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learner_kid

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recent comments, posts, and shares:
learner_kid  ·  3171 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: TopCoder/CodeChef for Mathematics?

Did you try Project Euler? They have good collections of math problems which can be solved using programming. Here's the link http://projecteuler.net/

learner_kid  ·  3189 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What are you reading this week?

Of course, I "messed" with Douglas Adams! THGTTG is a wonderful read. I will try Breakfast of Champions and Cat's Cradle too. Thanks

learner_kid  ·  3192 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The future isn't robots replacing waiters, it's me replacing waiters

This is a really interesting PoV. The title misled me into thinking that this is a rant about robots taking the high paying jobs leaving the menial jobs for human.

I think it is ridiculous to replace people with robots in a service industry, a place where we expect empathy and a human response. It's cool to have a robot wash my car but I can't imagine a robot taking care of a human baby. That's one thing I learned from Futurama.

learner_kid  ·  3194 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What are you reading this week?

Slaughterhouse Five . I had been planning to read it for a while and just started it yesterday. I like how the book starts by establishing the unreliability of the narrator. It's a bit confusing to follow the narrative but I guess it will get easier as I read on.

insomniasexx11
theawl.com  ·  #movies  ·  #labor  ·  #goodlongread
learner_kid  ·  3204 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Whats your favourite TV show?

Sounds really interesting. Thanks. Will get into it now.

learner_kid  ·  3205 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Whats your favourite TV show?

I am looking for a new TV show to get into now that GoT is over. Would you care to tell me why I should watch PoI?

learner_kid  ·  3205 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Whats your favourite TV show?

Well most of the my favorite TV shows have been mentioned here except "Better off Ted". It was a completely hilarious show with amazing repeat watch bonus. There were layers of jokes and clever dialogues which mandates multiple viewings to appreciate.

I also don't see 30 rock mentioned yet but I am sure I can't be the only one who loved that show. I can watch any 30 rock episode more than once. In fact, you know what, brb going to watch another 30 rock episode 7th time.

learner_kid  ·  3205 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Why do you live where you live?

I grew up here, I live here and while it's not the best place to live but Delhi is my home. There are days when I wish I could emigrate to a better place but I know that no matter where I reside, I can't remove the memories of this city and would end up longing for it sooner than later. Growing up, I once made a promise to myself that once I start earning I will move away from Delhi and I kept my promise by moving to Mumbai. For a few years I moved across India through various cities, and while I loved all those cities, especially Kolkatta will always have a special place in my heart, eventually my work brought me back to Delhi.

I love this place and yet I love to hate this place. The city is chaotic, the people are rude and generally self-conceited, the public transport is crowded and unreliable (except for Metro) but I have slowly started accepting it for all its faults and now, I guess, in love with it for those flaws as much for its beauty. Delhi is beautiful at times. I love the festivals when people go out of the way to include others in their celebrations. I love the early morning stroll through the park where you get to see old people performing exercise and yoga and listen to them indulging in thoughtful and passionate discussion. I love to see the enthusiastic parents sacrificing their early morning leisure, frantically pacing their way to make sure their children reach school on time and then in the evening going to receive them from school at the end of the day. I love to watch the little girl enthusiastically narrating her whole day in school to her receptive father while walking back home. I love to see the people crowding the street-food vendor, chiding him to serve them fast, while the vendor serves all of them with a simple and constant smile.

In short I love this city, warts and all. I will leave it some day, perhaps, but I can't remove it from my heart.

learner_kid  ·  3205 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What are some of your seemingly mundane hobbies and why do you enjoy them?

I love walking too. Something about being completely devoid of an electronic screen simulates my mind and I love the insane dialogues I have with myself while wandering aimlessly. Painfully, living in one of the most polluted city, which is also terrible to pedestrians, has made it more difficult for me to choose it as a method of commute often.

I also love playing musical instruments, I play the violin and flute. I realize that I spend more of my free time browsing internet or watching TV series online now. I don't know why, it's as if sub consciously I find playing a music instrument too much work until I actually pick it up and start playing. Strange...

learner_kid  ·  3566 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Jordan Ellenberg, “How Not To Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking”

    First Place doesn't need to know that they have the absolute fastest possible 100 meter dash, they only need a 100 meter dash that is faster than everyone else.

But if you are not sure that you have the absolute fastest possible 100 meter dash then there is always a possibility that someone else will figure out the way to get it and your win is just temporary achievement. What used to be the record for 100 m dash at one point of time can't ensure even a third place in the modern sport. Your thoughts on this?

learner_kid  ·  3567 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Jordan Ellenberg, “How Not To Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking”

Hmm... I may be taking the discussion to a different direction but I was wondering, is there a way to know that a decision that was taken was the "most right" decision? For e.g., you mentioned Steve Jobs making great decision. Even with hindsight what if there were better decision that he could have taken and how can we know if such a decision or a path even exist? Sorry if I am not being clear. Let me try to illustrate with an example:

Let us say you make a decision A which resulted in an outcome where you made $10 of economical profit. You think that this decision was a great decision as overall you were profitable. Until and unless another person shows you a decision B which would result in a profit of more than $10 you can never know if your decision was the "most right" decision.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that unless you include a measure of objectivity there is no way to know what is the "Most right" choice at all. Intuition and subjective insights are great but you can never be sure if they were the best solution unless there is some objective way of proving that all the other decisions would have resulted in an inferior result.

learner_kid  ·  3568 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: mpv: the superior fork of mplayer

404 error in the link provided. Please check.

I have heard a lot about mpv. I use crunchbang linux and would appreciate if someone can give any useful tips for installing and running mpv.

Thanks,

learner_kid  ·  3569 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Vim Tutorial and Primer

This looks interesting and quite useful, thanks.

I am not a programmer but I tried my hand at Pentadactyl to increase my browsing efficiency (also I had a faulty trackpad on my laptop forcing me to use an extension which could enable me to use my keyboard for browsing). After using it for a while I got curious to learn vim and now everyday I get blown away by the useful features that this nifty editor provides.

Loving it!

learner_kid  ·  3569 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Jordan Ellenberg, “How Not To Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking”

You do have a point there, but don't you think Maths as a tool can be used to be "less wrong"? I haven't read the book either so I am not sure if the author is trying to talk in absolutes but in real life application, Mathematical tools such as Statistical Analysis are used only to be less wrong i.e. nobody in their right mind believes that the results would be accurately predicted by Statistical analysis but they are useful to make better guesses.

PS: Not an Academic but I do use Statistics for Financial Analysis in my work.

Edit: Grammar