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Topics /
Math & Algorithms
The most popular blog posts about math & algorithms on Hacker News. 2,851 posts.
2522
How to keep lambda calculus simple
Once upon a time, my curiosity of dependent types transitioned into an endeavour to learn how they work under the bonnet. Then I found the paper called “A Tutorial Implementation of a Dependently Typed Lambda Calculus” or just “Simply Easy” – and began reading it. However, the affairs happening there were so complex…
2523
Lint for Math
Can we remove simple errors from math proofs? simple-talk interview source Stephen Johnson is one of the world’s top programmers. Top programmers are inherently lazy: they prefer to build too…
2524
How to compile with continuations
In terms of unreasonable effectiveness, the transformation to continuation-passing style (CPS) ranks with the Y combinator .
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The Joy of Condensed Matter
I published a slightly different version of this article in Nautilus on February 24, 2021. Everyone seems to be talking about the problems with physics: Woit’s book Not Even Wrong, SmolinR…
2527
Code golfing a tiny demo using maths and a pinch of insanity
The number of characters was 464 characters at first, but thanks to the community it got reduced further, and the article updated accordingly.
2528
The Generalist – On Alexander Grothendieck
I never met Alexander Grothendieck. I was never in the same room with him. I never even saw him from a distance. But whenever I think about math — which is to say, pretty much every day ̵…
2529
A Mathematical Framework for Transformer Circuits (2021)
Transformer language models are an emerging technology that is gaining increasingly broad real-world use, for example in systems like GPT-3 , LaMDA , Codex , Meena , Gopher , and similar models. However, as these models scale, their open-endedness and high capacity creates an increasing scope for unexpected and…
2530
Lambda Calculus and Lisp, part 1
The first of a series of envisioned blog posts on lambda calculus, and Lisp. It’s unclear exactly where to start: there is a whole heap of interesting issues, both theoretical and in terms of concrete implementations, which tangle and interconnect. A particular application of lambda calculus is a very salient…
2531
Stable Fiddusion: Frequency-domain blue noise generator
Frequency-domain blue noise generator
2532
Evaluating Search Algorithms
The three-step framework Shopify's Data Science & Engineering team built for evaluating new search algorithms.
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Making of “Introduction to A*”
(Warning: these notes are rough – the main page is here and these are some notes I wrote for a few colleagues and then I kept adding to it until it became a longer page)
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Transducer: Composition, abstraction, performance (2018)
Transducer: Composition, Abstraction, Performance
2536
Speeding Slows You Down (By a Lot)
I often drive between Boston and New Haven. While on the road, I find myself pondering a simple question: If my only goal is to arrive as fast as possible, how fast should I drive? Ignoring things …
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Is SHA-3 slow?
In a recent post , Adam Langley complains that “SHA-3 is slow”. Similar comments appear from time to time on the web (see also David Wong's post ). But what does it mean precisely? Let us dig into it.
2539
Crit-bit Trees: the best way to store sets
A crit-bit tree can be used as a high-speed associative array. For example, an array mapping 54 to 1, 19 to 2, 99 to 3, 85 to 4, and 88 to 5 can be stored as a crit-bit tree containing 54=1, 19=2, 99=3, 85=4, and 88=5. The smallest string in the crit-bit tree larger than 85= is 85=4.
2540
Physicist Uses Math to Beat Traffic Ticket
Learn about public engagement activities from the American Physical Society
2541
Predicting When P=NP Is Resolved
Has it outlasted the ability to estimate when? Composite of src1, src2 Ryohei Hisano and Didier Sornette wrote in 2012 a paper titled, “On the distribution of time-to-proof of mathematical co…
2542
What comes next: π/2, π/2, π/2, π/2, π/2, π/2, π/2, ...?
I’m eager to summarize the (largely excellent) discussion of last week’s nightmares and to talk about what it all means. I’ll surely get to that in the next few days. But meanwhil…
2543
A free, complete guide to Technical Analysis
Learn technical analysis - candlestick patterns, support & resistance, moving averages, RSI, MACD, Fibonacci retracements, Dow theory, and chart analysis.
2544
Sieve of Eratosthenes in Python (2015)
Sieve of Eratosthenes animation Source: Wikipedia[0] One of the things we need to do when finding Perrin Pseudo-Primes is to recognise prime numbers so we can see if the numbers predicted by the Perrin test to be prime, are. So we need to generate primes. For small primes (for some definition of "small") this can be…
2545
Convolutions, Polynomials and Flipped Kernels
This is a post about multiplying polynomials, convolution sums and the connection between them.
2546
Calculating the Distance Between Points in Wrap Around (Toroidal) Space
Let’s say you are trying to find the distance between two points in 2D, but that these points are in a universe that “wraps around” like old video games – leaving the screen…
2547
The Million-Key Question: Investigating the Origins of RSA Public Keys
Petr Švenda, Matúš Nemec, Peter Sekan, Rudolf Kvašňovský, David Formánek, David Komárek, and Vashek Matyáš, Masaryk University
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The Philosophy of Linear Algebra (2021)
Whenever a student wonders why linear algebra, matrices, and vectors are important, the response from teachers usually sounds like this:
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Confirmed: The Last Great Prediction Of The Big Bang
A leftover glow unlike any other — of neutrinos — has finally been seen.