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makeitshine

204 karma · joined November 1, 2023

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makeitshine··on A 1960s schools experiment that created a new alphabet
Having taught for about 15 years, your feeling that pedagogy, as taught in most professional development sessions, is quackery, is not wrong. There are so many hucksters writing books and doing seminars.
makeitshine··on Chomsky on what ChatGPT is good for (2023)
What does age have to do with understanding any of this? He has been developing new, and refining old theories, over decades. It's ridiculous to expect someone to stop purely because of age, or to think they need your protection from discussing their views.
makeitshine··on America underestimates the difficulty of bringing manufacturing back
The US has forced prison labor. We can talk about how bad the Chinese government is, but their economy is not built on forced labor anymore than the US is built on prison labor.
makeitshine··on GPT 4.5 level for 1% of the price
In the above Chinese this doesn't really make sense.
makeitshine··on GPT 4.5 level for 1% of the price
It's shorthand for something or it's a typo. It doesn't make sense otherwise.
makeitshine··on Computers and Mice – Mister Rogers Neighborhood
About two years ago, I left 15 years of teaching to go back to software. I got started teaching when an elementary school teacher I knew asked if I wanted to volunteer a few times a week. It was mostly reading and math in small groups. I loved it.
makeitshine··on The State of Vim
Vim may die, but vim-mode will definitely be around.
makeitshine··on Building a Medieval Castle from Scratch
Most fun at a rave I've ever had was at this castle. The guy built it free climbing the whole time and was in conflict with the government over how he got the rocks, which he mostly pulled from riverbeds on public land.

Another out there spot is in Lucas, Kansas. That guy was also fiercely anti-government.

makeitshine··on I am rich and have no idea what to do
As someone who isn't rich, but has taken extensive time off work, I love not working. The last 18 month break I took may have been the happiest I've ever been. I'll never be rich, because I'm not motivated by money, but I've never been bored or rudderless.
makeitshine··on China to Build Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor in 2025
You can hate the Chinese system for how it limits human rights, cracks down harshly on dissent, and stifles many creative outlets. Hating China or the Chinese people, which are like anywhere, generally lovely people, is silly.

There's plenty of nonsense coming from the mouth of the Party, but it doesn't make the US news, because it's not aimed at the US. There's also a lot less news overall which discusses and critiques the Party and what its representatives say, for obvious reasons.

makeitshine··on The world of tomorrow
There is plenty of disillusionment with the modern world in China and Taiwan and Korea.
makeitshine··on Why America's economy is soaring ahead of its rivals
I just look at things like this and worry. https://www.multpl.com/shiller-pe
makeitshine··on The deterioration of Google
The HN community seems split between people who want simple products that do one thing well, and others that want continual feature churn and additions. What was Google Docs need exactly to be better? It seems to work perfectly for the targeted users.
makeitshine··on Chimpanzees' performance on computer tasks changes when people watching them
I feel you on this. I forget all shortcuts. I'm sure it's like me watching my mother use a computer.
makeitshine··on FreeBSD: How Can We Make It More Attractive to New Users?
I think Docker support is probably a far bigger deal breaker for people than a cartoon demon.
makeitshine··on Just for Fun (2022)
I enjoy learning and teaching. In my spare time I build, or often half build things, and then write about aspects of the process. For the longest time I didn't even share my blog with people. I recently started sharing one particular series and I've gotten a number of comments on "why?" or "why not just use X library instead of building it from scratch?" Doing something just because seems lost on some people.
makeitshine··on I sped up serde_json strings by 20%
I'd assume you could use bindgen and create bindings no problem.
makeitshine··on In ‘The Book Against Death,’ Elias Canetti rants against mortality
It's not possible to escape death, and all timelines will feel short when it comes to their end. Reducing the suffering of life, whether mental or physical, seems a more achievable pursuit. To die without cancer, dementia, chronic pain or the so many other ailments would be amazing.
makeitshine··on I prefer rST to Markdown
That was a rhetorical question in the article. It's immediately followed by:

> ..Okay yeah that's actually a pretty good reason not to use it. I can't get into lisps for the same reason. I'm not going to begrudge anybody who avoids a tool because it's ugly.

makeitshine··on Every company should be owned by its employees
It has become out of reach for an increasing number of people all around the world. Look at the ratios of price to annual salaries and many have risen a lot.

US: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/home-price-income-ratio-re...

> If people couldn't afford houses, they would sit unsold until sellers lowered the price to a price someone could afford.

This is fundamentally not the case in much of China and Taiwan where the wealthy sit on empty homes for years or decades. The housing price in Taipei continues to climb while a large number of units sit vacant.

makeitshine··on What happened to blogs
The amount of garbage increased, but the blogs as windows into one's interests are still there, but you won't find them easily via search.
makeitshine··on Teaching general problem-solving skills is not a substitute for teaching math [pdf] (2010)
I think there's a lot to unpack here. Teaching someone how to write a for loop is easy and can done in a straightforward way, but teaching them when it's best to use, and getting them to under why, is different. Even further, getting them evaluate novel situations, apply it correctly and be able to communicate why they did it that way is another thing.

At what point would you say they've actually acquired the skill?

makeitshine··on Show HN: I built an indie, browser-based MMORPG
Was about to message and ask if this was region locked to North America or something.
makeitshine··on Ask HN: Devs/data scis who pivoted to a new career in 30s/40s, what do you do?
I transitioned from software in my mid-20s to teaching and am now looking to transition back. Personally, I'd like something at the intersection of education and tech. I'm currently working for a startup doing backend dev, and it's ok, but I miss some elements of teaching.
makeitshine··on Ask HN: What is the most productive stack or lang for single devs ?
I'd say just go with SvelteKit, then only a single language is needed (plus html and css). The downside being they'll not really gain a firm understanding of the front and backend split.
makeitshine··on The Ivy League and other elite private colleges are losing esteem
You likely get a lot of unsolicited advice you don't recognize as such. Be kind to people, look both ways before crossing the street, be honest, eat healthier, workout more, etc...
makeitshine··on The Ivy League and other elite private colleges are losing esteem
The only advice you can give the young is unsolicited. They'll never ask for it because they already believe they know everything.

I'm fully aware my reply is ridiculous, much like what I was responding to.

makeitshine··on I should have loved biology (2020)
Anyone in the US with a CS degree, or anything technical where they took enough math, would easily be able to get a teaching license in most states. I have a CS degree and was able to get qualified to teach while getting paid as a full time teacher. That was in 2006, and they're even more desperate for teachers today.

That was Colorado. Anyone with a degree can get certified in New Hampshire and then you can easily transfer to other states.

makeitshine··on Intro to "Ideologies of AI and the consolidation of power": Naming power
Satire has, in many cases, become indistinguishable from reality. In this case I'd wager its satire.
makeitshine··on I should have loved biology (2020)
Then why aren't you teaching? Go spend a few years teaching in a public high school and report back.
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