Systems can be simple, complicated, complex, or chaotic… but even that model is too simple, because they can also be all of these at once! Notes: The post The Cache Flush Episode 13: The Grammar of Systems first appeared on avdi.codes.

In 1964, Joseph Weizenbaum created the famous "ELIZA" program, with which a human user could hold a simulated "therapy" session. The implications of the human reactions to ELIZA and later research inspired Weizenbaum to write one of the formative cautionary reflections on ethics in artificial intelligence. Today, as ChatGPT storms the world, this book is more relevant than ever. The post The Cache Flush 012: Computer Power and Human Reason first appeared on avdi.codes.

In this episode, selections from Chapter 2 of The Closed World: Computers and the Politics of Discourse in Cold War America. Notes Transcript This is the Cache Flush, a programmer’s audio scrapbook. This is episode 11, recorded Sunday, April 30th, 2023. Today I have some selections from chapter two of the Closed World Computers and […] The post The Cache Flush Episode 11: The Closed World first appeared on avdi.codes.

A semi-reboot of the show. I'll be reading selections from my "software humanities" library - books and papers at the intersection of code and history, psychology, politics, ethics, ecology, and systems thinking. The post The Cache Flush Episode 010: Making Errors, Making Sense, Making Use first appeared on avdi.codes.

Booknotes from Domain-Driven Design and Reactive Design Patterns, and some notes on mentorship vs sponsorship. The post 009 Sponsorship Specifications first appeared on avdi.codes.

Thoughts on strong opinions and terms for complexity; some booknotes from Reactive Design Patterns and Domain-Driven Design; notes from Jessica Kerr. The post 008 Reconstituted sophisticated opinions first appeared on avdi.codes.

Booknotes on Domain Driven Design, and conversations with Jessica Kerr about silver bullets and why your own codebase always feels full of holes. The post 007 Silver duct tape factories first appeared on avdi.codes.

Musings on the over-use of the term “impostor syndrome”, what it means to persist an object, and some booknotes on “Understanding Systems”. The post 006 Persistence of Impostor Relationships first appeared on avdi.codes.

A conversation I had with Jessica Kerr, who says that when it comes to change, technical debt is not our biggest obstacle. The post 005 Jessica Kerr on the true barriers to change first appeared on avdi.codes.

Musings on the meaning of software engineering, editor evolution, and balancing parenting with work. The post 004 Kids, Editors, Engineering first appeared on avdi.codes.