#Computer Science

[psicrystal]

[devotedlystrangewizard]

i think everyone should program at least once just so you realise just how fucking stupid computers are. because theyre so fucking stupid. a computer wants to be told what to do and exactly that and if you make one typo or forget one detail it starts crying uncontrollably

[some-douchey-techbro]

In programming, being killed and being executed mean the exact opposite things

[prokopetz]

Wrong: Ada Lovelace invented computer science and immediately tried to use it to cheat at gambling because she was Lord Byron's daughter.

Right: Ada Lovelace invented computer science and immediately tried to use it to cheat at gambling because that was the closest you could get in 1850 to being a Super Mario 64 speedrunner.

[foone]

So a cool thing my granddad* Alan Turing figured out is Turing Equivalence:

Basically he designed a super simple hypothetical computer, and proved mathematically that it can do everything a more complicated computer can do, just maybe slower or faster.

This is normally brought up for the factoid that could run Doom on Xty Million Crabs, but it also applies to programming languages, not just computers.

See, it means that every programming language is equally "powerful", assuming it's Turing Complete (which is basically just "can do the things this minimal computer can do", which is basically every language except a couple simple theming languages and macro scripting systems), it's just easier or harder to do specific things in a given language. But they can still be done.

So this means the C/C++ your OS and browser was written in is just as powerful as everything else. The Java used for Minecraft and Android phones, the Javascript used for webpages, the C# used Unity, the BASIC used on 80s computers, and DickCode, the joke programming language I made as a university student which had only eight operators, but all eight were different ascii penises a la "8==D".

All equally powerful. You could write an OS, video game, or AI bot in any of these. It just might be a little slower or faster and easier or harder to do (especially DickCode, that one is very Hard).

Aren't computers neat?

*not my actual granddad but I am named Turing

[microwavedmetal]

This is as unhinged as this laptop soon will be

[captaindrewboy]

I hate when I tell people I'm into Comp Sci and programming and they go "ooh there's a lot of money there". I'm not DOING it for the MONEY I'm DOING it because I want to FUCK the COMPUTER!!!!

[er-cryptid]

alright nerds--

^tried to include as many as possible

[c-u-c-koo-4-40k]

What should you bring to school?

For the people of Gaza, the memories of days spent in school are distant. But education is not Only a Right but a Duty.

Meet Anas and Ahmad, they are related to Osama Basil, who has his own gofundme.

While managing his own gfm, Osama is also trying to help Anas and Ahmed fund their education somewhere safe, away from the Turmoil in Gaza.

They are Bright Wonderful students who want to pursue careers in computer business and medicine!

Please give some time to this Verified campaign!

Current Funding

€4,870 / €29,000

~16% Funded

Tag List for Reach DM me for Removal

And to others putting me in mentions I am So Sorry I'm not getting to many of them, I'm trying to balance between DM campaigns, ask campaigns and the mentions I get each day.

@a-shade-of-blue @sunnylittledragon

@selflovejolteon @virovac

@frustrated-froglet @qattdraws @heydreamchild

@amvs @boosting-donations

@sweet-honey-bunnies

@dyspunktional-leviathan

@nobelgasxenon

@zone0neko

@comrademango

[stone-cold-groove]

Do you have the courage to save 50% on your next computer? Ad for the Data General Eclipse minicomputer system - 1974.

[1863-project]

Okay, I've been having trouble finding this, but I know it existed because my dad showed it to me multiple times.

My dad, recently retired, had a 40+-year IT career starting in the 1980s. (His biggest claim to fame is writing the programming for the printer driver for a program called PC Paintbrush, which was purchased by Microsoft and became Microsoft Paint, but I digress.) When I was a kid, he showed me an Easter egg snuck into an early Windows operating system where if you typed in a certain command an animation of Bill Gates as Godzilla would show up and start using his breath to zap people into Windows logos. I know it existed and isn't something I imagined because he pulled it up for me upon request multiple times, but seeing as this was the 1990s and I was a child I didn't have the details, like what OS it was. (My best guess would be 95 or 98.) I just want to see if I can recover that animation and document its existence somehow, but I haven't been able to find anyone else looking for it or who knows about it.

Any leads or information you might have would be super helpful! Thanks in advance!

UPDATE FROM DAD: it was on the desktop, you got it to show up by inputting a key sequence that he doesn't remember, and he's pretty sure it was Windows 98.

[nasa]

LaRue Burbank, mathematician and computer, is just one of the many women who were instrumental to NASA missions.

4 Little Known Women Who Made Huge Contributions to NASA

Women have always played a significant role at NASA and its predecessor NACA, although for much of the agency’s history, they received neither the praise nor recognition that their contributions deserved. To celebrate Women’s History Month – and properly highlight some of the little-known women-led accomplishments of NASA’s early history – our archivists gathered the stories of four women whose work was critical to NASA’s success and paved the way for future generations.

LaRue Burbank: One of the Women Who Helped Land a Man on the Moon

LaRue Burbank was a trailblazing mathematician at NASA. Hired in 1954 at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory (now NASA’s Langley Research Center), she, like many other young women at NACA, the predecessor to NASA, had a bachelor's degree in mathematics. But unlike most, she also had a physics degree. For the next four years, she worked as a "human computer," conducting complex data analyses for engineers using calculators, slide rules, and other instruments. After NASA's founding, she continued this vital work for Project Mercury.

In 1962, she transferred to the newly established Manned Spacecraft Center (now NASA’s Johnson Space Center) in Houston, becoming one of the few female professionals and managers there.  Her expertise in electronics engineering led her to develop critical display systems used by flight controllers in Mission Control to monitor spacecraft during missions. Her work on the Apollo missions was vital to achieving President Kennedy's goal of landing a man on the Moon.

Eilene Galloway: How NASA became… NASA

Eilene Galloway wasn't a NASA employee, but she played a huge role in its very creation. In 1957, after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, Senator Richard Russell Jr. called on Galloway, an expert on the Atomic Energy Act, to write a report on the U.S. response to the space race. Initially, legislators aimed to essentially re-write the Atomic Energy Act to handle the U.S. space goals. However, Galloway argued that the existing military framework wouldn't suffice – a new agency was needed to oversee both military and civilian aspects of space exploration. This included not just defense, but also meteorology, communications, and international cooperation.

Her work on the National Aeronautics and Space Act ensured NASA had the power to accomplish all these goals, without limitations from the Department of Defense or restrictions on international agreements. Galloway is even to thank for the name "National Aeronautics and Space Administration", as initially NASA was to be called “National Aeronautics and Space Agency” which was deemed to not carry enough weight and status for the wide-ranging role that NASA was to fill.

Barbara Scott: The “Star Trek Nerd” Who Led Our Understanding of the Stars

A self-described "Star Trek nerd," Barbara Scott's passion for space wasn't steered toward engineering by her guidance counselor. But that didn't stop her!  Fueled by her love of math and computer science, she landed at Goddard Spaceflight Center in 1977.  One of the first women working on flight software, Barbara's coding skills became instrumental on missions like the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) and the Thermal Canister Experiment on the Space Shuttle's STS-3.  For the final decade of her impressive career, Scott managed the flight software for the iconic Hubble Space Telescope, a testament to her dedication to space exploration.

Dr. Claire Parkinson: An Early Pioneer in Climate Science Whose Work is Still Saving Lives

Dr. Claire Parkinson's love of math blossomed into a passion for climate science. Inspired by the Moon landing, and the fight for civil rights, she pursued a graduate degree in climatology.  In 1978, her talents landed her at Goddard, where she continued her research on sea ice modeling. But Parkinson's impact goes beyond theory.  She began analyzing satellite data, leading to a groundbreaking discovery: a decline in Arctic sea ice coverage between 1973 and 1987. This critical finding caught the attention of Senator Al Gore, highlighting the urgency of climate change.

Parkinson's leadership extended beyond research.  As Project Scientist for the Aqua satellite, she championed making its data freely available. This real-time information has benefitted countless projects, from wildfire management to weather forecasting, even aiding in monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic. Parkinson's dedication to understanding sea ice patterns and the impact of climate change continues to be a valuable resource for our planet.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space! 

[prokopetz]

I think more academic programs should let you write a novel as your thesis project, particularly outside the fine arts. Just imagine the kind of bullshit that would result if they let you write a novel for your master's degree in computer science.

[cheekios]

Rationing Insulin.

Blood sugar reading this morning. The average blood sugar reading should be between 60mg/dl - 100mg/dl. I am terrified of not being able to administer my insulin simply because I was too poor to afford it. I am strongly in need of community help.

CA: $HushEmu

PP: emuslayter@gmail.com

I am happy to announce I raised $33 🎉 I only need $417 to get my prescription

[hypercubecats]

Now this is what you call self-referential classes with infinite recursion, containing lots of bites bytes.

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