https://www.solipsys.co.uk/new/BeingSlowToCriticise.html?VB07HN Being Slow To Criticise Recent changes Links to this page Table of contents FRONT PAGE / INDEX --------------------------------------------------------------------- [feed-icon3]Subscribe! +----------------------+ @ColinTheMathmo | This page has been | ----------------------------- | Tagged As Software | My latest posts can be found | and Tagged As Story. | here: +----------------------+ Software that deliberately kills the servers it is monitoring is an * Colins Blog interesting idea. A story I read recently told of a situation where the programmer and/or engineer involved wasn't able to fix the real, ----------------------------- underlying problem, so an overlay solution was devised that (a) Previous blog posts: worked, and (b) was feasible. * State Machine In Real This post is not about that story. This post is about a comment made Life by one of the readers in the forum where I saw it. * Coxeter Once Nerd Sniped Conway +----------------------------------------+ * Not Always Your Fault | "You should just fix the real problem: | * Remembering Conway | the software is garbage." | * Perception Of Space +----------------------------------------+ * Parallelogram Puzzle * Back Of The Envelope I've met this before, both the situation of having software we can COVID19 see is not up to current standards, and the attitude of those who * A Point Against The Axiom look at it with the benefit not only of hindsight, but of 20 years of Of Choice advances in software, toolkits, libraries, and hardware. * In Defense Of The Axiom Of Choice +-----------------------------+ * Journeying Home Through | Related: | Storm Dennis | | * Earth Radius Refined | Although it's also seen and | * Volume Of A Sphere | quoted in other contexts, | * Big Oh And Relations | there's a saying in | * Mathematical Relations | software circles. People | * Introducing Big Oh | often come across code that | * Constant Differences | looks overly complicated | * Algorithms And Sizes Of | for the task it's doing, or | Instances | the effect it's trying to | * Introducing Time | achieve. But sometimes | Complexity | there's a reason for it to | * The Linear Frog | be that complex. Sometimes | * Seventy Versus One | there are unexpected | Hundred Revisited | edge-cases and the code | * How The Farrago Works | needs to be able to deal | * Seventy Versus One | with it. | Hundred | | * Powers Of Two In Lex | So the saying is: | Order | | * Emerging E Expanded | "Don't ever take a fence | * Rage Inducing System | down until you know the | Implementation | reason why it was put up," | * The Book Is Not Always | -- John F Kennedy, | Right | paraphrasing | * Emerging E | G.K.Chesterton. | * Impossible To Translate | | * Waiting In Vain | This isn't a reason to | * Non Repeating Decimals | leave things alone, and it | * Rational Repeats | should never be a | * Why Is It Lovely | thought-terminating cliche. | * Compiling Crypto | It's a call to put in the | Connections | time to understand | * Exploring Connections | something properly. | Between Crypto Systems | | * Elwyn Berlekamp Has Left | Sometimes there genuinely | Us | is no longer a reason for | * Root Cause Analysis And | something, and sometimes | The Photocopier Question | there never was. What's | * The Up Down Tides | important is understanding. | * The Fore Aft Tide +-----------------------------+ * The Sideways Tide But I try to be slow to jump to that conclusion, that the software is * Wrapping Up Wrapping Up garbage. So often there are reasons for things to be the way they The Earth are. The software tools and the hardware capabilities were very, very * The Other Wrapping The different in the aughties, and many people currently writing software Earth Problem don't really seem to appreciate by just how much. Additionally, there * Wrapping The Earth might be time pressures, political pressures, engineering * The Ring Of Steel constraints, access problems, and more. * Rounding Up The Ropes * Other Other Other Rope It may be the case that things could have been done differently, Around The Earth perhaps better, but then again, once you know the full story and the * Rope Around The Earth full context, maybe not. Refined * The Other Rope Around The Some time ago I wrote up a war story from the mid-nineties and had Earth some current software people crap all over it. When I started to * Elementary Estimates explain about the machine limitations of the time, the bluster * Latitude Correction increased, and among the replies I got was "The software was crap". * Just Give Me The Answer * More Musing On Pollard Ever since then I've been interested in the contexts for these Rho stories. So often I hear "Well you shouldn't have done it like that!" * Idle Thoughts About rather than an enquiring: Pollard Rho * When Optimising Code +---------------------------------------------+ Measure | "OK, let's assume some clever people wrote | * A Dog Called Mixture | this. I wonder what the pressures were that | * Another Pay Pal Scam | made them come out with that solution." | * Why Top Posting Has Won +---------------------------------------------+ * Unexpected Interaction Of Features I've learned a lot by approaching things that way, instead of * Archimedes Hat Box assuming the people involved were ignorant, unskilled, idiots, or Theorem otherwise incompetent, and simply declaring: * Considering A Sphere * To Link Or Not To Link The software was garbage. * Generic Advice For Writing A Thesis You might be right, but equally, it may be that you haven't put in * Just Teach My Child The enough time to understand the realities. Maths --------------------------------------------------------------------- * Not A Spectator Sport * Left Truncatable Prime +------------------------------------------------------+ * The Doctor And The Lawyer | <<<< Prev <<<< | | >>>> Next >>>> | * Four Points Two Distances | -------------------------- | : | ------------------- | Proof | State Machine In Real Life | | All The Letters ... | * Meeting Ron Graham +------------------------------------------------------+ * Napkin Ring Versus Spherical Cap --------------------------------------------------------------------- * The Four Points Puzzle * Radius Of The Earth Part https://mathstodon.xyz/ You can follow me on Two @ColinTheMathmo Mathstodon. * Grep Timing Anomaly * The Radius Of The Earth * This Works To Cure My Hiccoughs +----------------------------+ * Perhaps We Saved One | Of course, you can also | * Thinking About Mastodon | follow me on twitter: | * Disappearing Trains On | | Virgin | @ColinTheMathmo | * The Independence Game | [CountHits] | * One Of My Favourite +----------------------------+ Puzzles * Thinking About Recursion --------------------------------------------------------------------- * Memorising The Tube * Spikey Spheres Send us a comment ... * Surprisingly Quick * An Unexpected Fraction You can send us a message * You Have To Admire Their here. It doesn't get Optimism published, it just sends us an * Representatives Matter email, and is an easy way to * Pythagoras By Incircle ask any questions, or make any * A Puzzle About Puzzles comments, without having to * How Not To Do Twitter send a separate email. So just * Calculating 52 Factorial fill in the boxes and then By Hand [CLICK HERE TO SEND] * Small Things Might Not Be So Small Your : [ ] * Not If You Hurry name * Factoring Via Graph Three Colouring Email : [ ] * Another Proof Of The Doodle Theorem Message : [ ] * When Obvious Is Not [ ] Obvious [ ] * Graph Three Colouring [ ] * The Doodle Theorem [ ] * Be Careful What You Say [ ] * The Mutilated Chessboard [ ] Revisited [ ] * A Mirror Copied [ ] * The Other Other Rope [ ] Around The Earth * Photocopy A Mirror [CLICK HERE TO SEND] * The Point Of The Banach Tarski Theorem * Sieve Of Eratosthenes In Python * Fast Perrin Test * Russian Peasant Multiplication * FindingPerrinPseudoPrimes Part2 * FindingPerrinPseudoPrimes Part1 * The Unwise Update * Miles Per Gallon * Tracking An Item On Hacker News * Hacker News User Ages * Poking The Dusty Corners * There Is No Time For This * Publically Sharing Links * Learning Times Tables * Graceful Degradation * Diagramming Maths Topics * On The Rack * Square Root By Long Division * Beyond The Boundary * Fill In The Gaps * Software Checklist * NASA Space Crews * The Birthday Paradox * The Trapezium Conundrum * Revisiting The Ant * The Ant And The Rubber Band * Irrationals Exist * Multiple Choice Probability Puzzle * Random Eratosthenes * Wrapping Up Square Dissection * Dissecting A Square Part 2 * Dissecting A Circle * Dissecting A Square * An Oddity In Tennis * Decision Tree For Tennis * Decision Trees In Games * A Matter Of Convention * Do You Nourish Or Tarnish * Binary Search Reconsidered * Two Equals Four * The Lost Property Office * The Forgiving User Interface * Setting Up RSS * Withdrawing From Hacker News ----------------------------- Additionally, some earlier writings: * Random Writings. * Colins Blog 2010 * Colins Blog 2009 * Colins Blog 2008 * Colins Blog 2007 * Colins Blog Before 2007 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents Links on this page +------------------+ |Site hosted by 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DissectingASquarePart2 * DoYouNourishOrTarnish * EarthRadiusRefined * ElementaryEstimates * ElwynBerlekampHasLeftUs * EmergingE * EmergingEExpanded * ExploringConnectionsBetweenCryptoSystems * FactoringViaGraphThreeColouring * FastPerrinTest * FillInTheGaps * FindingPerrinPseudoPrimes_Part1 * FindingPerrinPseudoPrimes_Part2 * FourPointsTwoDistancesProof * GenericAdviceForWritingAThesis * GracefulDegradation * GraphThreeColouring * GrepTimingAnomaly * HackerNewsUserAges * HowNotToDoTwitter * HowTheFarragoWorks * IdleThoughtsAboutPollardRho * ImpossibleToTranslate * InDefenseOfTheAxiomOfChoice * IntroducingBigOh * IntroducingTimeComplexity * IrrationalsExist * JourneyingHomeThroughStormDennis * JustGiveMeTheAnswer * JustTeachMyChildTheMaths * LatitudeCorrection * LearningTimesTables * LeftTruncatablePrime * MathematicalRelations * MeetingRonGraham * MemorisingTheTube * MilesPerGallon * MoreMusingOnPollardRho * MultipleChoiceProbabilityPuzzle * NASASpaceCrews * NapkinRingVersusSphericalCap * NonRepeatingDecimals * NotASpectatorSport * NotAlwaysYourFault * NotIfYouHurry * OnTheRack * OneOfMyFavouritePuzzles * OtherOtherOtherRopeAroundTheEarth * ParallelogramPuzzle * PerceptionOfSpace * PerhapsWeSavedOne * PhotocopyAMirror * PokingTheDustyCorners * PowersOfTwoInLexOrder * PublicallySharingLinks * PythagorasByIncircle * RadiusOfTheEarthPartTwo * RageInducingSystemImplementation * RandomEratosthenes * RandomWritings * RationalRepeats * RememberingConway * RepresentativesMatter * RevisitingTheAnt * RootCauseAnalysisAndThePhotocopierQuestion * RopeAroundTheEarthRefined * RoundingUpTheRopes * RussianPeasantMultiplication * SettingUpRSS * SeventyVersusOneHundred * SeventyVersusOneHundredRevisited * SieveOfEratosthenesInPython * SmallThingsMightNotBeSoSmall * Software * SoftwareChecklist * SpikeySpheres * SquareRootByLongDivision * StateMachineInRealLife * SurprisinglyQuick * TaggedAsSoftware * TaggedAsStory * TheAntAndTheRubberBand * TheBirthdayParadox * TheBookIsNotAlwaysRight * TheDoctorAndTheLawyer * TheDoodleTheorem * TheForeAftTide * TheForgivingUserInterface * TheFourPointsPuzzle * TheIndependenceGame * TheLinearFrog * TheLostPropertyOffice * TheMutilatedChessboardRevisited * TheOtherOtherRopeAroundTheEarth * TheOtherRopeAroundTheEarth * TheOtherWrappingTheEarthProblem * ThePointOfTheBanachTarskiTheorem * TheRadiusOfTheEarth * TheRingOfSteel * TheSidewaysTide * TheTrapeziumConundrum * TheUnwiseUpdate * TheUpDownTides * ThereIsNoTimeForThis * ThinkingAboutMastodon * ThinkingAboutRecursion * ThisWorksToCureMyHiccoughs * ToLinkOrNotToLink * TrackingAnItemOnHackerNews * TwoEqualsFour * UnexpectedInteractionOfFeatures * VolumeOfASphere * WaitingInVain * WhenObviousIsNotObvious * WhenOptimisingCodeMeasure * WhyIsItLovely * WhyTopPostingHasWon * WithdrawingFromHackerNews * WrappingTheEarth * WrappingUpSquareDissection * WrappingUpWrappingUpTheEarth * YouHaveToAdmireTheirOptimism 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