER FUN domain.
Prefer prior experience in technical products.
Send an email to maggie at istaridigital dot com
Man TRON : Legacy was 15 years ago. Yikes.
September 23, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Man TRON : Legacy was 15 years ago. Yikes.
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
There's a great turnout at the Chicago River Swim, the first time people are swimming in the open river in a hundred years! Here are some phone photos before I get home
September 21, 2025 at 1:48 PM
There's a great turnout at the Chicago River Swim, the first time people are swimming in the open river in a hundred years! Here are some phone photos before I get home
In the backyard enjoying the last time it’s going to be in the 80s for the next 9 months 🥲
September 19, 2025 at 10:34 PM
In the backyard enjoying the last time it’s going to be in the 80s for the next 9 months 🥲
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
3²/4²/5² is the perfect day for arguing about best proofs of the Pythagorean theorem. An incredible thing about Euclid's proof is that it applies to the area of *any* similar figures drawn on the sides of a right triangle. 🧮
![The next proof is taken verbatim from Euclid VI.31 in translation by Sir Thomas L. Heath. The great G. Polya analyzes it in his Induction and Analogy in Mathematics (II.5) which is a recommended reading to students and teachers of Mathematics.
In right-angled triangles the figure on the side subtending the right angle is equal to the similar and similarly described figures on the sides containing the right angle.
Let ABC be a right-angled triangle having the angle BAC right; I say that the figure on BC is equal to the similar and similarly described figures on BA, AC.
Let AD be drawn perpendicular. Then since, in the right-angled triangle ABC, AD has been drawn from the right angle at A perpendicular to the base BC, the triangles ABD, ADC adjoining the perpendicular are similar both to the whole ABC and to one another [VI.8].
And, since ABC is similar to ABD, therefore, as CB is to BA so is AB to BD [VI.Def.1].
And, since three straight lines are proportional, as the first is to the third, so is the figure on the first to the similar and similarly described figure on the second [VI.19]. Therefore, as CB is to BD, so is the figure on CB to the similar and similarly described figure on BA.
For the same reason also, as BC is to CD, so is the figure on BC to that on CA; so that, in addition, as BC is to BD, DC, so is the figure on BC to the similar and similarly described figures on BA, AC.
But BC is equal to BD, DC; therefore the figure on BC is also equal to the similar and similarly described figures on BA, AC.
Therefore etc. Q.E.D.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ysaiuavm2f7d4th42c4valhw/bafkreic7cdgnxgjokvfz4mjaek26ow6hfxfpuyfir2zj2ai2tchh55jkgy@jpeg)
September 16, 2025 at 1:05 PM
3²/4²/5² is the perfect day for arguing about best proofs of the Pythagorean theorem. An incredible thing about Euclid's proof is that it applies to the area of *any* similar figures drawn on the sides of a right triangle. 🧮
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
📈 DuckDB 1.4.0 is out! This is our first LTS release which comes with *one year of community support*. It also supports database encryption, the MERGE SQL statement and Iceberg writes.
For more details, read the announcement blog post at
duckdb.org/2025/09/16/a...
For more details, read the announcement blog post at
duckdb.org/2025/09/16/a...
September 16, 2025 at 11:55 AM
📈 DuckDB 1.4.0 is out! This is our first LTS release which comes with *one year of community support*. It also supports database encryption, the MERGE SQL statement and Iceberg writes.
For more details, read the announcement blog post at
duckdb.org/2025/09/16/a...
For more details, read the announcement blog post at
duckdb.org/2025/09/16/a...
Another wonderful book from Ukraine’s Osnovy Publishing - and yes, they reliably ship to the US.
www.osnovypublishing.com/product-page...
www.osnovypublishing.com/product-page...
Ukrainian Soviet Mosaics. Revisited | Оsnovy Publishing
www.osnovypublishing.com
September 15, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Another wonderful book from Ukraine’s Osnovy Publishing - and yes, they reliably ship to the US.
www.osnovypublishing.com/product-page...
www.osnovypublishing.com/product-page...
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
$ duckdb
D .mode line
D SELECT stargazers_count FROM read_json('https://api.github.com/repos/duckdb/duckdb');
stargazers_count = 32768
In other words:
D .mode line
D SELECT stargazers_count FROM read_json('https://api.github.com/repos/duckdb/duckdb');
stargazers_count = 32768
In other words:
September 14, 2025 at 11:22 AM
$ duckdb
D .mode line
D SELECT stargazers_count FROM read_json('https://api.github.com/repos/duckdb/duckdb');
stargazers_count = 32768
In other words:
D .mode line
D SELECT stargazers_count FROM read_json('https://api.github.com/repos/duckdb/duckdb');
stargazers_count = 32768
In other words:
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
Get in, losers. We're posting John Berkey spaceships.
September 13, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Get in, losers. We're posting John Berkey spaceships.
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
Matrix multiplication is not easy to understand.
Even looking at the definition used to make me sweat, let alone trying to comprehend the pattern. Yet, there is a stunningly simple explanation behind it.
Let's pull back the curtain!
Even looking at the definition used to make me sweat, let alone trying to comprehend the pattern. Yet, there is a stunningly simple explanation behind it.
Let's pull back the curtain!
September 8, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Matrix multiplication is not easy to understand.
Even looking at the definition used to make me sweat, let alone trying to comprehend the pattern. Yet, there is a stunningly simple explanation behind it.
Let's pull back the curtain!
Even looking at the definition used to make me sweat, let alone trying to comprehend the pattern. Yet, there is a stunningly simple explanation behind it.
Let's pull back the curtain!
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
my kind of artsy, nerdy content
September 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
my kind of artsy, nerdy content
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
Results so stunningly clear they inspired this classic xkcd (xkcd.com/2400/):
September 1, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Results so stunningly clear they inspired this classic xkcd (xkcd.com/2400/):
Just watched this! As a Python user since 2007 it was great.
Wild to me to see PyCon keynotes I saw in person in the context of the languages history.
Wild to me to see PyCon keynotes I saw in person in the context of the languages history.
Tomorrow at 5pm UTC Python: The Documentary produced by @cultrepo.bsky.social premieres on YouTube! 🎬🐍
From a side project in Amsterdam to a language shaping the world— discover the story of #Python. Featuring Guido van Rossum & many more!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfH4...
From a side project in Amsterdam to a language shaping the world— discover the story of #Python. Featuring Guido van Rossum & many more!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfH4...
Python: The Documentary | An origin story
This is the story of the world's most beloved programming language: Python. What began as a side project in Amsterdam during the 1990s became the software powering artificial intelligence, data science and some of the world’s biggest companies. But Python's future wasn't certain; at one point it almost disappeared. This 90-minute documentary features Guido van Rossum, Travis Oliphant, Barry Warsaw, and many more, and they tell the story of Python’s rise, its community-driven evolution, the conflicts that almost tore it apart, and the language’s impact on... well… everything. Thanks to our sponsors for making this documentary possible: Anaconda: https://www.anaconda.com/ @AnacondaInc. Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/ @Dropbox Meta: https://opensource.fb.com/ @FacebookOpenSource OpenTeams: https://openteams.com/ @openteams PyCharm: https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/ @PyCharmIDE Quansight: https://quansight.com/ @quansight And to all the amazing people who are featured: Armin Ronacher, Barry Warsaw, Benjamin Peterson, Brett Cannon, Drew Houston, Guido van Rossum, Jessica McKellar, Ken Manheimer, Lambert Meertens, Lisa Guo, Lisa Roach, Mariatta Wijaya, Paul...
www.youtube.com
August 31, 2025 at 5:17 AM
Just watched this! As a Python user since 2007 it was great.
Wild to me to see PyCon keynotes I saw in person in the context of the languages history.
Wild to me to see PyCon keynotes I saw in person in the context of the languages history.
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
I don't know where you folks get your non-orientable manifolds, but the experience of ordering from Cliff Stoll at kleinbottle.com is second to none
June 27, 2025 at 7:42 PM
I don't know where you folks get your non-orientable manifolds, but the experience of ordering from Cliff Stoll at kleinbottle.com is second to none
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
Useful article from Pew explaining how building new housing (usually more expensive) makes all rent cheaper, but most significantly for older homes www.pew.org/en/research-...
New Housing Slows Rent Growth Most for Older, More Affordable Units
The nationwide housing shortage has driven rents up more in low-income neighborhoods than in the U.S. overall, but in areas that have recently added large amounts of housing, rents have fallen the mos...
www.pew.org
August 5, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Useful article from Pew explaining how building new housing (usually more expensive) makes all rent cheaper, but most significantly for older homes www.pew.org/en/research-...
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
The 6th busy beaver number is so big that even if you somehow carved a digit into every atom in the cosmos, you’d run out of atoms before making any measurable progress. www.quantamagazine.org/busy-beaver-...
August 24, 2025 at 8:04 PM
The 6th busy beaver number is so big that even if you somehow carved a digit into every atom in the cosmos, you’d run out of atoms before making any measurable progress. www.quantamagazine.org/busy-beaver-...
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
Machine learning is built upon three pillars: linear algebra, calculus, and probability theory.
Here’s the full roadmap for you: thepalindrome.org/p/the-roadm...
Here’s the full roadmap for you: thepalindrome.org/p/the-roadm...
The Roadmap of Mathematics for Machine Learning
A complete guide to linear algebra, calculus, and probability theory
thepalindrome.org
August 24, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Machine learning is built upon three pillars: linear algebra, calculus, and probability theory.
Here’s the full roadmap for you: thepalindrome.org/p/the-roadm...
Here’s the full roadmap for you: thepalindrome.org/p/the-roadm...
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
Stumbled across some old photos of the first computer I built myself, circa 1998. I installed it in a metal tool box into which I cut some holes. The handle was very convenient for carrying the computer to LAN parties.
August 23, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Stumbled across some old photos of the first computer I built myself, circa 1998. I installed it in a metal tool box into which I cut some holes. The handle was very convenient for carrying the computer to LAN parties.
Reposted by Alex C. Viana
Most machine learning practitioners don’t understand the math behind their models.
That's why I've created a FREE roadmap so you can master the 3 main topics you'll ever need: algebra, calculus, and probabilities.
Get the roadmap here: thepalindrome.org/p/the-roadm...
That's why I've created a FREE roadmap so you can master the 3 main topics you'll ever need: algebra, calculus, and probabilities.
Get the roadmap here: thepalindrome.org/p/the-roadm...
The Roadmap of Mathematics for Machine Learning
A complete guide to linear algebra, calculus, and probability theory
thepalindrome.org
August 22, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Most machine learning practitioners don’t understand the math behind their models.
That's why I've created a FREE roadmap so you can master the 3 main topics you'll ever need: algebra, calculus, and probabilities.
Get the roadmap here: thepalindrome.org/p/the-roadm...
That's why I've created a FREE roadmap so you can master the 3 main topics you'll ever need: algebra, calculus, and probabilities.
Get the roadmap here: thepalindrome.org/p/the-roadm...