[+] -7 points 1 week ago (3 children)

I honestly think trying to define programming as art is just an attempt to unnecessarily elevate it. Programming is utilitarian. It is meant for a specific practical purpose. It does not reveal a shared human experience the way a movie, book, or game does. I have no need to convince myself, a professional software engineer of this because I am perfectly happy accepting that what I do is useful and do not need to try to put myself in a category with artists.

All the author is saying is that people enjoy programming. I also enjoy eating. Is that an art? I even have my own "eating style" in that I like to eat food in specific order, combine two items into one bite, the way I build a bite, etc. But I'd never try to elevate it because I'm a normal person who doesn't waste brainpower trying to make myself feel special.

  • source
  • [–] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 child)

    I simply chose my field based on what I knew I enjoyed. I already had a job with working in systems, and I had HPC/FPGA experience from undergrad. Basically, I choose topics that I had at least a basic understanding and desired to expand into mastery.

    I will be honest and say I don't think you've really thought this through. I would really weigh the pros and cons of the degree. Think about what you'd do instead of pursuing a degree. Identify a specific job you would want after you get your degree. If you only want to teach, you could be an instructor at a University, but the pay will not be good. If you want to do research, doing reaearch at a university level will require a PhD. Research centers will hire MS holders, but as engineers rather than researchers. If you want an industry job, make sure you actually need the degree you are thinking of getting.

    For 99% of people, carrying on with the degree they have is the better choice. In your case I'd either make sure you consider the above or only pursue a master's if you truly cannot get the job you want with self-teaching.

  • source
  • parent
  • context
  • [–] 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

    I don't mean python and SQL. Anyone with a decent software background can pick that stuff up. As an example, my background is in high performance computing, networking, systems, and FPGAs. All of these are fields (well, maybe not FPGAs) that ML/AI rely heavily on, but if AI/ML disappeared tomorrow they'd still be incredibly relevant. Another approach is to study a domain science and apply AI/ML. For example, high energy physics leverages AI/ML, at least in research.

    TBH, "wanting a good job" is a very generic response that needs more context. Are you moving from somewhere other than software? If you already have a software background, you might be better of self-teaching. If you are actually interested in research/teaching, that needs to be thought through very thoroughly. I say this as someone who just finished their PhD in CS, just to give context as to why I am being particularly intense on this point.

  • source
  • parent
  • context
  • [–] 1 point 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (5 children)

    I would not enter AI/ML for one simple reason: it is oversaturated. Everyone and their brother is in tgis field, and even those outside of it still study it and us it. Unfortunately the way to stand out within AI/ML field is to have a very good mathematics/statistics foundation and really understand the theory behind it. You would be better served by getting skills in another field that AI/ML relies on or where AI/ML can be applier.

    BTW, you should also state what you plan on doing with your degree. There is no point in getting a degree if there isn't a concrete benefit to doing so.

  • source
  •  

    Anyone have recommendations for hardware to run Moonlight on a 4K TV? I want to play games on my PC, but I don't want to isolate myself in the office. I imagine a mini-PC would be more appropriate than something like a RPi, but does anyone have specific recs? I have never really bought a device like this. My laptop is not suited for the task so "use an old laptop" isn't a good rec for me really. And yes this relevant to linux since the server and client will be running linux. ;)

     

    I spend a lot of time creating system diagrams for presentations. I always use Inkscape to draw these diagrams. However I ran into a scenario where I wanted to animate them. The animations I'm looking for are dead simple. I want to be able to fade in, fade out, and slide basic shapes. The way I worked around it this time was by using PowerPoint. However, is there an FOSS alternative I could use? I would probably need to also export the animation into a gif or some other platform agnostic format. Bonus points for something that can use the images I draw in Inkscape.

     

    I'm using a Fellow Stag and a metal V60 with a fabric filter. I do a 1:16 ratio (16g of coffee and 256g of water). Generally I'll place the V60 on the Stag while it brings the water up to a boil in order to heat it up. Then I'll saturate the fabric filter with the hot water. I'll use 212F water, but after pouring the water over the grounds, my instant read thermometer will read 195F. It seems weird that despite doing everything in my power to preheat all the equipment, the water drops a lot in temperature as soon as it hits the grounds. Any tips to tackle this problem?

    view more: next ›