Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
GM. Read Bateson on evolutionary flexibility and non-human communication and Hammond on mid 20th century software.
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July pfp
July
@july
My boy Hammond
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Kyle Mathews pfp
Kyle Mathews
@kam
which piece by Hammond?
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Early part of this. https://press.stripe.com/the-art-of-doing-science-and-engineering
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July pfp
July
@july
Which chapter were you on?
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
History of computer software, I believe. Recapped transition from programming in absolute binary to using virtual machines, as well as status quo stickiness and the difference between humane and logical languages.
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Kyle Mathews pfp
Kyle Mathews
@kam
I remember reading this and being really amused at binary programers decrying the advent of assembly 😂some things never change.
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Wondering: are devs/engineers who refuse to use generative tools to augment their workflow equivalent to disgruntled binary programmers refusing to leverage a beneficial abstraction?
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Kyle Mathews pfp
Kyle Mathews
@kam
yup — unless they're the clear-eyed pragmatists who are seeing yet another false start for what it is 😂in 5-10 years we'll know
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
Seen any good rebuttals of generative stuff/arguments in favour of the clear-eyed pragmatist stance?
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Kyle Mathews pfp
Kyle Mathews
@kam
hmm I'm pretty convinced it has a place — but the jury is still out I think on how well it'll be able to understand entire programs and do refactors etc. they fall apart very quickly — I've found them most useful for the early exploring of a space—generating ideas for how to build something and early scaffolding
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Matthew McDowell-Sweet pfp
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
@msms
The upper bound on their current value is based on ability to capture, preserve and communicate context, the why that wraps a scenario or task? Funnily enough, that may be the same upper bound for complex human activity, too. Guess the bet is that sufficient compute can brute force the problem of context management.
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