HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

_ktnd

37 karma · joined November 21, 2023

submissionscomments
_ktnd··on Ask HN: Learning Maths from the Ground Up
My unworthy opinion:

Herbert Gross' “Calculus Revisited” three-part series.

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/res-18-006-calculus-revisited-si...

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/res-18-007-calculus-revisited-mu...

https://mitocw.ups.edu.ec/resources/res-18-008-calculus-revi...

The above is more or less “engineering math”.

The below is “normal college” math:

Edward Frenkel's Multivariable Calculus lectures:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaLOVNqqD-2GcoO8CLvCb...

Dr. Valerie Hower's Linear Algebra lectures:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpcwHaLYiaEXW5fLNOlItPH4A...

Interactive Linear Algebra (online “college level” textbook):

https://textbooks.math.gatech.edu/ila/

Tutorial-like Linear Algebra (interactive online textbook):

https://immersivemath.com/ila/index.html

Sheldon Axler's Linear Algebra Done Right book:

https://linear.axler.net/

Sergei Treil's Linear Algebra Done Wrong book:

https://www.math.brown.edu/streil/papers/LADW/LADW-2014-09.p...

Linear algebra and vector calculus revamped:

— Linear and Geometric Algebra by Alan Macdonald: http://www.faculty.luther.edu/~macdonal/laga/index.html

— Vector and Geometric Calculus: http://www.faculty.luther.edu/~macdonal/vagc/index.html

_ktnd··on Tell HN: Google-Wide Layoffs
My 17-year-old "zoomer" sister is unsure about what a browser is. She believes you need a Google app to access the internet. My millennial sisters aren't very proficient with computers. They mostly use Office and a browser. Things like VPNs might confuse them. Are my sisters a rare exception? Who knows? I know other female and male millennials with non-software developer jobs who barely know how to use a computer.

Yep, I tried to persuade my "zoomer" sister to learn how to program, but she declined. :( She is simply not interested.

_ktnd··on Tell HN: C++ Still Does the Job
There's a "contagious" sentiment going around: C++ is obsolete; use Rust.

Just search for HFT jobs or any software-based automotive positions, and you'll still find C++. I am confident that some experienced people don't care about the technology used; all that matters is domain knowledge and getting things done.

However, I'm concerned about "rookies" (those aspiring to become programmers); they might face decision paralysis because some high-level people share strong opinions, and they seem to follow them blindly.

I've sensed some common dogmatisms: "never use goto," "OOP is the way," "FP is the way," "use design patterns everywhere," "always avoid code duplication," ...

Are you telling me that software development (as typically done) is an exact science (like math)? Why are you striving to abide by those rules as mathematical theorems (things that require rigourous proofs), when those rules break or make less sense in specific cases?

I'm here to remind those folks to learn to solve problems in different domains. Language is a tool; use it as one.

Arguably, that is far more important than syntax and language details.

As Naval suggested, learn fundamentals (e.g., math, domain knowledge) and leverage them (e.g., through programming).

Here's another listing:

  Proficient in at least one of C/C++/Objective-C/Swift
  Experience with Python/Lua/Bash
https://jobs.apple.com/en-us/details/200525862/system-softwa...

Even if Rust gets more exposure in the industry, no big deal, once you know the hang of programming, you can just hop to another tool (i.e., programming language).