Nathan Wiles
@ntwiles.bsky.social
Talk to me about:
💻: ATProto, Rust, TypeScript, FP, architecture, language design.
🧠: Metacognition, neurochemistry, consciousness.
📚: Sci-Fi, literary fiction, postmodern lit and what comes next.
💻: ATProto, Rust, TypeScript, FP, architecture, language design.
🧠: Metacognition, neurochemistry, consciousness.
📚: Sci-Fi, literary fiction, postmodern lit and what comes next.
Pinned
Nathan Wiles
@ntwiles.bsky.social
· Dec 20
Bluesky needs post channels. I might want to see my favorite writer’s thoughts on writing, but not their bird-watching updates. Channels would let people share all their interests without cluttering everyone’s feed.
I'd like check out some outsider art. There are people with minds that work in weird and unique ways, sometimes to the extent that they can't operate effectively in society, but through their art they give us a map of the landscape of their alien inner world. That's both beautiful and fascinating.
January 10, 2025 at 9:46 PM
I'd like check out some outsider art. There are people with minds that work in weird and unique ways, sometimes to the extent that they can't operate effectively in society, but through their art they give us a map of the landscape of their alien inner world. That's both beautiful and fascinating.
"A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." - Max Planck
January 9, 2025 at 5:57 AM
"A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." - Max Planck
Start that difficult book you've been considering. You'll be glad you did.
December 30, 2024 at 1:37 PM
Start that difficult book you've been considering. You'll be glad you did.
Saw a book abandoned in the rain at a bus stop tonight. I flipped it over to see that it was a Richard Powers novel. I left it to its fate.
December 26, 2024 at 12:00 AM
Saw a book abandoned in the rain at a bus stop tonight. I flipped it over to see that it was a Richard Powers novel. I left it to its fate.
A great paragraph from Pynchon's Crying of Lot 49. This describes to motivation behind the religion and mysticism, conspiracy theory, maybe even empiricism.
December 24, 2024 at 7:35 PM
A great paragraph from Pynchon's Crying of Lot 49. This describes to motivation behind the religion and mysticism, conspiracy theory, maybe even empiricism.
Bluesky needs post channels. I might want to see my favorite writer’s thoughts on writing, but not their bird-watching updates. Channels would let people share all their interests without cluttering everyone’s feed.
December 20, 2024 at 8:00 PM
Bluesky needs post channels. I might want to see my favorite writer’s thoughts on writing, but not their bird-watching updates. Channels would let people share all their interests without cluttering everyone’s feed.
Just learned a hard lesson that means a big refactor in a side project. When performance matters, you can't always model things to neatly fit the concepts you're working with. That one big calculation, the one that has to be fast? What data shape does it need? That might need to inform your design.
December 19, 2024 at 7:20 AM
Just learned a hard lesson that means a big refactor in a side project. When performance matters, you can't always model things to neatly fit the concepts you're working with. That one big calculation, the one that has to be fast? What data shape does it need? That might need to inform your design.
I wish I could say I'm enjoying the book Contact, but it has I think the most tactless character death I've ever read. I know science fiction isn't known for the human element, but this is exceptional.
I'll share it in a reply so people can avoid spoilers.
I'll share it in a reply so people can avoid spoilers.
December 19, 2024 at 1:05 AM
I wish I could say I'm enjoying the book Contact, but it has I think the most tactless character death I've ever read. I know science fiction isn't known for the human element, but this is exceptional.
I'll share it in a reply so people can avoid spoilers.
I'll share it in a reply so people can avoid spoilers.
I’ve been looking into AT Protocol. It’s heady but exciting stuff.
From what I grok so far, the next step is a second competing big graph with its own client that federates deeply with Bsky.
Done early, this could disincentivize lock-in and grow the space.
From what I grok so far, the next step is a second competing big graph with its own client that federates deeply with Bsky.
Done early, this could disincentivize lock-in and grow the space.
December 17, 2024 at 1:10 AM
I’ve been looking into AT Protocol. It’s heady but exciting stuff.
From what I grok so far, the next step is a second competing big graph with its own client that federates deeply with Bsky.
Done early, this could disincentivize lock-in and grow the space.
From what I grok so far, the next step is a second competing big graph with its own client that federates deeply with Bsky.
Done early, this could disincentivize lock-in and grow the space.
Devs have access to a rich ecosystem of services, which is great, but talk among pros seems to be dominated by this aspect of the job.
Tell me what you've built, not just composited. When you're shopping a solution, don't forget that rolling it yourself is an option, sometimes the best one.
Tell me what you've built, not just composited. When you're shopping a solution, don't forget that rolling it yourself is an option, sometimes the best one.
December 16, 2024 at 8:19 PM
Devs have access to a rich ecosystem of services, which is great, but talk among pros seems to be dominated by this aspect of the job.
Tell me what you've built, not just composited. When you're shopping a solution, don't forget that rolling it yourself is an option, sometimes the best one.
Tell me what you've built, not just composited. When you're shopping a solution, don't forget that rolling it yourself is an option, sometimes the best one.
I've been building a custom Bluesky feed in Rust.
So far I'm using Flesch-Kincaid for readability and AFINN for sentiment to filter low-quality posts.
Not even targeting any topics yet, but the results are already looking solid!
I'd share it with no filters, but you don't want to see that.
So far I'm using Flesch-Kincaid for readability and AFINN for sentiment to filter low-quality posts.
Not even targeting any topics yet, but the results are already looking solid!
I'd share it with no filters, but you don't want to see that.
December 16, 2024 at 6:17 AM
I've been building a custom Bluesky feed in Rust.
So far I'm using Flesch-Kincaid for readability and AFINN for sentiment to filter low-quality posts.
Not even targeting any topics yet, but the results are already looking solid!
I'd share it with no filters, but you don't want to see that.
So far I'm using Flesch-Kincaid for readability and AFINN for sentiment to filter low-quality posts.
Not even targeting any topics yet, but the results are already looking solid!
I'd share it with no filters, but you don't want to see that.
Horizontally scrolling pinned feeds is a pretty odd experience on desktop.
December 15, 2024 at 7:39 AM
Horizontally scrolling pinned feeds is a pretty odd experience on desktop.
Should it be "I think, therefore I am," or "I think about how I think, therefore I am"?
Are we "aming" when we spend hours taking in mindless short-form content?
I'm going to try to do something anti-habitual every day in 2025.
Are we "aming" when we spend hours taking in mindless short-form content?
I'm going to try to do something anti-habitual every day in 2025.
December 14, 2024 at 9:38 PM
Should it be "I think, therefore I am," or "I think about how I think, therefore I am"?
Are we "aming" when we spend hours taking in mindless short-form content?
I'm going to try to do something anti-habitual every day in 2025.
Are we "aming" when we spend hours taking in mindless short-form content?
I'm going to try to do something anti-habitual every day in 2025.
People are just talking past each other with the whole "is html programming?" debate.
Arguments of definitions like these are never a good use of time.
But also in this case, there's a value conflict disguised as a technical debate. One side wants inclusion first, one wants clear terms first.
Arguments of definitions like these are never a good use of time.
But also in this case, there's a value conflict disguised as a technical debate. One side wants inclusion first, one wants clear terms first.
December 14, 2024 at 6:29 AM
People are just talking past each other with the whole "is html programming?" debate.
Arguments of definitions like these are never a good use of time.
But also in this case, there's a value conflict disguised as a technical debate. One side wants inclusion first, one wants clear terms first.
Arguments of definitions like these are never a good use of time.
But also in this case, there's a value conflict disguised as a technical debate. One side wants inclusion first, one wants clear terms first.
The phrase "I do my own research" is so dangerous because of the ambiguity it bears. Does this mean to say "I'm not going to take your word for it, I'll look it up myself," which might be reasonable, or to say "I reject the common body of empirical evidence and substitute my own anecdotes"?
December 13, 2024 at 9:53 PM
The phrase "I do my own research" is so dangerous because of the ambiguity it bears. Does this mean to say "I'm not going to take your word for it, I'll look it up myself," which might be reasonable, or to say "I reject the common body of empirical evidence and substitute my own anecdotes"?
I’ve seen a few collections of evidence of these drones in NJ, and invariably the curator will imply or explicitly claim that aliens are involved. This is a real thing, but it feels like it’s being discussed at the depth it deserves only by nut jobs.
December 13, 2024 at 9:20 PM
I’ve seen a few collections of evidence of these drones in NJ, and invariably the curator will imply or explicitly claim that aliens are involved. This is a real thing, but it feels like it’s being discussed at the depth it deserves only by nut jobs.
@hankgreen.bsky.social I can't express how much I appreciate the You Are Not Evil video. We desperately need people to take in this more nuanced framing of humanity and civilization.
December 12, 2024 at 7:15 AM
@hankgreen.bsky.social I can't express how much I appreciate the You Are Not Evil video. We desperately need people to take in this more nuanced framing of humanity and civilization.
I'm training a neural network with a genetic algorithm, but after 100k generations, these little guys still won't learn to run to safety. But give them just a dozen generations and they'll happily evolve to chase the kill zones straight to their doom.
December 12, 2024 at 4:31 AM
I'm training a neural network with a genetic algorithm, but after 100k generations, these little guys still won't learn to run to safety. But give them just a dozen generations and they'll happily evolve to chase the kill zones straight to their doom.
For those who want to put the “science” back in science fiction, looking for the modern Asimovs and Clarkes, how can we carve out a well-defined niche? What do we call this subgenre? Hard science fiction? Neoclassical sci-fi?
December 10, 2024 at 3:46 PM
For those who want to put the “science” back in science fiction, looking for the modern Asimovs and Clarkes, how can we carve out a well-defined niche? What do we call this subgenre? Hard science fiction? Neoclassical sci-fi?
I'm reading Contact by Sagan. It's good so far, but not what I expected. He has a lot to say about religion and economics, sometimes put bluntly, which I didn't expect from a science communicator in the public eye.
I think he would he would have had a lot talk about with Liu Cixin on dark forest.
I think he would he would have had a lot talk about with Liu Cixin on dark forest.
December 9, 2024 at 6:33 AM
I'm reading Contact by Sagan. It's good so far, but not what I expected. He has a lot to say about religion and economics, sometimes put bluntly, which I didn't expect from a science communicator in the public eye.
I think he would he would have had a lot talk about with Liu Cixin on dark forest.
I think he would he would have had a lot talk about with Liu Cixin on dark forest.
I never learned how to Twitter properly but this platform seems like a much better place to learn the ropes. Hoping to have some good conversation here about literary and science fiction, film/television, cooking, and a dozen other disparate interests.
December 9, 2024 at 6:07 AM
I never learned how to Twitter properly but this platform seems like a much better place to learn the ropes. Hoping to have some good conversation here about literary and science fiction, film/television, cooking, and a dozen other disparate interests.