jeff-davis

My friend once told me that physics formulas are like compression algorithms: a short theory can explain many data points that fit a pattern.

If that's true, then perhaps AIs would come up with something just by looking at existing observations and "summarizing" them.

Far-fetched, but I try to keep an open mind.

Note that there are quite a few ways that crypto implementations can be insecure even if it's proven to be "correct" (in terms of inputs and outputs). For instance, it may leak information through timing, or by failing to clear sensitive memory due to a compiler optimization.

Sincere question about communism:

Let's say hypothetically that the distribution of stock ownership was more even across the population, and variance was largely (but not completely) due to length of time in the workforce. And further, that the stock owned by workers is a large enough block that they effectively have controlling shares at many companies. Maybe I'm talking about a different universe, but please imagine it for a moment.

Would that hypothetical world be kind of like communism in the sense that the workers own the means of production? If not, why not?

Longjmp is used by Postgres for transaction aborts. With C, there's not really a better option available.

"It is our responsibility to chose the right tool for the job."

That perspective doesn't work well for database products, in my opinion. There is a huge pressure for databases to evolve with your business and applications and to adapt to whatever your throw at it.

Swapping out a database product is less like changing tools and more like changing a foundation. You can't do it every time a new problem arises.

That's not to say you can't use a few different products if that makes sense. But that has its complications.

Simon was one of the first people I met in the Postgres community, perhaps in 2007 at the first PGCon that I attended. We've attended many of the same conferences in places around the world, and I've occasionally had the chance to explore those places with him. He was always kind to me and helped me immensely. I was proud to have the chance to co-author a major feature with him. The last time I saw him was this past December.

Very sad.

What are the barriers to doing so?

"Plus, you don't give out your secrets to fabs, too."

That's a perfect answer to my question, thank you.

Also many other great answers in this thread, but I don't have much to add.

What are some killer apps for FPGAs? What major products do they enable?

It works. Bugs have been found, and some more bugs probably exist, but I think it meets a fairly high bar of quality.

Postgres is designed to recover on OOM in most cases.

Part of the theory is that abstract thought enables culture, and culture enables much faster adaptation than genetic evolution. But still far from instant.

So maybe the abstract thought hardware was there for a long time before we got culturally coordinated enough to use it with full effectiveness to organize large groups capable of outcompeting Neanderthals.

I happen to be reading Sapiens right now. The author seems convinced that we genetically developed the ability for abstract thought (which he calls imaginary or fiction), and that allowed us to cooperate much more easily in large numbers. For instance, believing in a particular flag allows you to identify your allies on the battlefield without having ever met them before. The theory goes that other animals, including other hominins, genetically lack the hardware to rally around a flag.

This also led to the notion of a shared culture across many individuals that can adapt much more quickly than genetic evolution.

(Unless I misunderstand, of course.)

The author squarely blames Homo Sapiens for wiping out the other hominins, pointing out how many other large species seemed to go extinct as soon as we arrived someplace new, even long before the Agricultural revolution.

Do you believe it was designed and standardized as a reasonably implementable feature?