The crux is the realization of the absurdity of (unrealistic) expectations. Those who figure it out early are able to find balance. But those who succumb to it generally end up hating themselves and their research because of how inadequate it makes them feel.
I do agree upon the role Bethe played in Feynman's early career and I think both of us concur that we need more Bethes today.
While I agree with most of what's written, I think that revenue from volatile stocks does come at others' expense and, thus, might not be an example the author should be including.
Precisely. There is a (now outdated) model called Truine Brain model which proposes three layers of intelligence: the cortex which is responsible for higher thinking/planning/executive functions, the limbic system responsible for 4Fs/emotions, and the basal gangalia/brainstem responsible for basic functions like movement, homeostasis and etc. It's uncanny how this matches closely with the Software/OS/BIOS analogy.
For one, like you said, there are so many spam websites out there that it's extremely difficult for Google (or any search engine for that matter) to gather genuine results. I also think that it's a matter of incentive. As long as traffic doesn't decline, does Google really have any incentive to fix or improve things?
Also, I presume the search algorithm is not how it used to be too, what with ML models being used left and right. I wonder if anyone really knows how we get the results anymore. There are a few initiatives like kagi but I know too few about them to say anything at this point. For now, I am quite content with appending "reddit" at the end of every non-technical query nowadays... at least until they start gaming this as well.
Anecdote but I always noticed change in sleep patterns after starting antidepressants. Actually, terminal insomnia (you wake up and then are unable to fall asleep) are characteristic of chronic depression. Add to this that SSRI causes increase in sleep hours (maybe even quality?) and then you have a theory about how it might just have been due to lack of sleep after all?
VB6 was a gem. To a young me who was starting out programming, there was nothing more empowering than dragging a bunch of different buttons, resizing them with mouse, fiddling with their labels and creating a calculator within half an hour. I crave for a similar dev experience but no language today seem to possess that simplicity. Today, it's all container widgets of different kinds that I have no idea how to use.
Doesn't have to be this verbose even. Just a "I've been using Notepad++ for years now, thank you so much for it!" and a bit of "I understand that there are many issues that require your attention right now but there's this thing I'm struggling with..." Would've done.
Honestly, this looks like a troll's work. I personally would've ignored him/her because of the adage, "don't feed the trolls"
True, but notice how I said personal computing and not computing in general. There's no denying that much of the scientific advances today would be impossible without computers in research facilities and/or universities.
People decry the energy wastage brought about by the Crypto Mining, rampant invasion of privacy & trust by mega corporations, ubiquitous presence of misinformation and vitriol in social media, mismanagement of e-waste, global climate change and the impending doom upon the entire human civilization, and a thousand things more, and yet find this article condescending.
This is not to say that I agree entirely with it either but, I find myself empathizing with the author at some level. If nothing more, it's a fun mental exercise to imagine what life today would be like had there been no personal computing.
Same here. The more I've progressed in CS, the more dissatisfied I am. Outside of creating algorithms that vie for constant user attention (the basic business model of FAANG), I don't see any fruitful application of my skills. I'd much rather move towards the domains where my knowledge of data, systems, and algorithms could be better utilized (medicine, Genomics, structural engineering, governance etc).
I do agree upon the role Bethe played in Feynman's early career and I think both of us concur that we need more Bethes today.