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yan @bcrypt
, 3 tweets, 2 min read Read on Twitter
A lot of people ask "why should I work in software development as opposed to math/physics/finance/etc.?" One reason is that this field is surprisingly full of "inadequate equilibria" (a steady-state in which low-hanging fruits are still available for non-experts to solve).
Take this passage from a summary of Eliezer Yudkowsky's book (scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=3535). IMO one "authoritative institution" that has created a lot of inadequate equilibria in software development is Silicon Valley culture and its focus on rampant growth.
growth is often at odds with security/privacy/robustness, so those are subfields of software development where a newcomer can potentially make high-impact contributions (things that obviously should be done but nobody has done yet due to the incentives being screwed up)
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Signal Desktop just pushed out a fix for a remote XSS vuln: github.com/signalapp/Sign…

demo:
a lot of @electronjs devs have the attitude that their app doesn't need sandboxing or keeping up-to-date with Chromium bc "it doesn't execute untrusted code". the problem is that falls apart as soon as you get XSS. github.com/signalapp/Sign…

(at least Signal has sandboxing)
"should i build this as a web app or use Electron?"
the difficulty gap between XSS and full RCE is much smaller in Electron compared to a browser like up-to-date Chrome, so plz make it a web app if u care about good things
Read 6 tweets

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People ask my why I work so hard. Motivation is key.

My wife and I lived with rats in the walls and ceiling, with fleas in our bed biting us at night. We went a week with no food except bagels the local gas station threw away.

When you’ve been that poor, you WANT to work hard.
I once went 10 days without food and 3 days without water because I couldn’t afford the treatment for an infected abscess in my throat. The pus would have poisoned me if it had burst and I’d swallowed it. I lost 20 pounds in that time and looked like a scarecrow.
We lived in low-income housing where people waited for us to go to work so they could try to kick in our door. Other men would see me leave and stand at the door telling my wife to open it for them. I had to go tell their families I’d kill them if they didn’t stop. They stopped.
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A lot of people ask how we can justify being a nonprofit. How is building a border wall a charity case? We had to answer that for ourselves before we could even begin the process. We knew if donations weren't tax deductible there was no point in even starting to #FundTheWall.
A simple reading of the definition of a charity according to the IRS shows we have a solid basis: "erecting or maintaining public buildings, monuments, or works;", The wall is a public work. It doesn't say WE have to build it, just that the money has goes to it GETTING built.
We could go on a tangent here, about whether a "border SYSTEM" including ground sensing radar, microphone arrays, drones, etc. is a public work. We think it probably is. For right now, we'll focus on the wall and come back to the rest once the flow of money is moving.
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One night, I woke up at 4:12am, heard a sound, panicked, and ran outside. I ran so fast I almost slipped going down the stairs. My blood pressure went nuts. Why? Because I'd left the hose running in the pool. And that made me think about TENSION IN WRITING. 1/
So often, early writers will neglect tension unless it's OMG THE MOST TENSION EVER THE END OF THE WORLD. When you're focused on worldbuilding and plot, it can be easy to forget the frustration you feel when a coworker eats your sammy or someone you dislike calls. 2/
Confession: For my first few books, my agent advised I create an Excel spreadsheet, break the book down by chapter, and rate each chapter on how much tension was in it. My first book was, um, mostly 4s. That was eye opening. And a good tool for inserting more tension. 3/
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The more I think about it, the more I think it’s important that you have a basic understanding about computer security, particularly about server security.
This applies to both the Clinton email servers and the DNC server, so I think some basics will help you understand the issues. I’m going to distill the technical stuff into language that non-geeks can understand. For those of you with knowledge, ignore this thread.
In order for two computers to “talk” to each other, they have to agree to the location and the language. In geek speak, we call these IP addresses and ports and protocols. Think of it like this. If I want to talk to your computer, I need to know where it is.
Read 37 tweets
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1/ Finally got around to making notes from my fireside chat with @kunalb11 at the Inverted Passion unconference in Bangalore on March 11, 2018.

This thread's gonna be a long one, again. Like and retweet to reward for my effort :)

Here we go.
2/ First, the quick fire questions with @kunalb11

- Freecharge experience in 3 words: confusion, evolution and depression
- Money in one word: access
- Life’s purpose in one short sentence: make up a game and win it
- $100mn or dinner with Elon Musk: $100mn
- Dal vs pizza: keto
3/
 - Free speech or Universal Basic Income: free speech
- Political correctness vs brutal honesty: brutal honesty (always)
- More likely cause for human extinction between AI or nuclear war: nuclear war
- Private jet or anonymous donation to Khan Academy: private jet
Read 38 tweets
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Bored at work today
1.) Kirin Ranger's Daisuke Tsuchiya was originally cast as Ryuu Ranger, but was changed after doing some test shooting
2.) Most of the Showa Sentai actors fell out of touch with each over the years and mostly connected again through Facebook
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