Four short links: 16 October 2019
Scriptural Inference, Being Sherlocked, Hand-styled Charts, and Early-stage Startup Programming Principles
- Searching for Alternative Facts (Francesca Tripodi) — Since Google is seen as a neutral purveyor of information, it becomes a conduit for accessing “unbiased” information. And while this quest for truth may start in good faith, significant risks follow: first, searches meant to question political reality can reinforce existing ideological beliefs; second, services like Google and YouTube can unintentionally expose individuals who consider themselves “mainline conservatives” to “far-right” and “alt-right” content through algorithmic recommendations; and third, bad actors looking to exploit an audience disillusioned with mainstream media can take advantage of such intellectual exploration. See also BoingBoing.
- What to Do When You Get Sherlocked by Apple — as someone who worked at a company that got Sherlocked by Google, these points ring true.
- roughViz — Reusable JavaScript library for creating sketchy/hand-drawn styled charts in the browser.
- Programming Principles for Early-stage Startups — 1. Expect to re-write your code and do not over architecture. 2. Use consistency and agree upon the rules. 3. Solve system problems, not the immediate problem. 4. Keep sprints short and features small. 5. Focus on good database design. 6. Avoid processes that add too much overhead.
