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Category Archives: commentary
Automation
As a computer scientist specializing in programming, the social consequences of software-for-business-efficiency are worrying me more and more. Here at home, we’ve been having a conversation about what post-capitalism would look like in the face of quasi-universal automation, in the best … Continue reading
Posted in commentary, fiction, life, social software systems
3 Comments
House of C(ards)
How many more security flaws do we need to go through before people accept the fact that almost all of them have a single root cause: the use of C?
Posted in commentary, social software systems
1 Comment
Open Access = Authors Pay
The market of scientific publications is such an organic mess, there’s no end to topics that can be beaten over their heads. This post is about “open access” publications. Lately there has been a push back against publishers that keep … Continue reading
Posted in academia, commentary
6 Comments
Conferences vs. Journals: The Hidden Assumptions
Some conversations I’ve been having over the past year led me to a deeper exploration of the issue of conferences vs. journals in Computer Science. The debate, so far, seems to be missing a few critical observations regarding scientific journals … Continue reading
Posted in academia, commentary
9 Comments
When History is rewritten and replaced with a Good Story
I recently watched a TED talk with a fun topic: why is ‘x’ used as the unknown variable in Algebra and beyond? If you haven’t seen it, this 4-min talk is above. The thesis is this: x is used, because … Continue reading
The Single Most Important Thing
What is the single most important feature of a programming system without which you can’t write programs effectively?
Posted in commentary, social software systems
1 Comment
Ethics in Economics
Imagine this. You have a brilliant idea for how to reverse the effects of aging in female infertility, a wonderful combination of drugs that you have been developing in your lab with your graduate students, and that will open the … Continue reading
Posted in academia, commentary, ethics
2 Comments
Of names, pseudonyms and personas
A lot has been written about Facebook’s and Google’s requirements for people to sign up with real world names. That requirement seems pretty silly to me, as the concepts of identity and personas seem to have a cognitive dimension that … Continue reading
Posted in commentary, life
Comments Off on Of names, pseudonyms and personas
Bad Reviews — Part II
Yesterday I posted part I of my bad conference review war stories. Today, I’m posting part II — and, hopefully, last! This was the first incident I experienced with bad reviews, and it illustrates the phenomenon much better. This incident … Continue reading
Posted in academia, commentary
Comments Off on Bad Reviews — Part II
Divide by Zero! and Other Propaganda
I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this incredible moment in history. In trying to wrap my head around it, I’m turning to what I know best: programs, programming, and software-intensive systems. And their flaws. This is a mini-essay … Continue reading →