Arithmetic for fun and profit
Four years ago I wrote a blog post about simple solutions to client problems. The post opens by recounting a conversation with a friend that ended with my friend saying “So, basically you’re recommending division.” That conversation came back to me recently when I had a similar conversation during a
Read moreWhy use hash puzzles for proof-of-work?
A couple days ago I wrote about the the problem that Bitcoin requires to be solved as proof-of-work. In a nutshell, you need to tweak a block of transactions until the SHA256 double hash of its header is below a target value [1]. Not all cryptocurrencies use proof of work,
Read moreMinimize squared relative error
Suppose you have a list of positive data points y1, y2, …, yn and you wanted to find a value α that minimizes the squared distances to each of the y‘s. Then the solution is to take α to be the mean of the y‘s: This result is well known
Read moreWhat is the Bitcoin proof-of-work problem?
In order to prevent fraud, anyone wanting to add a block to the Bitcoin blockchain must prove that they’ve put in a certain amount of computational work. This post will focus on what problem must be solved in order produce proof of work. You’ll see the proof of work function
Read moreDefending the realm: Trust and safety at Stack Overflow
In this special episode, Ryan is joined by our Senior VP of Community, Philippe Beaudette, and the Trust and Safety team at Stack Overflow to discuss maintaining platform integrity and managing user safety, handling complex issues like harassment, and how their team balances transparency and privacy online.
Read moreDeleting vs Replacing Names
This post looks at whether you should delete names or replace names when deidentifying personal data. With structured data, generating synthetic names does not increase or decrease privacy. But with unstructured data, replacing real names with randomly generated names increases privacy protection. Structured data If you want to deidentify structured
Read more“My job is going to change in a dramatic way”: Exploring the future of the internet with Cloudflare
In this episode of Leaders of Code, Jody Bailey, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Stack Overflow, sits down with Dane Knecht, the newly appointed Chief Technology Officer at Cloudflare.
Read moreAngular Signals: A New Mental Model for Reactivity, Not Just a New API
Discover how Angular Signals revolutionize data flow with reactive variables, not streams. Learn production gotchas, when to choose Signals over RxJS, and real-world patterns Continue reading Angular Signals: A New Mental Model for Reactivity, Not Just a New API on SitePoint.
Read moreLearn like a lurker: Gen Z’s digital-first lifestyle and the future of knowledge
As a generation characterized as "digital natives," the way Gen Z interacts with and consumes knowledge is rooted in their desire for instant gratification and personalization. How will this affect the future of knowledge management and the technologies of tomorrow?
Read moreTypesetting Sha and Bitcoin
I went down a rabbit hole this week using two symbols in LaTeX. The first was the Russian letter Sha (Ш, U+0248), and the second was the currency symbol for Bitcoin (₿, U+20BF). Sha I thought there would be a LaTeX package that would include Ш as a symbol rather
Read more