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> Would it be a mistake to use Desmos in a math classroom, or 3Blue1Brown style animations, to build up visual intuition?

I don't think there's anything wrong with showing kids some videos every now and then. I still have fond memories of watching Bill Nye.

> Should we not teach basic numerical and statistical methods in Python?

No. Those should be done by hand, so kids can develop an intuition for it. The same way we don't allow kids learning multiplication and division to use calculators.


>> Should we not teach basic numerical and statistical methods in Python?

> No. Those should be done by hand, so kids can develop an intuition for it. The same way we don't allow kids learning multiplication and division to use calculators.

I would think that it would make sense to introduce Python in the same way that calculators, and later graphing calculators are introduced, and I believe (just based on hearing random anecdotes) that this is already the case in many places.

I'm a big proponent of the gradual introduction of abstraction, which my early education failed at, and something Factorio and some later schooling did get right, although the intent was rarely communicated effectively.

First, learn what and why a thing exists at a sufficiently primitive level of interaction, then once students have it locked in, introduce a new layer of complexity by making the former primitive steps faster and easier to work with, using tools. It's important that each step serves a useful purpose though. For example, I don't think there's much of a case for writing actual code by hand and grading students on missing a semicolon, but there's probably a case for working out logic and pseudocode by hand.

I don't think there's a case for hand-drawing intricate diagrams and graphs, because it builds a skill and level of intimacy with the drawing aspect that's just silly, and tests someone's drawing capability rather than their understanding of the subject, but I suppose everyone has they're own opinion on that.

That last one kind of crippled me in various classes. I already new better tools and methods existed for doing weather pattern diagrams or topographical maps, but it was so immensely tedious and time-consuming that it totally derailed me to the point where I'd fail Uni labs despite it not being very difficult content, only because the prof wanted to teach it like the 50s.


Fwiw calculators were banned in my school. Only started to use one in university - and there it also didnt really help with anything as the math is already more complex

I was allowed to use calculators when I started algebra in seventh grade.

I found that calculators didn't help all that much once you got into symbolic stuff. They were useful for the final reductions, obviously, but for algebra the lion's share of the work is symbolic and at least the relatively cheap two-line TI calculator I was using couldn't do anything symbolic.

I know that there are calculators that can do Computer Algebra System stuff, and those probably should be held off on until at least calculus.


Absolutely. When I was in college, I had to stop using my laptop to take notes, as I would just always end up scrolling reddit for half the class. I switched to pen and paper, and while I almost never ended up looking at my notes, just the fact of manually writing them down helped me remember them.

That was my experience as well. I did best in the classes where I didn't have a laptop out. I had no temptations to be distracted and simply writing down the notes by hand was a huge benefit.

I suspect the people I see saying they were able to not get distracted when using a laptop in class are either outliers or liars.


> In my experience there's a substantial number of women who are fans of something like overwatch, but not of actually playing Overwatch. They like the designs and the world, they make fanart and fics and such, but they don't actually play

I'm the same way with Warhammer 40K. I love the lore, but have no interest in actually playing with the miniatures.


Yep! There's nothing wrong with this. It doesn't make you lesser or anything

But from the company's sales perspective it's important to recognize the difference between fans and customers

How many games or products had huge social media followings and then flopped hard when they came out? Plenty.


> Isn't it kind of misguided to approach this as men studying women and trying to make more things that appeal to them?

Why would it be misguided? There are plenty of works that are created by women that appeal to men (Harry Potter, Animorphs, Full Metal Alchemist), so I don't think there's anything wrong with men trying to make something that appeals to women.


It's the "trying" part that taints the stew.

Make art that is truthful and your audience will find you.


Knowing your audience is the most important step in serving them content they want.

I think you are saying something fundamentally different than the parent comment.

I think they are saying 'make something that appeals specifically to you as the creator, and it will resonate with some people out there'.

I personally agree that this seems top result in works I enjoy. (As evidenced by behind-the-scenes content or interviews with creators espousing a similar philosophy.)


I think my advice still follows. If you're making a game for yourself, then it's best to know and understand yourself. There's often a difference between what people think they want and what will actually bring them joy.

I always found it funny that even though many people are reluctant to eat insects themselves, they have no problem with eating insect vomit (aka honey). I suspect that getting people to eat more insects is just a matter of marketing; after all, the "best", most expensive coffee in the world is made of out civet poop.

Nice try, but no: honey is not 'insect vomit.'

Honey isn’t actually created or stored in the bee’s stomach. It is excreted through the mouth of the bee: but it is not 'vomit' since it does not empty from the bee's primary digestive stomach, but a separate, dedicated, pleated expandable pouch or crop.

Good work, bees.

https://theholyhabibee.com/honey-bee-stomach


Fine, it's not bee vomit, it's bee spit, but that doesn't really change my point.

It's easy: bugs look icky. I wouldn't eat them. Grind them up out of sight and use them as an ingredient? Suddenly I'm fine with it.

I've purposely eaten insects while traveling. for me it is hard to get over the fact that they are not 'cleaned' - you eat everything in their digestive tracts. I intellectually understand that is safe, but my conditioning makes it hard to handle. taste and texture can be challenging once you get past grasshoppers and ants (for my palate of course).

Following your organization's data security practices is not immoral. To me, refusing to accept a PDF is no different than running a cash only store and refusing to accept credit cards as payment.

And how long would that store stay open with such a policy? That's the problem. The government has less competency than small businesses with 5 employees. And not just a bit less, a lot less. Its hard to believe it is just the bureaucrats. I think the leaders of those parts of the government didn't get their posts from merit. And they have no idea just how bad they are at their jobs. It also is probably a bit of too many cooks in the kitchen too.

> The government has less competency than small businesses with 5 employees. And not just a bit less, a lot less.

The US government manages a more diverse array of problems (critical, life and death problems) than any other US organization (and probably more than any other org in the world). Amazon has only a tiny fraction of the competence of the US government and is not nearly as reliable. Remember the last time a significant portion of the social security system went down? I can't, but I can remember the last time AWS went down.


> the far right are bereft of original ideas and always co-opt other pre-existing concepts.

That's not unique to them: Good artists copy; great artists steal.


Yes, but I'd have difficulty in pronouncing Andrew Tate as a good or great artist. Maybe con-artist would be the highest that I'd go.

"It is only the unimaginative who ever invents. The true artist is known by the use he makes of what he annexes. And he annexes everything."

- Oscar Wilde


> Many people don't choose what OS they use for work, and even when one can pick, the environment we exist in is one where being less productive is often hard to afford.

Sure, but I also think that a lot of the issues with Windows 11 don't really matter much if its just used as a work OS. For example, I refuse to upgrade my home PC to 11, because I don't want Microsoft to spy on me; however, when I am using my work computer, I know that I am already being spied upon, so that's not a concern for me.


No, I'm pretty sure they would have. I remember during the primaries, Hillary tried to attack Obama by showing him in a "Muslim" garment.


The Internet has a fairly long memory and a lot of research on topics like this, and it does not agree that Hillary ever tried such a thing. Ample evidence that GOP politicians, including Trump, tried to claim she did. And late in the primary season a few of her supporters made some sounds like that. But nobody has ever found any shred of evidence her campaign made any accusations, or started any rumors.


Well, frankly, that's exactly how it should work.


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