nico λ

i really hate that computing and STEM have this mystique in our society. to the extent that engineering demonstrates intelligence, it's by repeatedly forcing you to confront the results of your own mistakes , in such a way that errors can't be ignored. there are lots of ways to do that which don't involve programming or college-level math!... See more

Part of our problem is we have this one word “science” to describe radically different fields. There is a massive gulf between the science of something like Physics and the science of Psychology.

By putting the database changes inside of a transaction, we can ensure that we either get all of the records or none of the records. We call that an atomic transaction: it happens completely or not at all.

We are living through the emergence of a new business category which I believe will become an important part of our digital lives: community-curated knowledge networks  (a thread on why) https://t.co/ZNg3FHiGUD

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On Inboxes

I have two conceptual inboxes.

First one, inbox.md , is where the most interesting links end up, together with my random thoughts, waiting for a weekly review. I mainly append to that file through iOS shortcut. I can quickly share a twitter link, or jot a quick note in drafts.

Second one is a bit more convoluted. Sometimes during the day... See more

We psychiatrists tend to start our first sessions with some variant of the question: “What would you like to change?” People often list negative goals: to be less depressed, stop using drugs, feel less anxious, etc. It’s a start, but we often need more. There is a helpful reframing found in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: no dead person’s goals.... See more

The personal development / productivity space is littered with conflicting advice of varying utility. It attracts the intellectually promiscuous. Commitment-phobic concept sluts endlessly dabble with frameworks and tools, hoping to someday reach a moment of certainty when they’ll finally take action…99% of self-help is escapism.