My name is Max Likely. I'm a computer scientist graduate student.
Hi Max,
That’s you!
Thanks for following Impress Myself that is really nice of you, and made my day. I will be moving all the content of Impress Myself to another tumblr blog which has a separate list of followers.
I’m doing this because I have had two blogs for a while and I would like…
I’m touched; followed!
Source: derfnerdler
My girlfriend has been learning how to program lately. She first completed the wonderful Intro to Computer Science course on Udacity and has recently moved on to exploring web development and design with the same folks. This weekend she decided to participate in her first “hackathon” to test new skills! The hackathon is sponsored by Hack’n Jill, a group working toward eliminating the disgusting gender imbalance in tech. I love the idea, and furthermore, I love the “punny” name of the event, “Hacksgiving”.
I’ll be helping her along the best I can. Her group has decided to improve the discoverability of projects on the charity website, Donors Choose. They’re putting together an interface for donors to better explore projects.
Their team wanted to build a recommendation engine from scratch. DJ Patil has a great essay on building data projects, and a great point is “spend the shortest amount of time/effort learning if your users want your product.” In a 24-hour hackathon, one is obviously in the limiting case of maximizing efficiency. Maybe we can take a peak of the data, and gather some evidence that our idea is reasonable.
Above is a quick plot showing some support for our hypothesis. Each circle is a user, and the axis show the number of donations for the user vs the number of projects donated to. Users on the y = 1 axis are those that have donated only to a single project (but possibly many times). Those falling on the y = x line always donate to different projects with every donation. The dashed line shows the line of best fit lending some credibility to the idea that users who donate to multiple projects often spread their donations around. THEREFORE(!) a better method for discovery is somewhat reasonable.
good:
Announcing Coding for GOOD: 16 Steps to Become a Coder
GOOD and Apollo Group are excited to announce the launch of Coding for GOOD, an opportunity to gain skills in coding and, for one lucky participant, a chance to work with us here at GOOD. It’s our effort to bridge the skills gap through real-world application.
If you’ve ever wanted to learn what goes on behind the scenes of your favorite websites or apps, now is your chance. And guess what, it’s really not as hard as you think. Through Coding for GOOD you’ll learn step-by-step in easy to follow lessons the rules for HTML, CSS, Java Script and how to use APIs.
To get started, you’ll need to work your way through the sixteen free coding lessons found here. Each lesson will walk you through the topic and give you a challenge to test what you’ve learned. If you get stuck, each challenge has a video to help you along.
Then, starting Monday, December 3 you’ll have a chance to be hired onto the GOOD Tech team as a junior engineer. Just showcase your mastery of all of the lessons by submitting a final project and a panel of judges will select three candidates to be flown to Los Angeles in January to compete in the hack-a-thon. The winner will have the opportunity to join the team of coders here at GOOD.
So, what are you waiting for? Get started on your coding lessons here.
This content was produced by GOOD with support of Apollo Group
Source: GOOD
good:
The Enduring Fallacy of Astrology and Why Your Sign Actually Isn’t Your Sign - by Wylie Overstreet
…we’re wired to believe Astrology, or perhaps more accurately, Astrology is wired for us to believe it. Humans suffer from the Forer Effect, a cognitive bias where individuals will see high accuracy in personality descriptions supposedly tailored specifically for them, but which are in fact so vague and general they apply to virtually anyone.
Source: GOOD
Creepy and beautiful in the same moment.
Animals in the Womb
They may grow to be very different beasts, but these breathtaking images reveal how surprisingly similar the beginning of life can be for the animal kingdom. Captured using revolutionary four-dimensional imaging technology and anatomically accurate models, scientists have managed to shed light on the world of mammals inside the womb. As diverse a bunch as they are - elephant, dog, dolphin and penguin are all shown united by their similar stages of development.
Scientists captured the images for a National Geographic Documentary called ‘Animals in the Womb’. The images were also used on a Channel 4 documentary ‘Animals in the Womb’ which aired in 2009. They were created by using a combination of ultrasound scans, computer graphics and small cameras -as well as some carefully created models- to document the animals’ development from conception to birth, and give an unparalleled glimpse into a world that few of us would ever expect to see.
[via dailymail.co.uk]
(via bbglasses)
Source: arpeggia
Source: runningastartup
cdza launches with “History of Whistling”
Source: cdzamusic
As a cosmologist, a scientist who studies the origin and evolution of the universe, I am painfully aware that our illusions nonetheless reflect a deep human need to assume that the existence of the Earth, of life and of the universe and the laws that govern it require something more profound. For many, to live in a universe that may have no purpose, and no creator, is unthinkable.
But science has taught us to think the unthinkable. Because when nature is the guide — rather than a priori prejudices, hopes, fears or desires — we are forced out of our comfort zone…
…and so we continue to be surprised. We are like the early mapmakers redrawing the picture of the globe even as new continents were discovered. And just as those mapmakers confronted the realization that the Earth was not flat, we must confront facts that change what have seemed to be basic and fundamental concepts. Even our idea of nothingness has been altered.
— Cosmologist Lawrence Krauss ponders a universe without purpose and reiterates the iterative nature of science, which relies on ignorance rather than knowledge.
(via explore-blog)
The big stumbling block is motivation. Dolphins don’t seem to care.
— Dolphins and grad students alike… Will we ever… talk to dolphins? (via outofcontextscience)
Source: outofcontextscience
Science does not purvey absolute truth, science is a mechanism. It’s a way of trying to improve your knowledge of nature, it’s a system for testing your thoughts against the universe and seeing whether they match.
— Isaac Asimov (via explore-blog)
(via explore-blog)
