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Counting Like A Computer
compsci

Counting Like A Computer

The journey of learning about Computer Science will start by revisiting a simple lesson first encountered by most as a toddler: how to count. Indeed, it’s such an easy skill it’s hard to remember a time when you didn’t know how to do it. But one of the commonly known facts about computers is that everything is done in ones and zeros ie. binary. Just what does that mean though and how is any of this relevant to humans? Well, to understand how a computer works, you have to be able to work things out like they do. The first...

10 min readRead more →
Helping a stranger (and why you should understand NP-complete)
follies

Helping a stranger (and why you should understand NP-complete)

Earlier this year I helped out a random Hacker News commenter. This was covered in a recent blog post where I discussed the trade off between being an expert or a generalist. Realising my GitHub repository was littered with short, generalist introductions and experiments, I concluded that I should add the complex NP-complete constraint solver I had been working on for the past few years - an area in which I had some expertise. At least, I thought that was the conclusion. Help comes at a great cost, you must first ask for it Hacker News isn't just about start...

21 min readRead more →
Computer Science in Plain English
compsci

Computer Science in Plain English

Computer science is a subject dear to my heart and I feel constantly aggrieved by how misunderstood and misreported the discipline is by the media, programmers and everyone inbetween (see my complaint with University Challenge). I decided therefore to write a short series of blog posts that explains computer science from the very basics, the most fundamental principles. I want everyone to know that computer science has nothing to do with technology and everything to do with, well, I'm about to explain exactly what... The difference between Computer Science and Technology I love the British sitcom The IT Crowd which...

7 min readRead more →
The Future of Education
essays

The Future of Education

Education is changing in a big way. Whether you're still in the education system or someday going to have children who will, it's of prime importance you learn just how it's going to change. Pass rates are going up in the most important school exams, namely, the ones that determine whether a student qualifies for university or not. It's at this point where education stops being in a sense "free" and has to be evaluated as a value proposition - does the benefit of going to university outweigh the financial cost? Despite this being a Scottish blog, I'm going to...

15 min readRead more →
essays

Expert or Generalist?

"My Name is Karl, Ich Bin Expert" I don't quote Karl Hungus lightly. When I began this blog back in the summer of 2011 it was because I thought I'd let my programming skills go rusty. I wasn't starting projects and I hadn't learned any significantly different technology or tools for a few years. Life Beyond Fife existed as a dumping ground for random ideas, quick trials and elaborate "Hello world!" examples. But I'm not a twenty-three year old entrepreneur living in The Bay trying to get a startup off the ground. However cool it is to launch a micro...

5 min readRead more →