I recently did a bit of programming exploration using tau exclusively instead of pi (and `sintau` instead of the new `sinpi` function etc.)
In almost every aspect this was far simpler, but there was the curious case of the constant `M_2_SQRTPI = 2 / sqrt(π)`. Even after looking up what weird formula that constant is used in, it wasn't at all clear to me where would be the most sensible place to put the constant.
Yes, I was expecting a much more enthusiastic feedback. I thought that almost everyone would be willing to contribute 3 lines or so, which is sadly not the case. Can you think of any other site where this might gain better reception?
Another factor might be that I posted this one in the morning (IST), when HN is not really at its peak, and the post quickly got lost in the ‘new posts’ list. Do you think it would be OK to repost this link after a month or so?
TBH I cannot think of other sites that are better for a potential
cascading run than HN. I've seen some amazing memetic threads here.
As you surmise its all about initial conditions. This could easily
have gone another way. Time of day, mood, whether there's a another
very active thread....HN is very fickle and sensitive. 95% of all my
submissions (which are predominantly for our podcast) fall on stony
ground. Every now and then maybe you hit paydirt.
> repost
I've found that you can gently bring people round to an idea. Look at
how the "algorithm" works here. People post related subjects and they
or others post follow-on connections soon after to ride the mood.
So for example you'll see a post about permutations in game theory,
and then a post about enumerating chess moves, and then a thread about
the differences between Go and chess... there's a subtle logic.
I also note the "Overton window" (or subject attention span) for HN is
about 48 hours. So, sow the seeds by submitting topics on
"participatory games", "chain letters", "Chinese whispers", "stochastic
composition"... and then re-test your experiment with the crowd primed.
My ‘pitching’ was entirely unplanned, and really, I have no experience in audience targeting or anything like that. Well, guess I will just have to try again. Maybe I can get some time for better planning and execution after a few months. Thanks again.
