Mapreader4 > Recent Status Updates

summary of chapter 1: convex optimization is the study of minimizing an objective function subject to some constraint functions, where all functions involved are complex. problems are easy to solve once they have been reduced to convex optimization problems; the tricky part is reducing them.

summary of chapter 3: functions should do one thing, and *only that thing.* they should be short and have a short list of arguments. try to avoid nested loops and if statements. avoid output arguments and error codes in favor of standard OOP features. your code will not look like this on the first try; therefore, write a first draft, then revise.

updated page number correctly

Setne Khamwas and Naneferkaptah: apparently the Ancient Egyptians had stories about cursed books too.

note: i am reading the fourth edition

summary of chapter: competitors are ruthlessly driven down to equilibrium with no margin for error; monopolies have slack. while some monopolies gain this slack through shady rent-seeking practices, others gain it by creating something new. these creative monopolies are optimal, since they incentivize innovation and long-term planning.

summary of chapter: the 90's began with a recession, which set the conditions for the dot com boom. after the crash, most investors took the lesson of "incremental, not grand; flexible, not planned". but the opposite strategy actually works better - if and only if you're actually good at thinking about it.

Summary of chapter: both creating new technology and globalizing it are progress, but the creation of new technology is highly underrated in this era. however, the nature of creation makes it impossible to formalize the next revolution; therefore technology is created by small groups outside the system.

summary: choose names to include as much signal and as little noise as possible.