0th-world Problems | Hacker News Reader

0th-world Problems

blog.fogus.me

43 pointsfogus27 comments

You're free to classify me as foolish for this, but before clicking the link I honestly expected this to be one of thought provoking articles (as there are often ones here on a sunday), with an intentionally absurd headline.

Not to beat a dead horse, but could we be any nearer to reddit? I wish I could hear from people who upvoted this one.

Not to beat a dead horse, but could we be any nearer to reddit? I wish I could hear from people who upvoted this one.

I'm not sure who is ultimately responsible, however I think your response would definitely make the list of 0th world problems, as defined in the linked article.

* worrying about y10k compatibility "just in case"

* feeling a jolt of psychological pain when trying to use an emacs keyboard shortcut in any other application

* trying to use M-w (readline backwards kill word) on a mac app and closing the window.

* how you feel for the 15 minutes after reading "Reflections on Trusting Trust"

* the realization that there will never be a computer fast enough

Why worry about y10k when y2k38 is so much more pressing?!

The 2038 problem is someone else's fault, and I mostly use 64bit systems. Every time I implement something that assumes the year will take four digits I have a little moment of 'ugh'. The context for me was using python list slice operations to take apart a timestamp, but I now use datetime.datetime.strptime.

EDIT: I just looked up the source for python 2.7.3 and even in strptime the %Y format specifier assumes that the year has four digits (see line 204-206 http://hg.python.org/cpython/file/70274d53c1dd/Lib/_strptime... ) so I'm not out of the woods yet.

* trying to use M-q (fill-paragraph) and killing the app.

This mapping to numbers implies a total order on problem classes with computerists' problems being even more <lesser integer>-worldish than the plain old first world problems. I believe this is not the case. Computerists' problems are incomparable to i-th world problems, for i in {1,2,3}.

I think you missed the joke. In every day life, ordinals start at one. Formally, they start at zero (we owe their modern definition to non other than von Neumann).

A programmer's 0th world problem really is a first world problem, taking into account the fact that we count differently.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinal_number

Or is it like the 0th law of thermodynamics?

How serious is the quip about Guy Steele?

Not at all as far as I can tell. There was an inside joke for a while at Sun that the only successful languages were failed ones that you put out the source too.

Sun was going to flush the folks in the Liveoak/Java group (this was in '94) since there wasn't any practical use case for Java, James Gosling and Patrick Naughton got Sun to agree to let the source be put out there on the net so that those of us who had been working for the last few years on it could point to it when someone looked at our resume and said "what is this Oak/Java thing, never heard of it."

There are people who would hire Guy just to be able to say "Guy Steele works here." :-)

surely not so? people like that don't exactly need a cv...

[i wonder if, given the other comment about cvs, there is a subtext related to fogus trying to find a job? although i thought he just started one.]

the raspberry pi thing, though, is serious. i'm travelling to the uk next week and thought i'd pick one up while i was there. when i checked online - they're expecting stock in 5 weeks! (you can find them on amazon, but the price is significantly higher).

In stock for next day delivery at CPC: http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=SC12...

Only thing worth noting is that standard CPC / Farnell policy is that your first order must be shipped to the billing address of your debit/credit card, so if you're just visiting here you might need to get a friend to order it.

i kiss you! trying to get hold of my parents now :o)

[huh. so once you add in tax and handling, the amazon price isn't so crazy either.]

That's what I gathered too... I just wonder if he's really looking to leave Oracle...

Anyone care to link to some of these "PLT-related Twitter novelty accounts"? This is the first I've heard of them and it sounds entertaining.

Also, what's all this about Yan Yan sauce?

I've given both a quick google and it appears I'm better off asking here.

Yan Yan sauce could be referring to http://snacksdigest.blogspot.com/2012/04/yan-yan-dadaist-sna...

I only know of one: http://twitter.com/PLT_Hulk

I'd be extremely curious to know what others he's referring to.

Chasing followers, there's at least:

http://twitter.com/PLT_Molyneux

http://twitter.com/PLTAlaindeB

http://twitter.com/PLT_Borat

http://twitter.com/PLT_RyanGosling

http://twitter.com/PLT_Zizek

EDIT: Found some more:

http://twitter.com/KuzcekInstitut/

http://twitter.com/popltarts

There are also a few ones that are not PLT-specific but are similar in spirit to the others, like http://twitter.com/fakerichhickey and http://twitter.com/DEVOPS_BORAT

Some others:

http://twitter.com/PLT_Zizek

http://twitter.com/PLTAlaindeB

http://twitter.com/PLT_Borat

There's also @PLT_Borat (https://twitter.com/plt_borat)

There is another that I know of, but I wont link to it because I find it racist.

That's interesting. This might be the first time I've seen someone specifically choose not to link something because they find it objectionable but point out their decision in this way. I'm not sure how to react. I want to ask you to post it anyway, but that seems disrespectful given you've stated your choice so clearly. At the same time, I'm trying to disassemble the reasoning behind your decision to comment (vs not commenting at all).

Which is the best PLT related twitter novelty account?

As a reborn lualist, but also "C" lover, I think the arrays should start at 0.5. Just adjust the rounding mode accordingly!

What world-wide Raspberry Pi shortage? I got mine within a week. In a 3rd-world country no less =P

PHP.

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