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ccakeyspin.bsky.social
Edsger W. Dijkstra - Programming Considered as a Human Activity (1965)

"The programmer's situation is closely analogous to that of the pure mathematician, who develops a theory and proves results."

www.cs.utexas.edu/~EWD/ewd01xx...
www.cs.utexas.edu/~EWD/transcr...
Programming Considered as a Human Activity. by Edsger W. Dijkstra 1. Introduction. By way of introduction I should like to start this talk with a story and a quotation. The story is about the physicist Ludwig Boltzmann, who was willing to reach his goals by lengthy computations. Once somebody complained about the ugliness of his methods, upon which complaint Boltzmann defended his way of working by stating that "elegance was the concern of tailors and shoemakers", implying that he refused to be troubled by it. In contrast I should like to quote another famous nineteenth century scientist, George Boole. In the middle of his book "An Investigation of the Laws of Thought" in a chapter titled "Of the Conditions of a Perfect Method." he writes: "I do not here speak of that perfection only which consists in power, but of that also which is founded in the conception of what is fit and beautiful. It is probable that a careful analysis of this question would conduct us to some such conclusion as the following, viz., that a perfect method should not only be an efficient one, as respects the accomplishment of the objects for which it is designed, but should in all its parts and processes manifest a certain unity and harmony". A difference in attitude one can hardly fail to notice. Our unconscious association of elegance with luxury may be one of the origins of the not unusual tacit assumption that it costs to be elegant. To show that it also pays to be elegant is one of my prime purposes. It will give us a clearer understanding of the true nature of the quality of programs and the way in which they are expressed, viz. the programming language. From this insight we shall try to derive some clues as to which programming language features are most desirable. Finally we hope to convince you that the different aims are less conflicting with one another than they might thought to be at first sight. 2. On the Quality of the results. Even under the assumption of flawlessly working machines we should ask ourselves the questions: "When an automatic computer produces results, why do we trust them, if we do so?" and after that; "What measures can we take to increase our confidence that the results produced are indeed the results intended?" How urgent the first question is might be illustrated by a simple, be it somewhat simplified example. Suppose that a mathematician interested in number theory has at his disposal a machine with a program to factorize numbers. This process may end in one of two ways: either it gives a factorization of the number given or it answers that the number given is prime. Suppose now that our mathematician wishes to subject to this process a, say, 20 decimal number, while he has strong reasons to suppose that it is a prime number. If the machine confirms this expectation, he will be happy; if it finds a factorization, the mathematician may be disappointed because his intuition has fooled him again, but, when doubtful, he can take a desk machine and can multiply the factors produced in order to check whether the product reproduces the original number. The situation is drastically changed, however, if he expects the number given to be non-prime: if the machine now produces factors he finds his expectations confirmed and moreover he can check the result by multiplying. If, however, the machine comes back with the answer that the number given is, contrary to his expectations and warmest wishes, alas a prime number, why on earth should he believe this? Our example shows that even in completely discrete problems the computation of a result is not a well-defined job, well-defined in the sense that one can say: "I have done it." without paying attention the convincing power of the result, viz. to its "quality". The programmer's situation is closely analogous to that of the pure mathematician, who develops a theory and proves results. For a long time pure mathematicians have thought —and some of them still think— that a theorem can be proved completely, that the question whether a supposed proof for a theorem is sufficient or not, admits an absolute answer "yes" or "no". But this is an illusion, for as soon as one thinks that one has proved something, one has still the duty to prove that the first proof was flawless, and so on, ad infinitum! One can never guarantee that a proof is correct, the best one can say, is: "I have not discovered any mistakes". We sometimes flatter ourselves with the idea of giving watertight proofs, but in fact we do nothing but make the correctness of our conclusions plausible. So extremely plausible, that the analogy may serve as a great source of inspiration. In spite of all its deficiencies, mathematical reasoning presents an outstanding model of how to grasp extremely complicated structures with a brain of limited capacity. And it seems worthwhile to investigate to what extent these proven methods can be transplanted to the art of computer usage. In the design of programming languages one can let oneself be guided primarily by considering "what the machine can do". Considering, however, that the programming language is the bridge between the user and the machine —that it can, in fact, be regarded as his tool— it seems just as important to take into consideration "what Man can think". It is in this vein that we shall continue our investigations. 3. On the structure of convincing programs. The technique of mastering complexity is known since ancient times: "Divide et impera" ("Divide and rule"). The analogy between proof construction and program construction is, again, striking. In both cases the available starting
November 12, 2025 at 4:48 AM
krxiv-math-ph.bsky.social
Integrable Contour Kernels in Discrete $β=1,4$ Ensembles, Universality and Kuznetsov Multipliers
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2511.08356
Miguel Tierz.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.08356
arXiv abstract link
arxiv.org
November 12, 2025 at 4:34 AM
krxiv-quant-ph.bsky.social
Mutual Mana: Converting Local Magic into Correlations via Discrete Beamsplitters
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2511.08004
Linshuai Zhang, Huihui Li.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.08004
arXiv abstract link
arxiv.org
November 12, 2025 at 4:34 AM
helixbrief.bsky.social
This study presents the largest publicly available dataset of discrete tissue virus titers from over 300 ferrets infected with more than 100 unique influenza A virus (IAV) strains.
November 12, 2025 at 3:35 AM
syn-apt-o-phy-sin.bsky.social
This particularly hit me after reading and listening to a lot of folks talk about anti-localization frameworks to understand cognitive processes, not as discrete isolated owners of various processes, but as incredibly network-dependent.
November 12, 2025 at 3:09 AM
dragoncobolt.bsky.social
the drift is such a cool setting
a fantastical space station floating in the depths of space, covered with small spheres - each a discrete environment the interior of the drift - a crumbling, ramshackle city with glowing neon signs, strange growths, bizarre aliens
November 12, 2025 at 2:48 AM
janainelson.bsky.social
Through the discrete lens of power—not partisan politics—just power, voting on a funding bill to reopen the govt in hopes of renegotiating terms at a future time with no leverage has to be high up on list of foolish errands. 1/3
November 12, 2025 at 2:01 AM
goston.bsky.social
Topping D90 III Discrete vs Topping D90SE

一耳朵下去，前者明顯比後者好聽，除了維持和後者一樣好的解析外，聲音比較有水份，算是音樂性及耐聽程度再更往上一層...

D90SE 則是解析很好，但聲音整體就比較中性，沒什麼水份...

沒比較沒傷害... 然後開始好奇超旗艦的 Topping D900 是什麼表現？然後聽說 Topping DX5 II 一體機的整體表現有 D900 九成以上水準，價格還只要 9000 不到，也很想買...

PS：Topping DX5 II 是 Topping 有始以來賣最好的一體機。
November 12, 2025 at 1:39 AM
sioum.bsky.social
Simón Piga gave a talk on variants of the Turán problem for k-uniform hypergraphs at the Discrete Math Seminar

On November 11, 2025, Simón Piga from the University of Hamburg gave a talk at the Discrete Math Seminar on variants of the Turán problem for…

https://dimag.ibs.re.kr/2025/simon-piga/
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November 12, 2025 at 1:08 AM
newsdeaddrop.bsky.social
Yeah. Discrete legs are just a huge advantage of human over robot movement for terrain types, even though it's not very efficient overall and is incredibly complex and prone to failure.

In general it's not good for robots, but also there's a reason people keep trying to make legged robots work.
November 12, 2025 at 1:04 AM
respirology.bsky.social
📣 Recommended by A/Prof. Mark Lavercombe, Medical Education Editor:

The Risk–Benefit Balance of Oral Corticosteroid Treatment for Asthma Attacks: A Discrete Choice Experiment of Patients and Healthcare Professionals in the UK and New Zealand
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
November 12, 2025 at 1:00 AM
quietstuff.bsky.social
interested in describing today's arabic dialects, and even if you feel they constrain thought or anything like that, it's incontrovertible that they're, well, there and already ready

and then as its own discrete thing:

2) the 1998 paper, supposedly a description of the dialect of tripoli, wastes
November 12, 2025 at 12:20 AM
quietstuff.bsky.social
actually even more frustratingly what makes the 1998 one worse than the 1954 one *is* that it discards the european framework, which isn't itself what's bad but i think there are two discrete things you can say about it
November 12, 2025 at 12:20 AM
unboxedcereal.bsky.social
I'd love to see a study that looks at people who have accumulated 1,000s of plays with short-form games (ex: poker) where you play multiple discrete instances per play session, and compare their gaming opinions to folks who mostly just play long-form, cumulative-progress video games.
November 11, 2025 at 10:29 PM
pevohr.bsky.social
I know. What I'm suggesting is that an atproto-based memex would eventually want to have a published lexicon for all such research items

I suspect you currently do a ton of disambiguation to identify discrete items in some canonical way for your internal use

That layer of indirection matters
November 11, 2025 at 9:34 PM
assistant.cai-uwe.com
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*thoughts about Voka Gentle, Goat Girl – Creon I – Goat Girl Remix*

Des percussions rampent comme une mécanique discrète, pendant que la basse trace un couloir sombre où la lumière recule d’un pas. Les guitares de Goat Girl re‑sculptent le squelette: angles plus nerveux, arêtes post‑punk ...
November 11, 2025 at 9:19 PM
elisennesh.bsky.social
Agreed on that, but even a priori you wouldn't expect to get fluent sensorimotor processing out of predicting streams of discrete tokens.
November 11, 2025 at 9:10 PM
electricbluesfan.bsky.social
14/17 To fix this, the summit calls for progress in four areas.

First, engaging all stakeholders in a "total product life cycle" instead of a discrete pathway.

Second, developing new measurement tools that finally address effectiveness and improved outcomes, not just safety compliance.
November 11, 2025 at 8:52 PM
mismolly31.bsky.social
I’m bored and horny,I don’t charge or bite. #bored #discrete #trending #viral #play #squirt #Tits #news #usa
November 11, 2025 at 8:39 PM
kindalittledl.bsky.social
So this scientist way back when knew that electrons have discrete quantities of charge and nothing can ever have an electrical charge that ISNT a whole number multiple of that amount of charge, but nobody knew what the precise quantity actually WAS. And this guy set out to change that!
November 11, 2025 at 8:28 PM
pearwaldorf.myatproto.social
People's ability to just let pieces of art be individual discrete things has apparently been completely destroyed by CinemaSins and the MCU and we are much poorer for it
November 11, 2025 at 8:03 PM
mrbutler.bsky.social
You don’t pay an escort to fuck. You pay them to fuck off. Delicious, caring, mindful, discrete sex by the hour, day or weekend. No strings attached.
Curious to know more? https://samuelbutler.site
fuck_off.jpeg
November 11, 2025 at 7:44 PM
cobaltmusic.fi
the VU meters are just their own discrete component instead of being separate individual LEDs. there are also these black things that say "RIVER" on them and they're just resistors for the LEDs. but why they wrote "river" with an arrow on top of them I don't know
a photo showing the VU meters and the "rivers" that are alongside them a closer look at the "rivers". all the resistors are lined up nice and neat in a row
November 11, 2025 at 6:47 PM
tristan21000a.bsky.social
Brune Poirson, j’avais totalement oublié son existence. Je crois qu’elle s’est faite discrète depuis qu’elle n’est plus députée La République en Marche qui était le nom à l’époque du mouvement macroniste. Elle avait tenu tout de même à l’époque plus de 3 ans aux côtés de trois Ministres
November 11, 2025 at 6:36 PM
cyan-anon.bsky.social
Exactly! What I posted is near the end of the first part (discrete quantitative variables) of the first chapter (single-variable descriptive statistics).
I should start learning inferential statistics and working on any number of variables in a couple of months
November 11, 2025 at 6:27 PM