Michal Young
@michalyoung.bsky.social
Computer scientist, randonneur (long distance cyclist), flaming liberal.
Not the funniest XKCD, but I use xkcd.com/1179 in my intro course slides.
ISO 8601
xkcd.com
September 9, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Not the funniest XKCD, but I use xkcd.com/1179 in my intro course slides.
A few years ago I was puzzled by a FB post in which a Maga-ish high school classmate decried racism. It seemed out of character until I realized he meant perceived reverse discrimination against white males.
July 30, 2025 at 6:13 PM
A few years ago I was puzzled by a FB post in which a Maga-ish high school classmate decried racism. It seemed out of character until I realized he meant perceived reverse discrimination against white males.
But if you give them legal protections, the farmers might not be able to pay them so little and might have to provide better working conditions. Can't have that.
June 22, 2025 at 3:46 AM
But if you give them legal protections, the farmers might not be able to pay them so little and might have to provide better working conditions. Can't have that.
I think there are limited domains in which "usually right" is probably good enough, because consequences of a wrong decision are small. There are larger domains in which what we need to verify is that a decision is "good enough", where optimal is desirable but not required.
June 18, 2025 at 4:44 PM
I think there are limited domains in which "usually right" is probably good enough, because consequences of a wrong decision are small. There are larger domains in which what we need to verify is that a decision is "good enough", where optimal is desirable but not required.
I think he's leaning forward in an aggressive gesture. That facial expression, the hint of smirk, is a threat. Which probably appeals to his base.
June 8, 2025 at 5:33 AM
I think he's leaning forward in an aggressive gesture. That facial expression, the hint of smirk, is a threat. Which probably appeals to his base.
Of course it's what they want, but in some way that they can pass off as not being cuts. Some conditions or requirements that look reasonable at a glance but cut out as many poor and brown people as possible.
May 7, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Of course it's what they want, but in some way that they can pass off as not being cuts. Some conditions or requirements that look reasonable at a glance but cut out as many poor and brown people as possible.
The brain-drain will take place over time, because it is not easy for an established academic to pull up roots. The main effect will be schools in affected states hiring their fourth- or fifth-choice candidate instead of their second-choice, who chose elsewhere. Real, but hard to measure.
April 27, 2025 at 8:55 PM
The brain-drain will take place over time, because it is not easy for an established academic to pull up roots. The main effect will be schools in affected states hiring their fourth- or fifth-choice candidate instead of their second-choice, who chose elsewhere. Real, but hard to measure.
Sad for most, but not for all. www.rawstory.com/marjorie-tay...
'Evil is being defeated by God': Marjorie Taylor Greene celebrates after Pope's death
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) celebrated following the death of Pope Francis on Monday.
"Today there were major shifts in global leaderships," Greene wrote on X just hours after the pontiff die...
www.rawstory.com
April 21, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Sad for most, but not for all. www.rawstory.com/marjorie-tay...
If facts don't matter in one domain, why would not science equally become a shouting match?
April 19, 2025 at 4:58 PM
If facts don't matter in one domain, why would not science equally become a shouting match?
Well said, Paul. I would add about the "liberalizing" influence of a liberal education is that it (purposely!) throws together people from many backgrounds and cultures, building mutual understanding and empathy. Meeting the people you are supposed to hate and fear is fatal to bigotry.
April 18, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Well said, Paul. I would add about the "liberalizing" influence of a liberal education is that it (purposely!) throws together people from many backgrounds and cultures, building mutual understanding and empathy. Meeting the people you are supposed to hate and fear is fatal to bigotry.
Can you calculate what fraction of the four mile route the remains of your canceled grant will fund? Maybe a few feet?
April 7, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Can you calculate what fraction of the four mile route the remains of your canceled grant will fund? Maybe a few feet?
There might be other vulnerabilities I am not aware of, since this is not in my wheelhouse. Signal is very good at encryption. There is little chance that even a foreign government can decrypt a transmission. The vulnerabilities are at the endpoints.
March 26, 2025 at 4:44 PM
There might be other vulnerabilities I am not aware of, since this is not in my wheelhouse. Signal is very good at encryption. There is little chance that even a foreign government can decrypt a transmission. The vulnerabilities are at the endpoints.
A second major vulnerability is in authentication, which is distinct from transmission. Are you really sure you're talking to who you think you are talking to? That's a major consideration in highly secure apps, and not so much in Signal. [more]
March 26, 2025 at 4:42 PM
A second major vulnerability is in authentication, which is distinct from transmission. Are you really sure you're talking to who you think you are talking to? That's a major consideration in highly secure apps, and not so much in Signal. [more]
I am not a security expert, but in my understanding there are two major vulnerabilities in an app like Signal. One is compromise of the device, as you note. And location could be relevant here, as "side channels" can be exploited at device level (e.g., remote sensing of the display). [more]
March 26, 2025 at 4:40 PM
I am not a security expert, but in my understanding there are two major vulnerabilities in an app like Signal. One is compromise of the device, as you note. And location could be relevant here, as "side channels" can be exploited at device level (e.g., remote sensing of the display). [more]
The encryption in Signal is end-to-end, so whether he was in the U.S. or in Russia probably didn't matter much, especially if he wasn't active in the conversation while there. There are vulnerabilities for sure, but eavesdropping on the transmission is not one of them, and a VPN would not matter.
March 26, 2025 at 2:53 PM
The encryption in Signal is end-to-end, so whether he was in the U.S. or in Russia probably didn't matter much, especially if he wasn't active in the conversation while there. There are vulnerabilities for sure, but eavesdropping on the transmission is not one of them, and a VPN would not matter.
We extensively use undergraduate "learning assistants" (different name to distinguish from graduate teaching assistants) to offer help hours. It's the best thing about our intro courses. But student use of help hours is declining, and I worry that students are depending on LLMs that can't do this.
March 21, 2025 at 3:31 PM
We extensively use undergraduate "learning assistants" (different name to distinguish from graduate teaching assistants) to offer help hours. It's the best thing about our intro courses. But student use of help hours is declining, and I worry that students are depending on LLMs that can't do this.
A foundational feature of Trump's world view is that every transaction must have a winner and a loser. Since the European Union was good for Europe, it must therefore be bad for the U.S.
March 13, 2025 at 4:47 PM
A foundational feature of Trump's world view is that every transaction must have a winner and a loser. Since the European Union was good for Europe, it must therefore be bad for the U.S.
I think she is writing for a developer community who, she hopes, will build tools for end users. But developers can lose sight of what end users find approachable. Maybe if there are enough, a few of them will hit the sweet spot.
March 12, 2025 at 4:52 AM
I think she is writing for a developer community who, she hopes, will build tools for end users. But developers can lose sight of what end users find approachable. Maybe if there are enough, a few of them will hit the sweet spot.
Do you mean the Wikipedia article is slated for deletion, or something else? I didn't see anything about that in the associated Wikipedia "talk" page.
March 7, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Do you mean the Wikipedia article is slated for deletion, or something else? I didn't see anything about that in the associated Wikipedia "talk" page.
My first term off teaching starts in a few weeks. I'm going to have to follow your example to make it feel real.
March 5, 2025 at 4:51 PM
My first term off teaching starts in a few weeks. I'm going to have to follow your example to make it feel real.