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Greg Wilson @gvwilson
, 4 tweets, 1 min read Read on Twitter
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, I was convinced that all of our tools were fundamentally wrong, and that we'd only make real progress in computing if we rethought them. 1/4
I now realize this was displacement: I focused on tools because I knew how to fix them (or at least change them), and because if the problem was tools, I wouldn't have to worry about fuzzy sociological stuff that made me very uncomfortable. 2/4
Putting it another way, if the problem was tools, I could change them; if the problem was community, I'd have to change me, so I really, really wanted the problem to be tools. 3/4
I've made some big mistakes as I've tried to shift my perspective, but I think I'm more effective now as a result. 4/4
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I think ethics courses in software engineering are mostly duds because the issues are too abstract for undergrads - it's easy to say, "I wouldn't steal" or "I'd blow the whistle" when you're not actually in that situation. 1/
I think a course analyzing all the ways in which people with privilege mistreat those without - something that had books like "What Works for Women at Work" as required reading - would hit many attendees a lot harder and therefore have a lot more impact. 2/
(Still thinking about english.emmaclit.com/2017/05/20/you… and my younger self and not-really-very-much-younger self and how to smuggle useful teaching past institutional gatekeepers and into the minds of apathetic or positively hostile learners...)
Read 3 tweets
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"Our results indicate that Python software developers are not exploiting the new features and advantages of Python 3, but rather are choosing to retain backward compatibility with Python 2." 1/2
"Moreover, Python developers are confining themselves to a language subset, governed by the diminishing intersection of Python 2, which is not under development, and Python 3, which is…" 2/2 doi.org/10.1007/s10664…
Also, if you're wondering why authors should insist on open access: a PDF of this paper would cost just under $40. Not a lot of practitioners in industry gonna pop f' that...
Read 3 tweets
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When I see a novice programmer doing complex substring matches instead of using regular expressions, my first thought these days isn't, "They're stupid," it's, "I should have taught or explained something sooner or more clearly." 1/5
Similarly, when someone in tech whom I think has good intentions says something naive about computing education (or about poverty or intellectual property or whatever), my first question these days is, "OK, so where I reasonably expect them to have learned about that?" 2/5
That's why @swcarpentry and why "Teaching Tech Together": it's not fair to diss people for not knowing things they can't reasonably be expected to know, any more than it's fair to make fun of someone for mispronouncing a word they've only ever read, not heard. 3/5
Read 5 tweets

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1/The election of @_A_K_K_ , the announcements of @EmmanuelMacron, the possible deal between @EU_Commission and Italy - what does this all mean for Eurozone reform?
In short: Nothing. Because the ship will sail tomorrow and will not come back any time soon.

A thread pre-#EuCo:
2/ The Euro Summit will sign off tomorrow on next steps in 3 areas of Eurozone reform: Banking union, crisis management, and fiscal policy. Rather than kicking the can down the road again, it will define the political perimeter in each of these areas for the foreseeable future.
3/ On banking union, the summit will adopt the rules for using the backstop for the Single Resolution Fund and the conditions under which the backstop can see the light of day before 2024. The ESM treaty will be changed accordingly in the near future.
Read 11 tweets
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Last night I posted about the term “domain driven design,” frequently abbreviated “DDD” - which is a common large bra measurement in the US, & often part of dirty movie titles.

I’ve deleted the thread. And replaced it with this one!
Having a softcore porn reference in the software field is still problematic, whether or not the creator intended it. And it’s hard to imagine that I’m the first one to point it out. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But maybe I am the first one to point it out. Let’s assume so for now. I got a really interesting range of responses, including:

* He didn’t mean it that way (irrelevant to harm caused)
* It’s too much of a stretch (basically “works on my machine”)
Read 23 tweets
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Round 3 of trying to reprint the giant spiky knot our kitty broke. It’s a four day print even at fast/0.2mm layer height. This iteration will use Pro Yellow PLA and “breakaway” supports. Fingers crossed!
Here's a picture of the lovely - but now broken - "Perko knot" that we'll be reprinting (hopefully) over the next few days. You can read about that saga, which includes dissolvable supports and unruly prime towers, in our old post at Hacktastic: mathgrrl.com/hacktastic/201…
So far so good. Yellow ring around the outside is the “brim”, to help the print stick. White grid is the first layer, on top of that is “zig-zag” supports. Yellow bits are the bottoms of the lowest spikes. Solid white bits are the “interface” between the supports and the model.
Read 34 tweets
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THREAD:

I've realized the #1 thing holding me back from success in life is lack of focus. I think this applies to A LOT of people that are just like me in this space.
We work hard, but our attention is often pulled in a thousand different directions. There are so many courses to take, skills to learn, ideas to implement, books to read, new things to try. It can be fucking overwhelming. Finding the time to do EVERYTHING is literally impossible.
You're probably like me and live a full life:

- I work full-time
- Work out every day
- Am still a student (1 semester left)
- I make time to practice Spanish daily (leaving for Spain in 3 weeks)
- Make time for family and friends (would prefer to spend more with them)
Read 20 tweets
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Bangladesh 43 all out against West Indies. A few weeks back Afghanistan embarrassed itself against India in their debut Test. These pointless one sided Tests are diluting the quality of the format.
The problem is that we believe Afghanistan or Bangladesh have improved looking at their limited over performances. But these players aren't playing any real first class cricket to improve their Test match skill.
They can compete in home conditions, but away from home they are embarrassing to watch. It's true that most teams struggle away from home now, but at least they manage to compete in sessions. You can't have a contest over 5 days where one time is completely out of it.
Read 9 tweets
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Most men that I know, men who respect women as equals, are shocked when allegations come out about people like #HarveyWeinstein, #BillCosby, #LouisCK. They are in shock when men they know are accused of sexually harassing or assaulting women. THREAD 1 #BelieveWomen #RWU #MeToo
Some men find it very hard to believe that these things are so common, because they would never DO those things. If I were a man and I hadn’t experienced harassment and inappropriate behavior multiple times, I would probably find it difficult to believe. 2 #MeToo #BelieveHer
I decided to share about what I’ve experienced, so that good men who respect women can start to understand that these things happen to women know they know, work with, are related to, and love, every day. Their friends, neighbors, coworkers, relatives. 3 #sexualharassment
Read 54 tweets

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