Tag: art

Natural language aptitude beats numeracy in learning modern programming

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Abstract:

This experiment employed an individual differences approach to test the hypothesis that learning modern programming languages resembles second “natural” language learning in adulthood. Behavioral and neural (resting-state EEG) indices of language aptitude were used along with numeracy and fluid cognitive measures (e.g., fluid reasoning, working memory, inhibitory control) as predictors. Rate of learning, programming accuracy, and post-test declarative knowledge were used as outcome measures in 36 individuals who participated in ten 45-minute Python training sessions. The resulting models explained 50–72% of the variance in learning outcomes, with language aptitude measures explaining significant variance in each outcome even when the other factors competed for variance. Across outcome variables, fluid reasoning and working-memory capacity explained 34% of the variance, followed by language aptitude (17%), resting-state EEG power in beta and low-gamma bands (10%), and numeracy (2%). These results provide a novel framework for understanding programming aptitude, suggesting that the importance of numeracy may be overestimated in modern programming education environments.

Relating Natural Language Aptitude to Individual Differences in Learning Programming Languages

The Diamond Sutra section 3

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Section three has been added to the Diamond Sutra. A link to the sutra can be found at the top of this page or here.

Kumarajiva’s translation of the Diamond Sutra was divided into thirty-two sections by Prince Zhaoming of the Liang Dynasty (502-587). The sutra has been divided in different ways by others, but the Zhaoming division has remained the most widely used to this day. The titles of the sections are also his.

Section Three is called “The Heart of the Mahayana” because it contains the basic Mahayana vow to help all sentient beings attain enlightenment. In a word, to “save” them. The version and explanation of the vow in this section is the “heart,” or deepest explanation of the vow, because it includes both the helping part and the empty part.

As the Buddha says in this section, “All great bodhisattvas…should realize as they vow to save all sentient beings that in truth there are no sentient beings to be saved.”

This is both an answer to Subhuti’s question and a rephrasing of it. In the last paragraph of this section, the Buddha answers with more detail: “Subhuti, if a bodhisattva has laksana of self, laksana of human beings, laksana of sentient beings, or laksana of a soul, then he is not a bodhisattva.”

Laksana is a Sanskrit word meaning “characteristic,” “mark,” “symptom,” or “mental thing (dharma).” It is often translated as “characteristic,” “mark,” “thought,” or “idea.”

The basic meaning of laksana is “dharma of the mind” or “thing of the mind.” Thus, if a bodhisattva has any “thing at all in their mind about there being selves, human beings, sentient beings, or souls” when they are generous, they are not truly a bodhisattva. This describes the ultimate selflessness of self and other.

In this translation, the word “soul” has been used. A more literal translation would be an entity that “takes rebirth” or lives after this body is gone.

Word choices are fascinating and need to be discussed, but to avoid getting lost in them, it is best to remember that in this section, the Buddha is categorically saying that no matter what kind of sentient being you can conceive of, in truth, there are no sentient beings, there is no saving them, and if a bodhisattva has an iota of a sense that they are doing that or that they have a self, then they are not truly a bodhisattva.

In other posts we have discussed fractals in the humanities. This concept may help in understanding the meaning of this section and in glimpsing the meaning of the sutra itself. Surely all of us at one time or another have acted with a pure heart and a pure mind to give to or help another with no thought of ourselves or even of them. For at least a moment we dwelt within a pure state of mind and feeling that was utterly selfless, sublime.

Rather than say that state is the Diamond Sutra, let’s say that it is a state that points toward the meaning of the sutra. That state is a small fractal of the larger fractal set described by the sutra. Altruistic consciousness freed from the marks self, other, calculation, design.

first posted SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

NOTE: My original intention was to post the entire sutra and do commentaries on each section within six months or one year. I have not been able to do that due to other commitments and interests but may go for it at some point. The Diamond Sutra is a beautiful work of literature and an important text for Buddhist practitioners. It would be good if everyone were exposed to it and at least had some sense of what it means. ABN

Les Brigandes – Antifa

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Antifa means “anti-fascist,” which is a European term with a severe PC SJW connotation. Or at least that’s how I understand it from an American point of view. For an English translation, be sure the CC/subtitles feature has been enabled. ABN

Update 7/17/19: The version with English subtitles was removed from YT. Could not find a replacement.

UPDATE 10/13/25: Here are the lyrics translated into English:

Lyrics:

I saw an old man over the counter in a supermarket,
He was called a bastard by a barking Arab woman.
When the Antifa was coming in,
The Antifa has screamed:
“Police!”
“This is an old Pétainist!”

A young girl reading the Bible in the train,
Young Non-Europeans started their nasty games with her.
If the Antifa had been there
Then it would be sure that they have witnessed…
In the face of the police…
That she was a provocateur!

A little boy sang an old song.
Non-violent Rastas have massacred him, just like he stand there.
The Antifa had put him on the list…
The list of anti-globalist suspects.
He had sung: “Auprès de ma blonde”…
What an evil Nazi!

That was before the time of the “Don’t insult my buddy.”.
But such a buddy set me the blade to my throat.
If the Antifa would have been established at this time…
Then, the psychologist had demonstrated
That the fear of the unknown was the evidence of…
The racist syndrome.

I say, you have to send Manuel Valls…
At night…
In an area in which he has never walked in.
Without a bodyguard, without the police
And if he can escape the harassment…
Then he can say to the media:
“Inshallah!”

And when the rabble is going to rape you in the evening.
Take an iron bar and use it to save your skin.
But if one of them is lying on the ground.
Then the judge will say that it is a conspiracy.
The newspapers will read x3:
“This was done by a fascist!”

Going to eat a falafel in the Rue des Rosiers,
I put on my kippah and my turban in the market.
The Antifa will not miss you,
When you look like a Gaul.
And if you eat quenelles with fries:
“Anti-semite!”

If you do this, or if you…
Say that,
If you even think it…
Then that’s already too much.
If you say a word they don’t like…
Then you will have to deal with the Antifa.
For the Trotskyist GPU…
You are a fascist.

They put millions there…
In hell for this reason.
For them it is a fixed idea…
A method of terrorism.
When I dispute, when I resist
Then I find myself on the list:
“I am a fascist!”

And if you don’t think… how you have to…
Then you’re a fascist.

I first posted this video on 02/05/17 and thought it was a bit bold at the time. Back then there were English subtitles. I looked again today for a version with English subtitles, but could not find one. Today, Antifa is considered a terrorist organization in USA. Besides the mild political statements in the song, it’s a catchy pleasant tune with a good video, imo. ABN

The Public Execution of Charlie Kirk — Laurent Guyénot

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While Chris Martenson has, I believe, conducted a conclusive scientific ballistic analysis to prove that the sniper who killed Charlie Kirk was on a different building than the alleged shooting position of Tyler Robinson, other researchers continue to accumulate circumstantial evidence that, in the weeks preceding Kirk’s death, his pro-Israel backers were trying to blackmail and threaten him into abandoning his recent criticism of Israel.

They feared that Kirk would follow the path of Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens and draw millions of his Gen Z followers behind him.

After inviting Carlson on Turning Point in mid-July, Kirk was thinking of inviting Owens, who is now on the frontline in the battle for the truth about her friend’s “public execution”.

Meanwhile, il is becoming public knowledge that, in the words of “someone well situated in conservative circles who personally knew Kirk” and spoke to Ron Unz, “everyone in Kirk’s circle, even including important Trump Administration officials, suspected that Israel had probably killed the young conservative leader.”

Here, I recap what I think are the most important established facts. I have borrowed much from Sam Parker’s long investigative tweets on the subject (here, here and here), and I strongly recommend following him on X.

link

Guyénot is almost always interesting.

In addition to his work, I also recommend Candace Owens on this subject.

She is very good at reasonably analyzing the interplay between individuals and groups and then speculating on what she finds.

The episodes linked below are especially good.

She has a good grasp of the sociology of the groups involved and the probable/ possible motives of individuals therein.

Owens expresses herself clearly and often with scathing humor. She has undeniable rhetorical talent. ABN

TPUSA RESPONDS: Yes, The Text Messages Are Real. | Candace Ep 249

Charlie’s Final Hours. What Else Is Josh Hammer Lying About? | Candace Ep 250

Diddy’s former protégé Aubrey O’Day issues ‘warning’ to aspiring musicians

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‘The true warning is not that a jury may doubt your testimony, nor that a court’s sentencing guidelines may fail to reflect the years of suffering you endured,’ she cautioned.

‘The real warning is this: the moment someone in a position of power oversteps your boundaries or demands more than is legitimately required of you, walk away and do not look back.’ 

‘No dream, however bright, can outweigh the pain and exploitation that may follow if you remain,’ she wrote. 

‘Too often, those who misuse their power, even when exposed, face far fewer consequences than the harm inflicted upon their victims.’ 

‘Protect yourself at the first sign of coercion or impropriety,’ she continued. 

‘If something feels wrong, trust that instinct and remove yourself from the situation. Your well-being is worth more than any opportunity.’ 

The singer, now 41, was the breakout star of the girl group Danity Kane and is perhaps most famous for her public fallout with Diddy, who was the band’s mentor at the time.

She previously accused Diddy of ‘grooming’ her and for sexual harassment when she appeared on his MTV show, Making the Band, back in the early 2000’s. 

link

Seeing that line, that boundary between good and evil is the crux of a good life. Everyone experiences this. Often many times. No exceptions. ABN