jtfrench

yeah it looks like some ideas were the Mental Rotation concept ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_rotation ) (which is an example of non-linguistic thought) . What interests me most is finding that "assembly language" if such exists

This is a great topic. I think many of us on here have probably dealt with the similar dilemma — we ALL get awesome ideas, but how do you birth it?

Should we not tell our friends about it to prevent that "reward" feeling from kicking in too early?

Also, great quote from the article:

"When you begin, things happen."

---> Just start doing, and let the probability cloud of the universe do the rest. An object in motion tends to stay in motion. An idea that you don't work on will probably stay un-worked on. Just putting yourself in the right spot and starting will put you at least within the realm of possibility.

Amazing how little you need to survive/thrive.

Also amazing how important our own beliefs/self-imposed limits impact our perception of the world . Neuro-linguistic progamming helps shed some light on this.

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't --- you're right!"

Impressive makeup work

Nice, sounds like more or less what I've been doing. I got a few books from the lib (one on Quantum Chemistry which is kinda cool), and then on Hulu I've watched What the bleep and other such oddities. Have yet to meet someone who has a real degree in Quantum Physics/Mechanics/Chemistry (though I know Harvard has a department)

Does it have quantum-y jokes?

Some pretty wild implications. Exciting! Or, if you prefer, depressing!

This is great, andrewflnr, thanks a lot. Might I ask what got you into this stuff/how you learned?

[Peter Griffin] "See Meg, these are the questions."

It's a good point, and I wonder what is the ultimate underlying reason because I've heard many share that same opinion. Despite all the things the US political system gets "wrong" and other systems "get right" — somehow the US still calls the shots.

I find it hilarious how you and others ask rhetorical questions like this, as if you had trouble reading what I wrote, and need me to repeat it. Without going into this again, you can refer to my previous comments.

You (and many others) are having a knee-jerk reaction to what I said. I'm not saying that the US has the best example of democracy (and based on the rest of my post, you would think that would have come across).

What I am saying is that there is a widespread public perception that "America knows best" — the news supports this, Hollywood supports this, and yes, loads of people around the globe support this notion as well.

Please tell me I'm not the one bursting your bubble on this one.

Now what you mention about having lived in Europe/other countries: I hear you. I've lived in other countries as well (Spain, Costa Rica, and a brief stint in Saudi Arabia). Everyone in all of these countries talks shit about the US. It's the cool thing to do. Like us talking shit about Facebook.

But what do they want come their birthdays? Xboxes! Call of Duty! Pizza and Coca Cola!

There is a deeply imbued adoration for America as a model of "all that a country can aspire to be" — and this image is what I'm referring to.

[EDIT:

you know, I knew since this was the internet, someone was going to bring up the whole "hey, did you know pizza is italian". Yes, I did. And as people from NYC or Chicago can tell you, the US has created it's own version which has taken on its own fame.

But while we're on it, did you know that French Fries aren't actually from France?

And to those who are going to take what I said as "because I buy these products I endorse America" , you have clearly missed the broader message of my post.

It's not about the specifics of Coke, Xbox, or fast food (I can't believe I actually have to explain this but, wait, yes I can). It's the overall "image" that America sells overseas. It's the reason why Hollywood movies are popular all around the world, yet not as much the other way around. Again, that is just ONE example, so no need to hyper focus on just that. The fact is, there's an undeniable adoration of American culture abroad --- and it exists RIGHT ALONGSIDE the contempt and disgust for American culture abroad.]

just look around you. Surely I'm not the first person to mention this concept to you. I'm not saying I believe that the US has the best example of democracy, but true or not, that's the general story being "sold" on the news (and yes, in movies as well).

>> A critical test? He doesn't have enough power to do anything about it.

If this is indeed true, then it would mean that the US political system (which is regarded as the best example of democracy, globally) is corrupt from the core and the idea of checks & balances is completely bogus.

If this is case, and if we as (Americans? people?) tolerate it, then I guess it's our implicit way of saying "corruption is indeed the best way — it keeps everyone happy" (pan e circo).

If we don't tolerate it and change it somehow, then maybe our particular multiverse trajectory goes another direction.

Who knows if Obama is actually the one to do this. I'm not expecting much of anything from him, no more/less than I do of any other past President. I have no clue what it's like to be POTUS, but I assume it's like inheriting the CEO/President role at a super old, well-known established company, with an even older and power-hungry Board. Sure, they'll let you be the CEO, but they hold all the political "preferred stock" and can make sure the CEO is ousted if he doesn't do what they want.

>> "Ratio of "acquihire haters" to "haters who would turn down a well-priced acquisition offer on that basis" = ERROR DIV0"

You sir/ma'am, are hilarious.

^what ben said, though I would tweak the "GitHub full of Ruby/Python/Javascript".

This is certainly great advice, but I think the most "to the point" way of communicating your skills is showing projects you've completed. Ideally mobile apps, which means you should add some Objective-C/Java to that list. These days good mobile devs are fewer than those who know the common web/javascript stacks (which are still important).

Overall — just make sure to show your future employer that you can "take it to the hole" and actually ship/create/finish a project. thats where the money is. Can you deliver? Or are you just another guy chasing APIs and buzzwords hoping to wear a hoodie and flip flops and be a snarky programmer?

(haha I'm sure that's not you!)

>> I remember paying $60 for a Genesis cartridge, back when graphics and immersion were improving every year. Seems crazy though, I don't feel like I live in that world anymore.

I wonder if the fact that we're talking digital downloads (vs shelf space at Walmart) has been the driving factor behind "race to the bottom". As a developer, I don't like the "race to the bottom" because it means I have to charge less to remain competitive.

As a consumer, I like it because I get quality games (sometimes) for free or like $5. Thinking about how I used to have to beg for mommy to buy me a $60 game when I was 10 yrs old. This would be a $5 effort now. Could I have gotten away with being a more disobedient kid? Nah, prolly not.

Thing is, now the race to the bottom has just (irreversibly?) skewed price expectations so I still hear consumers complaining "oh it costs $5? I'm not going to play that. SKIP"

And in my head I'm thinking — "wow...you spend how much on your coffee EVERY DAY, COMPULSIVELY, yet you scoff at a complete body of work someone is selling to you for $5?"

>> Minecraft is a similar example (~$27) but people tend to blow that off as not relevant to the conversation because any other game isn't Minecraft.

so true

This problem you describe is the reason why Facebook is still printing cash. Somehow the majority of the population either just doesn't understand or doesn't care about the value of their privacy, or what their actions entail.

Perhaps this makes sense, (or at least here's a theory why).

Disclaimer: I don't have time to do a massive research for this one (tl;didn't research), I will base the rest of my theory on these hypotheses which I can't prove are true, but I'm guessing are probably true (whatever true means). Don't take anything I say personally or seriously. I could be a sophisticated turing machine for all you know, and then you'd feel silly for getting all hyped up at a robot. So chill and enjoy the ride.

1. Despite what it may seem like, most people still don't really know how to use computers.

=and I don't mean like smartphones (which yes are computers but they make sht dead simple which almost puts them in a different category), I'm talking about setting up a good ol' desktop OS out of the box, getting it running on a network, configuring security, installing software, moving files, fixing permissions, etc.

2. OF THOSE who know how to use computers, many (if not most) of them do not know how to write code.

*=And not be a code hipsters, becuz damn am I sick of them, but I mean a lot of "devs" these days barely think about what it means to write executable code. JavaScript/V8 has opened the door to a lot of developers, though many still don't really understand how a computer program goes from looking like this:

int main() { print("Hello, World!"); }

to looking like this:

mov $r1, $r2 add $x, $y

to looking like this:

http://newtome.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/matrix_code.gif (lolz)

3. OF THOSE who do know how to write code, only very few of them have gotten their heads out of their own asses and have built/done something to change the world :)

Okay, that last one was kind of a joke, but kind of not. But anyway, I digest...

So say you've just made this hit app ---in the past few years. Congrats! You've hit an interesting "sweet spot" in the general collective human consciousness in that you can sell software/"simplified" computers to people who largely have no clue what it is they are using! They call it "Facebook" or "Instagram" or "SnapChat" — not executable binaries running on a microprocessor in their pocket, live connected to several Fortune 500 companies that sell their data in real-time all across the Internet. Most likely if you explained a product in those terms to someone they'd think you're a weirdo (and maybe they'd be right, lol).

My theory is that to be open enough to consider these privacy claims, one would have to come to understand it on their own (otherwise, a part of their subconscious reaction to "foreign substance" will reject the information as "junk").

To even get to the point of understanding what this means, you'd have to get at least past Statement #2. To do something about it on a wide enough scale, you'd have to get past #3 and this is harder than it looks.

IMHO, it is because of #3 that ideas are meaningless — yeah we all get ideas in the shower but who gets off their ass, turns OFF the phone, turns OFF Facebook, and tune IN to whatever idea they'd like to manifest?

These people ended up creating Facebook. Instagram. SnapChat. Google. Apple.

And then they get to call the shots, and "explain privacy" to the masses until the majority agrees to think differently.

[stewie voice] "oh boy..."

So true. C# = What Java wanted to be, sans "write once, deploy anywhere" hype

I would have to second that. Scott's book is great (and he's a fellow Brown alum)

...is this just a way to get me to look at relay?

I've been doing this as well. It's interesting how it is almost like a "micro" version of the App Store — with the added perk of selling to customers that desperately want to spend money on whatever looks cool to add to their games. Gotta love "shovel/gold rush" markets.