KP writing a paper for the journal “New Frontiers In Gaslighting Children”

There is nothing wrong with learning python in general or as a first language. My gripe is more that if you self teach it with no software engineering thought, you end up with some real bad habits that lead to bad code, like:

• not documenting code with comments etc.
• not testing
• not understanding data types
• RE: micropython, and other python wrappers: not understanding the underlying wrapped thing.
• complaining when other languages are as easy or convenient as python

So as long as you avoid that you might be good.

Also specifically with micropython: it’s good to get something working, just don’t expect it to be fast. And if you want it to be fast, you’re going to have to learn C.

Great question that I don’t have a good answer to. My bit about python was more just a throwaway joke that was also supposed to indicate that my own opinions aren’t sufficient to write the linked article.

Here are some wrong answers, but with reasons for and none against:

• Assembly: really gets you to understand that you are contending with a computer chip, and that anything interesting that you want to do requires abstraction.
• C: similar to the above, but also gets you to understand some of the fundamental aspects of programming languages, mostly memory.
• Perl: if you’re willing to teach python, why not Perl? Less readable, more magic, fun language to play golf with, so tutorial exercises could be fun.

By coincidence, these are the first three languages that I encountered as a CS student with no preexisting knowledge of programming (not in this order).

Anyway, for something approaching a real suggestion: Dart/Flutter could be an interesting choice, for some of the reasons given in the article for HTML. I haven’t given this much thought so this might still be a bad answer. Also this is the language I’m using at work right now.

Short version is that 10-15 years ago, when I was a student, it had the same “vibe” as vibe coding has today, i.e. the promise of easy implementation, but with the final product being sloppy, unreadable and buggy.

All I need to know about HDI (human-dolphin interaction) (read: fuckin) is covered in many episodes of my favorite podcast Doughboys

I completely agree with this. Good, lucid, concise commentary on CS/SE education and how to improve it. If I had written this article I’d just be telling people to ban python in coding education.

I haven’t clicked on any links here yet, this sounds like a bit, but because it’s LW I have to assume bad faith and that this is real.

E: lol real. Why wouldn’t they go for apes lol

Putting the “manic pixie” in manic pixie dream girl

roy_batty.aac

Ah fuck. I didn’t click it cos I assumed it was the original tweet. I’ll just leave it there so you can all witness my crimes

Relevant

Oh, looks like gemini is a fan of the hacky anti-comedy bits from some of my favorite podcasts

Lmao, piss-soaked fake nostalgia aside, what is even the point of this? How exactly is one supposed to go back to the 80’s? Is this an ad campaign for a toaster bath or something?

Yeah but will a ghost from pac-man tell me it loves me and get me to divorce my wife???*

*yes, actually. Pinky is moving in next month

altman is the waluigi to musk’s wario

You could fart into a mic and compromise a clanker, it seems.

also, they misspelled “Eliezer”, lol

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Belligerents

Ah yes Basilisk’s Roko, the thought experiment where we simulate infinite AIs so that we can hurl insults at them

The good stuff isn’t being talked about because of national security.

Yeah it’s all being developed in area 51, trust me bro