proemeth

He was Polish, despite his parisian history, hence his famous mazurkas.

Good article. A thought on the "Science is/isnt based on faith/ a religion" : for people who don't have the capacity to falsify scientific theories, science can be similar to a mysticism. Especially with complex theories, experts are equivalent to augurs reading the sky for the common mortal. That is why it is good to have down-to-earth experiments illustrating scientific principles, like the double-slit experiment showing diffraction. The first time I saw it was a shock because it is a counter-intuitive phenomenon. Epistemology and history give a lot of meaning to science, that is why I think it should be an integral part of the way science is taught.

I expected an article on the limits of python syntax, but this is the description of some lolcode-style language.

Unfortunately it seems you can copyright numbers. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1045150

Link to a related post analysing meritocracy : http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1103408

I think what's disguised behind "anarchy" is communism, civil rights movement, maybe unions movements and zionism too.

It is pretty big. If someone has time to digest all this, I'd love to read some summary.

In the wake of "Up in the air", nice film I recommend, that opens a few doors without being over the top. Just enough to start your own thoughts. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1193138/

Did Descartes really die of _cold_? http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/14/rene-descartes-p...

It seems the personal computer democratisation really started with graphical interfaces. Casual users don't have time to learn how to use command line, let alone programming.

And the nice concept of cookie stuffing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cookie_stuffing

It links to a Reuters post : http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE61824V20100209

Nice strategy but exposed to forex risk. Some got burned when the JPY rose by 30% compared to USD and so did their USD-denominated-equivalent debt.

Indeed. The more interesting fact in this paper is how China is picking up with the US in number of papers.

Nice remark on how the need for a "powerful" IDE is a code smell. The need for the IDE reveals that some abstraction the language should provide but isn't has to be handled by something else. No such problem with macros.

Mathematics would be regarded as a science. Though this seems open for debate : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falsifiability#Logic_and_mathem...

$1 + 2.9% : "Square can afford to give away the dongles because they will be banking 2.9% of each transaction." Not so cheap.

Illustration of the concept: http://hestia.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c5c9b53ef01156f5cd7129...

There exist 3 kinds of lies. Correlation does not imply causation.

Risk aversion does not have to interfer with rationality like the author seems to suggest. We can fit the utility function to take risk aversion into account.

How do I submit new buzz-words?

This looks like an accounting stunt. In most countries, banks have to value their assets using fair (market) value. States' financial arms should do the same.

Europe (with ECB's support if necessary) won't let Greece default.

Continuations are a nice tool. And intuitive.

What about loop variables? Want to re-allocate them at each step?

Well I think this article has its place on HN because it questions values that are so consensual they are never discussed. Ethics sure is a tough ground to venture on, the author goes there but not only, and makes a few points.

Long but worth the read, because insightful, well researched and written. It questions a value that can be so deeply rooted in our paradigms that i got a bit of a "shock" myself. I love to read something so refreshing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copernican_Revolution

Then, since Solo shot first, he was a fine duelist. This reconciles the argument: he can be a good guy AND shoot first. Solo did not _intend_ to shoot first, but while reposting his instincts made him the fastest.

I like Guy Steele's "Debunking the 'Expensive Procedure Call' Myth". http://repository.readscheme.org/ftp/papers/ai-lab-pubs/AIM-...

Funny comment: "PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES ARE LIKE GIRLFRIENDS". Like Ada and Linda: http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?LindaEtymology. If a langage was a girlfriend, what would be the equivalent of _ ?