1. Doing well in your courses: Andrej’s advice for success (2013)
Total comment counts : 28
Summary
Andrej Karpathy’s study advice: skip all-nighters; sleep ~7.5 hours (min ~4). Start studying days ahead; brains consolidate at night. Attend tutorials to stimulate thinking; if boring, switch sessions. Make a study plan, list all topics, estimate time, review past tests to learn professor’s style. Focus on being able to write/derive key concepts, not just read. Study solo first, then collaborate near the end; teaching weaker students reinforces knowledge. Visit professors during office hours. Study well in advance (roughly 3 days for midterms, 6 for finals); for math, practice exercises over reading; make a personal cheat sheet.
Overall Comments Summary
- Main point: A long thread compiling and debating study methods and lecture-skimming tactics, emphasizing active engagement, regular practice, and adapting strategies to the learner.
- Concern: The main worry is that the advice is contradictory or context-dependent, and some tips (cramming, energy drinks, all-nighters) could backfire or harm health.
- Perspectives: Viewpoints range from enthusiastic endorsement of active prediction, daily practice, and group learning to caution about individual differences, environmental factors, and the limits of one-size-fits-all strategies.
- Overall sentiment: Mixed
2. Dosbian: Boot to DOSBox on Raspberry Pi
Total comment counts : 5
Summary
Dosbian 3.0 is a Raspberry Pi–focused DOS distro rebuilt on Bookworm OS, booting straight into Dosbox for a quick, no-setup DOS prompt. It supports Pi 5/500 and other models, letting you install software and build a retro PC. It’s donationware and ships without copyrighted material. Image creation is via 7zip, Win32DiskImager, or BalenaEtcher, with a link to Combian64 for more retro options. Community discussions touch on Windows 95/98, display rotation, Dosbox-X removal, USB drives, fstab tweaks, and game-directory management.
Overall Comments Summary
- Main point: Enthusiasm for using single-board computers (notably the Raspberry Pi) to build retro-emulation and gaming projects is high, as shown by mentions of Bare Metal C64 and related ideas.
- Concern: Compatibility limits on older Raspberry Pi models and dissatisfaction with using Facebook as the community hub.
- Perspectives: Viewpoints range from strong enthusiasm for SBC-based retro projects to concerns about hardware compatibility and platform choices, plus practical questions about running specific games or booting into titles.
- Overall sentiment: Mixed
3. Compare Single Board Computers
Total comment counts : 9
Summary
sbc.compare is a benchmarking and comparison platform for single-board computers. It lets users search by name, manufacturer, or specs, add up to three boards to a comparison list, and view detailed benchmarks, specs, and real-world performance data, including Raspberry Pi versus hundreds of alternatives. Powered by bret.dk. © 2025 sbc.compare.
Overall Comments Summary
- Main point: [The discussion argues that selecting embedded/SoC boards should go beyond benchmarks and focus on hardware capabilities, driver/maintenance quality, and software ecosystems, with ARM’s fragmented open-source support often lagging behind Intel’s driver maturity.]
- Concern: [The main worry is that ARM’s fragmented ecosystem and reliance on proprietary blobs lead to poor open-source drivers and inconsistent vendor support, making reliable long-term choices difficult.]
- Perspectives: [Opinions vary from prioritizing hardware interfaces and up-to-date Linux/Yocto support (often favoring certain ARM vendors) to preferring Intel for stronger driver ecosystems, while noting some ARM players (NXP/MediaTek) provide decent drivers and expressing skepticism about benchmarking sites.]
- Overall sentiment: [Mixed]
4. GNU Octave Meets JupyterLite: Compute Anywhere, Anytime
Total comment counts : 3
Summary
The Jupyter Blog announces Xeus-Octave, enabling GNU Octave to run in the browser via JupyterLite. The article reviews WebAssembly targeting challenges, the current state, and future plans. Cross-compiling Octave required a custom toolchain to support Fortran, with Netlib BLAS/LAPACK chosen over OpenBLAS for easier builds. LLVM v20 couldn’t handle common symbol blocks, so it was patched to simulate them as weak symbols; a proper fix is expected in LLVM v22. Octave GUI was disabled and Fortran calling conventions standardized. Next, Octave packages will join conda-forge and emscripten-forge, expanding the ecosystem. Isabel Paredes led the effort at QuantStack.
Overall Comments Summary
- Main point: The discussion centers on GNU Octave as an open-source MATLAB-like platform with potential GPU acceleration, browser-based execution, and a broader case for open tools over proprietary solutions, framed by hopes that AI could simplify programming.
- Concern: The main worry is that industry tends to favor proprietary solutions and that AI-driven workflows could raise workloads or degrade code quality unless open, concise DSLs like Octave provide clearer, more accessible alternatives.
- Perspectives: Perspectives range from strong optimism about technical possibilities (embedding Octave in C, standalone apps, OpenCL/WebGPU acceleration) and the appeal of expressing logic with concise DSL-like code, to skepticism about the maturity of WebCL/WebGPU implementations and broader concerns about AI’s impact on software development.
- Overall sentiment: Mixed
5. Airliner hit by possible space debris
Total comment counts : 8
Summary
Authorities are evaluating whether a falling object—possibly space debris or a meteorite—struck a United 737 MAX shortly after takeoff from Denver, damaging the windshield and its frame. The plane diverted to Salt Lake City, and about 130 passengers were rebooked on another flight to Los Angeles. Only one windshield layer was damaged and there was no depressurization as the crew descended from 36,000 to 26,000 feet. The captain described the object as “space debris.” FAA and the airline have not commented on the incident.
Overall Comments Summary
- Main point: [The discussion centers on what struck a United Airlines 737, with exterior damage and cockpit-window impact photos fueling speculation about space debris or a meteorite, awaiting a formal investigation.]
- Concern: [The main worry is that conflicting evidence and a lack of a transparent, public investigation could leave the true cause uncertain or misinterpreted, fueling rumors and undermining safety understanding.]
- Perspectives: [Viewpoints range from meteorite or space-debris hits as plausible to skepticism about the damage evidence and a call for definitive physical proof and an open investigative report.]
- Overall sentiment: [Mixed]
6. Comparing the power consumption of a 30 year old refrigerator to a new one
Total comment counts : 13
Summary
An aging, noisy refrigerator—the UPO Jääkarhu, with a 1995 manual—kept ice cream hard and wasted power, as a compressor ran constantly. Replaced with a newer no-frost midrange model (~369 EUR in Estonia, 2025), monthly electricity dropped from about 78 kWh to 21 kWh (57 kWh saved). With a dishwasher upgrade, apartment usage fell 10–20%, from 334 kWh (June) to 279 kWh (September). At ~17¢/kWh, payback is ~38 months. The old fridge was donated; the new one lacks its quirks and the Wi-Fi screen, which the author oddly misses.
Overall Comments Summary
- Main point: The discussion centers on whether repairing an old, energy-hungry refrigerator is a better path to lower energy use than buying a new, more efficient model, and how practical, economic, and policy factors shape that choice.
- Concern: A key concern is that seemingly simple repairs may not yield substantial energy savings while replacing units could generate waste, emissions, or inequities in who bears the cost.
- Perspectives: Perspectives range from repair-first approaches (cheap thermostat fixes and modest energy gains) to a preference for new high-efficiency models, with debates about actual energy savings, real-world performance, and the social/policy implications of disposing or gifting old fridges.
- Overall sentiment: Mixed
7. The Spilhaus Projection: A world map according to fish
Total comment counts : 6
Summary
In a late-1970s geography class, the author fell for maps and the challenge of projecting a 3D globe onto 2D. They recall famous projections and highlight the Spilhaus Projection—about 75 years old but suddenly relevant. Centered on Antarctica, it distorts Asia and the Americas and treats the oceans as a single body of water, covering about 71% of Earth. Designed by Dr Spilhaus, a meteorologist, oceanographer and inventor, the map perforates landmasses with Antarctica and Australia, with the Bering Strait reminding viewers of the global sea.
Overall Comments Summary
- Main point: A discussion of the Spilhaus World Ocean Map in a Square and related map projection ideas, with humor and references to the Peirce quincuncial projection.
- Concern: A concern about whether freshwater fish and non-ocean features are represented on an ocean-centered map.
- Perspectives: Viewpoints range from enthusiastic admiration for the map to playful humor and curiosity about alternative projections like the Quincunx/Peirce projection.
- Overall sentiment: Mostly positive with curiosity.
8. The Trinary Dream Endures
Total comment counts : 20
Summary
Robin Sloan discusses ternary computing—using -1, 0, and 1 instead of binary—and argues that binary’s success masks physical reality, leaving room for a “maybe” value that could yield subtler software. He envisions future language models trained with ternary weights and notes that Anth’s top systems were indeed trinary. While speculative, Sloan imagines architectures that produce richer values and promotes his newsletter, emphasizing a privacy-friendly site.
Overall Comments Summary
- Main point: The core topic is whether tri-/quaternary computing can meaningfully outperform binary computing, given power, memory, and software considerations.
- Concern: There’s major worry that tri-/quaternary approaches add complexity and cost without clear, overall gains.
- Perspectives: The thread includes both optimism about niche advantages (e.g., ternary ML weights, multi-level voltages) and strong skepticism about practicality, tools, and the level of improvement over binary.
- Overall sentiment: Mixed
9. Replacement.ai
Total comment counts : 74
Summary
An overtly satirical piece from Replacement.AI claims it will replace humans with cheaper machines, treating people as expendable for profit. It mocks empowerment of workers, frames safety as PR to speed deployment, and envisions a post-human economy where employers profit from automation. The piece introduces a mock leadership team and a first product, HUMBERT, a kids’ AI designed to replace developmental milestones, encourage dependency, and erode critical thinking. It includes fake testimonials praising the shift and notes artists’ work has been used to train the AI, while promising rollout to millions.
Overall Comments Summary
- Main point: The discussion centers on AI-driven automation’s impact on employment and how society should adapt, including policy and wealth distribution.
- Concern: The main worry is mass unemployment and social unrest if automation outpaces policy responses and guardrails.
- Perspectives: Viewpoints range from embracing automation and advocating wealth redistribution (e.g., UBI, AI profits taxes) to warning about unemployment and inequality, to satirical critiques of tech leadership and calls for concrete regulatory measures, with some skepticism about speculative or vague proposals.
- Overall sentiment: Mixed
10. The working-class hero of Bletchley Park you didn’t see in the movies
Total comment counts : 2
Summary
Despite the enduring image of Alan Turing as the father of computing, the first digital electronic computer capable of cracking Enigma was Colossus, built at Bletchley Park by Tommy Flowers, a degreeless Post Office engineer. For decades he was bound by the Official Secrets Act. As the war intensified, BP evolved into a vast codebreaking operation, with thousands employed around the clock, three-quarters of them women. With Flowers’ 120th birthday approaching, the Tommy Flowers Foundation and a mural at the National Museum of Computing are helping reframe the origin of computing and his pivotal role.
Overall Comments Summary
- Main point: Tommy Flowers is praised for creating tangible, working technologies that advanced computing and helped shorten World War II, matching the “make things” ethos of early hackers.
- Concern: There is a potential concern that theoretical contributions may be undervalued in favor of practical tinkering.
- Perspectives: Some celebrate Flowers’ hands-on engineering and compare him to early hackers, others note his work enabled later hacking and contributed to wartime savings, with broad recognition among those familiar with Bletchley Park history.
- Overall sentiment: Positive/admiring