Machinist and Machine
(punkx.org)
Every day I am reminded how far I am from truly understanding complexity and programmable machines.
Every day I am reminded how far I am from truly understanding complexity and programmable machines.
Not causal chains, but interactions and adaptations
(surfingcomplexity.blog)
I’ve been a bit of an anti-root-cause-analysis (RCA) tear lately.
I’ve been a bit of an anti-root-cause-analysis (RCA) tear lately.
Working on complex systems: What I learned working at Google
(thecoder.cafe)
Throughout my career, I’ve worked in many complicated environments. For instance, I worked on optimizing driver-passenger matching in ride-hailing at a Uber's competitor. This context, like others, was technically challenging. Yet, nothing comes close in terms of complexity with my current experience at Google and two years there have refined my perception of complexity.
Throughout my career, I’ve worked in many complicated environments. For instance, I worked on optimizing driver-passenger matching in ride-hailing at a Uber's competitor. This context, like others, was technically challenging. Yet, nothing comes close in terms of complexity with my current experience at Google and two years there have refined my perception of complexity.
Surprises in Logic (2016)
(math.ucr.edu)
There's a complexity barrier built into the very laws of logic: roughly speaking, while lots of things are more complex than this, we can't prove any specific thing is more complex than this. And this barrier is surprisingly low! Just how low? Read this.
There's a complexity barrier built into the very laws of logic: roughly speaking, while lots of things are more complex than this, we can't prove any specific thing is more complex than this. And this barrier is surprisingly low! Just how low? Read this.
Why Everything in the Universe Turns More Complex
(quantamagazine.org)
A new suggestion that complexity increases over time, not just in living organisms but in the nonliving world, promises to rewrite notions of time and evolution.
A new suggestion that complexity increases over time, not just in living organisms but in the nonliving world, promises to rewrite notions of time and evolution.
Ask HN: Do programmers generally enjoy some amount of complexity?
(ycombinator.com)
Occured to me that sometimes, simple enough is not good enough for us programmers. It seems that sometimes we might actually enjoy grappling with complex, even byzantine systems. Can anyone relate? I'm not saying this is a thing, not even for myself...but I suspect it might be, possible.
Occured to me that sometimes, simple enough is not good enough for us programmers. It seems that sometimes we might actually enjoy grappling with complex, even byzantine systems. Can anyone relate? I'm not saying this is a thing, not even for myself...but I suspect it might be, possible.
Complex Systems Won't Survive the Competence Crisis
(palladiummag.com)
At a casual glance, the recent cascades of American disasters might seem unrelated. In a span of fewer than six months in 2017, three U.S. Naval warships experienced three separate collisions resulting in 17 deaths. A year later, powerlines owned by PG&E started a wildfire that killed 85 people. The pipeline carrying almost half of the East Coast’s gasoline shut down due to a ransomware attack.
At a casual glance, the recent cascades of American disasters might seem unrelated. In a span of fewer than six months in 2017, three U.S. Naval warships experienced three separate collisions resulting in 17 deaths. A year later, powerlines owned by PG&E started a wildfire that killed 85 people. The pipeline carrying almost half of the East Coast’s gasoline shut down due to a ransomware attack.
Sublinear Time Algorithms
(csail.mit.edu)
We have long considered showing the existence of a linear time algorithm for a problem to be the gold standard of achievement.
We have long considered showing the existence of a linear time algorithm for a problem to be the gold standard of achievement.
We are destroying software
(antirez.com)
We are destroying software by no longer taking complexity into account when adding features or optimizing some dimension.
We are destroying software by no longer taking complexity into account when adding features or optimizing some dimension.
We've lost our respect for complexity
(wilsoniumite.com)
I was talking recently to a friend about a video essayist I like, (Dan Olson of Folding Ideas) and when asked why I thought he was any good I pondered it for a moment and said “he has a lot of respect for complexity”.
I was talking recently to a friend about a video essayist I like, (Dan Olson of Folding Ideas) and when asked why I thought he was any good I pondered it for a moment and said “he has a lot of respect for complexity”.
C++, Complexity, and Compiler Bugs
(azeemba.com)
I have worked on C++ for most of my professional career. Somehow, I have gotten more intimidated by the language the more I have learnt it. The language is very powerful but the power comes with a lot of emergent complexity that makes the language hard to contain. It feels like no individual even understands the full language. But individuals are supposed to read and write code in C++.
I have worked on C++ for most of my professional career. Somehow, I have gotten more intimidated by the language the more I have learnt it. The language is very powerful but the power comes with a lot of emergent complexity that makes the language hard to contain. It feels like no individual even understands the full language. But individuals are supposed to read and write code in C++.
Tog's Paradox
(votito.com)
Tog’s Paradox (also known as The Complexity Paradox or Tog’s Complexity Paradox) is an observation that products aiming to make a task more efficient tend to inspire new, more complex use cases.
Tog’s Paradox (also known as The Complexity Paradox or Tog’s Complexity Paradox) is an observation that products aiming to make a task more efficient tend to inspire new, more complex use cases.
Complexity as Design Material
(arxiv.org)
Complexity is often seen as a inherent negative in information design, with the job of the designer being to reduce or eliminate complexity, and with principles like Tufte's "data-ink ratio" or "chartjunk" to operationalize minimalism and simplicity in visualizations.
Complexity is often seen as a inherent negative in information design, with the job of the designer being to reduce or eliminate complexity, and with principles like Tufte's "data-ink ratio" or "chartjunk" to operationalize minimalism and simplicity in visualizations.