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Joined 10 months ago
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Cake day: May 14th, 2024

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  • Here’s a twist I just came up with. We experience time passing, because we’re sliding through it uncontrollably.

    Imagine a sled sliding downhill. If you wanted to stay still in time, that would take active effort. It’s like pushing against the sled to prevent it from sliding down. If you want to go back where you came from, it would take even more effort. It’s like climbing uphill.

    Also, I have zero evidence about any of this, which makes me 99% confident that time doesn’t really work this way. It just sounds like an appealing concept that should be a foundation of a scifi novel.


  • Amazing! I need to check how many of my cables actually follow this rule.

    Also, the socket side tends to be aligned in a particular way, but it won’t work with all manufacturers. I recall seeing some laptops that had their USB-A sockets upside down. Oh, and desktops too! Those sockets are usually vertical, and facing a wall, so it’s anyone’s guess which way is right.






  • The USB law.

    When you try to plug in a USB-A connector, there’s a 70% probability it won’t go in. Mathematically it should be 50%, but I don’t believe that.

    You switch it around, and there’s a 30% probability it won’t go in. This is not something they taught at school.

    You switch it around the third time, and there’s a 5% chance it still won’t go in. Your mind begins to melt down, you switch and insert repeatedly until it finally works sooner or later.


  • After graduating, I had to compete in a big city with people who have a higher degree and more experience than I do. Obviously, that didn’t work out so well for me, so I ended up working in the wrong field for a while. I kept my eyes open, until eventually, I found the right job in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Turns out, there was hardly any competition, and I got the job. Being willing to relocate and having the right degree was all it took.

    Backwater places like that can’t afford to demand 15 years of experience and a PhD in precisely the one thing they care about. If you have a degree in anything close enough, and are willing to relocate to a small town, you’re in the top ten. If you happen to have the exact right degree, you’re going to win hands down.

    Years later, I met some of my friends who stayed in the city. Oh boy, has it been rough for them! Several low-paying jobs in the wrong field, several career switches, more studying and all that.

    If you’re a fresh graduate, here’s my advice: If things don’t work out in the city, consider relocating. When there’s a job opportunity in a small town, apply anyway and see where that takes you.


  • It will make you angry and frustrated, if that’s what you’re looking for. Probably doesn’t help with learning at all, quite the contrary. If you’re interested and engaged with the material, you can learn so much faster. If you hate what you’re doing, there will be very little progress, if any. Take a nap, and look at the material with fresh eyes when you feel better.

    There can also be something I call “mental inertia”. Occasionally, it’s difficult to get started. That’s when a short warmup can help. Start with something easy, to get in the right mood. After that, you can tackle some of the harder problems.