Software engineering interviews nowadays often involve some kind of coding test or programming exercise and I think that’s a very Bad Thing. Here’s why.
Asking software engineers to perform a particular task such as writing an algorithm to generate factorials (a very common one) or to sort a [singly|doubly] linked list can be easily memorised beforehand and offers no insight into a candidate’s skill other than their strength of rote memorisation. You may as well ask the ASCII code of the character ‘A’.
The detailed solutions to many such exercises are widely available online in various reference materials and, in many cases, in books that contain both algorithmic and specific program language implementations to all of the common interview coding questions. …
Does the generation of set resolution fractal objects offer an insight as to how future programmable matter may be manipulated? Once again Star Trek may have foreshadowed what may be coming.
In a previous article examining the possible relationship between programmable matter as described in Star Trek: Discovery and the underlying nature of spacetime as a continually rewriting hypergraph structure I volunteered that it reminded me of iterated function systems (IFS) as method of constructing fractal objects.
Briefly, and loosely with the mathematical definitions so we don’t get too bogged down, IFS are a method of constructing fractal objects using a set of contraction mappings on a complete metric space¹. …
This is a strategy that fails not only the company but also, more importantly for you, the employee.
People leave their jobs all of the time, it’s nothing new. And neither is it as frowned upon as it would be in generations past when often jobs were considered as jobs “for life” and people would say that “you’re lucky to have one and you should be grateful.”
Fortunately, the onus has changed somewhat with the happiness and fulfilment of the employee now taking more focus in the workplace. …
If underlying spacetime is a constantly evolving graph like network of nodes, is it possible to deliberately rewrite the network to fashion, literally, anything?
In the recently debut of the third series of Star Trek: Discovery we see a 32nd century Federation using programmable matter in many forms from customer user interfaces to detached warp nacelles.
The canon explanation reveals its nature as “consisting of minute nano-molecules, the matter had the abilities of redistributing and redesigning itself into pre-programmed shapes.”
This idea has been popular in science fiction for some time with nanomachines or nanobots being a popular trope for the low level construction and repair of both organic and inorganic matter. …
It’s common knowledge that few people read profiles before messaging you on LinkedIn, but here’s an easy way to tell if you’re getting a mass mailed message or a genuine personal one.
I do spend more time than I should on LinkedIn. This is, however, not by design. …
Many ‘motivational’ memes are repeatedly posted on social media sites these days to further self-promotion and outdated philosophies with little thought to their actual meaning, relevance, or adverse effect on the platform.
Let’s take a look at ‘No Pain No Gain’ as an example.
Social media networks have become conduits for meme propagation, far more so than personal updates or career advancement in the cases of Facebook and LinkedIn, for example. Scrolling through either produces a list of sponsored posts and memes that far outweigh those that relate to the original intended purpose of the platform.
My previous article ‘Influences and the Decay of Social Media’ touched upon how influencers may cause the implosion of a network through self-propagation, in this article I want to touch on how meme propagation is diluting actual information content and rendering it practically invisible as a result. …
Have influencers finally laid bare the ultimate end state, the grand attractor, of current social network platforms?
I tend to view pretty much everything in my life as a complex system — one that evolves from an initial state over time to some kind of final form. My ‘lens on life’ coming mostly from my background in fractal systems, now some time ago, and it’s become a judgement methodology that has stayed with me and grown over time.
I recently came across an article on the BBC News website that made me think about social networks — “‘I’m sick of influencers asking for free cake’” regarding the professional chef and baker Reshmi Bennett who was tired of getting free requests from influencers for her cakes. …
Has the advent of mass communication combined with a raging pandemic brought upon us a very real Great Filter?
The Fermi paradox, named for the physicist Enrico Fermi, describes the apparent contradiction between the vastness of the universe and the probability of their being detectable life in it versus our inability to detect any actual sign of it.
One of the possibilities as to why we (as a species) aren’t able to see anyone is that there’s actually no-one out there to see. Other than we are the first to evolve to this point, there is conjecture around the existence of a Great Filter that perhaps prevents evolving civilisations progressing beyond a certain point in their development. …
With undeniable expertise in genetic engineering why did Davros seek the final form rather than steering Kaled evolution toward a more ambulatory one?
It’s impossible to deny that the Daleks are one of the most menacing and ruthless adversaries in the history of science fiction, but one key stage in their development, by their creator Davros, has always puzzled me.
During the classic 4th Doctor episode ‘Genesis of the Daleks’ the Time Lords foresee a time whereby the Daleks have ‘destroyed all other lifeforms and become the dominant creature in the universe.’
The Doctor is then sent back in time to the planet Skaro with a mission to either ‘avert their creation’ or ‘affect their genetic development’ in some way such they they evolve into ‘less aggressive creatures’. Failing that perhaps he may discover ‘some inherent weakness’ presumably that may be used against them at a later date. …
Watching any kind of political event, press release, or news story has become farcical over the last few years. In 2020 it’s become intolerable.
There has always been an element of spin inherent in the political machine, but with the advent of ubiquitous easily accessible social media it’s become far too easy for facts to be either misrepresented or outright ignored during press events.
The US Presidential election of 2020 is a case in point where statements are made by individuals across the political spectrum that really don’t stand up to close examination.
It’s not for me to comment on individual events, as I’m attempting to stay apolitical in this piece, but any internet search regarding press briefings illuminates a litany of blatantly false statements. …