The hottest Algorithm Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

Where Did TikTok Come From?

The Honest Broker • 7879 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Social media Entrepreneurship Algorithm Digital Platforms Innovation
  1. TikTok's success can be attributed to a strategic focus on teens as the main users of the platform, creating a significant legal and social impact.
  2. Zhang Yiming, founder of TikTok, capitalized on the algorithm's power over user control to pave the way for the platform's global success.
  3. TikTok's uniqueness lies in its outsider status in China, where a similar app exists, showcasing its worldwide appeal and massive user base.

Who Predicted 2023?

Astral Codex Ten • 8534 implied HN points • 05 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Forecasting Prediction Contest Algorithm Data Analysis
  1. The Annual Forecasting Contest on astralcodexten.com involves participants making predictions about various questions, helping to determine if one identifiable genius or aggregated mathematical predictions work best for foreseeing the future.
  2. The winners of the contest were both amateurs and seasoned forecasting veterans, showcasing a mix of skill and luck in predicting outcomes.
  3. Metaculus outperformed prediction markets, superforecasters, and the wisdom of crowds in the contest, suggesting that consistent high performance might be rare but achievable with specific methods like those used by superforecaster Ezra Karger.

ByteDance's new fine-tuning technique boost LLMs for reasoning tasks

TechTalks • 314 implied HN points • 22 Jan 24
🕹 Technology AI Machine Learning Algorithm Research Training
  1. A new fine-tuning technique called Reinforced Fine-Tuning improves large language models for reasoning tasks.
  2. Reinforced Fine-Tuning combines supervised fine-tuning with reinforcement learning to enhance reasoning capabilities.
  3. ReFT helps models discover new reasoning paths without needing extra training data and outperforms traditional fine-tuning methods on reasoning benchmarks.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Better Descriptive Statistics for Low-Latency Profiling

Low Latency Trading Insights • 137 implied HN points • 06 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Statistics Data Collection Performance analysis Algorithm
  1. Better descriptive statistics are needed for low-latency profiling to accurately capture rare events and spikes.
  2. Descriptive statistics like mean, median, skewness, and kurtosis may be misleading in non-normally distributed data.
  3. Self-adjusting histograms with log-based ranges can provide more accurate data representation and efficient storage.

The Youtube Edition

Why is this interesting? • 1628 implied HN points • 25 May 23
🕹 Technology Platforms Content Algorithm Media
  1. The evolution of platforms can be a cycle: starting with user focus, then prioritizing business interests, and finally turning inward for maximum value.
  2. YouTube stands out as a platform that has maintained quality over the years despite criticism.
  3. YouTube offers a diverse range of content that appeals to various interests and preferences, making it a beloved platform for many users.

"Why? Because the thread count was too low, you idiot."

Sucks to Suck • 1002 implied HN points • 09 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Software Design Social Platforms Algorithm Competition
  1. The rise of new social media platforms like Threads could challenge existing giants like Twitter.
  2. The shift towards subscription revenue models might be essential for social media platforms like Twitter.
  3. Consumers are seeking stability and calm in online platforms, which could impact the future dynamics of social media.

Kolrami and Social Media.

The Good Life • 235 implied HN points • 04 Nov 23
🎭️ Culture Social media Creativity Algorithm Internet Content
  1. Playing for fun and balance, not just to win, can be a powerful strategy.
  2. Consider using social media platforms in a way that goes against the typical approach, focusing on genuine enjoyment rather than audience growth.
  3. By being authentic and unconcerned with building an audience, it's possible to navigate social media algorithms in a more fulfilling manner.

Trending topics and word salad

Conspirador Norteño • 18 implied HN points • 10 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Social media Cryptocurrency Spam Algorithm Automation
  1. Trending topics on social media can be manipulated by spam posts containing random words instead of coherent sentences.
  2. Accounts participating in spam trends can show signs of being hijacked and may switch focus from personal topics to spam suddenly.
  3. Past spam campaigns involving hashtags and random word mashups have been successful in manipulating social media trends.

Speak No Evil

Kneeling Bus • 244 implied HN points • 04 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Internet AI Digital Media SEO Algorithm
  1. Internet platforms are becoming visually chaotic and cluttered with junk, impacting user experience.
  2. The messy aesthetics of the internet reveal a shift towards desperate monetization strategies.
  3. AI may help clean up the internet's clutter by automating processes and reducing visual chaos.

The partisans beyond the filter bubble

Social Warming by Charles Arthur • 176 implied HN points • 02 Jun 23
🕹 Technology AI Social media Internet Algorithm Chatbot
  1. Filter bubbles aren't as prevalent as we think; people are actually attracted to diverse and shocking content online.
  2. A study found that small groups of aging right-wingers tend to engage more with partisan news content on desktop computers.
  3. The real issue with online information consumption lies with human behavior, rather than just the algorithms.

What Musk and Zuckerberg should learn from McDonalds [System Design Sundays]

Technology Made Simple • 159 implied HN points • 22 May 23
🕹 Technology Social media Software Algorithm Business strategy
  1. Fast food companies like McDonald's struggled with the lack of differentiation and identity when trying to offer healthier options, leading to worse performance and higher operating costs.
  2. Adding more options in social media can increase complexity, operating costs, and dilute platform identity, similar to challenges faced by fast food companies.
  3. Different social media platforms are optimized for different content types, and integrating different mediums can complicate code bases and user experiences.

Instagram and Threads making Politics opt-in is fine

GOOD INTERNET • 10 implied HN points • 12 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Social media Politics Algorithm Recommendations Content Moderation
  1. Meta will no longer recommend political content across its apps like Instagram and Threads, aiming to create a more apolitical social media environment.
  2. It's essential to recognize the shift towards making divisive political content opt-in rather than default on social media platforms.
  3. While this move may limit exposure to important topics like climate action, it reflects an attempt to make social media platforms more like a pub, avoiding contentious political discussions.

Sexual Competition, Social Media & Algorithms

The Great Gender Divergence • 137 implied HN points • 20 Feb 23
🎭️ Culture Social media Psychology Beauty Inequality Algorithm
  1. Female beautification is inevitable, especially under intense sexual competition
  2. Sexual competition heightens beautification, with greater competition leading to more focus on appearance
  3. Algorithms on social media platforms like Instagram manufacture an inequality of adoration by showcasing the most popular posts, distorting girls' perception of peer competition

Address Not Found (Part 1)

Cybernetic Forests • 79 implied HN points • 11 Jun 23
🕹 Technology AI Communication Algorithm Neural Networks Media
  1. The organization of information shapes the world by prioritizing what is relevant and categorizing discourse, leading to challenges and social movements.
  2. Digital mediation of communication alters the intended recipient and how messages are perceived by algorithms like Twitter, causing misunderstanding and lack of context.
  3. AI systems should be viewed as communication networks, translating and re-encoding human discourse, but currently function as closed, noisy systems with weighted biases that limit new ideas.

On TikTok, The Algorithm Optimizes YOU

Never Met a Science • 55 implied HN points • 31 May 23
🕹 Technology Social media Algorithm Data science Simulation Machine Learning
  1. TikTok's algorithm shapes content creators' behavior based on feedback and viral success.
  2. The algorithm aims to keep both creators and consumers engaged, but risks leading to repetitive content.
  3. Data science and algorithms in platforms like TikTok create simplified simulations of reality for optimization, focusing on subjective metrics.

[Solution]Problem 85: Count Complete Tree Nodes [Amazon]

Technology Made Simple • 59 implied HN points • 05 May 23
🕹 Technology Coding Data Structures Algorithm Software Engineering
  1. The post discusses a problem related to counting the number of nodes in a complete binary tree, emphasizing the importance of understanding recursion, trees, and data structures.
  2. It mentions starting with a brute force solution to count nodes but highlights the need for optimization to achieve time complexity better than O(n).
  3. The approach for solving the problem involves using a recursive template to count nodes efficiently by considering the root and the number of nodes in the left and right subtrees.

Find the Middle of a Singly LinkedList[Technique Tuesdays]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 08 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Coding Software Engineering Algorithm Career Leetcode
  1. To find the middle of a singly linked list, use 2 pointers - one fast and one slow. This approach simplifies the process and is efficient.
  2. The reasoning behind finding the middle involves understanding the ordered structure of values in a linked list. It exploits this organized structure to bisect the list and locate the middle.
  3. Learning to think in abstract groups instead of specific data types can enhance problem-solving skills. This technique can be extended to more complex structures beyond linked lists.

Twitter admits its algorithm promotes right-wing politicians and media outlets

Geopolitical Economy Report • 159 implied HN points • 25 Oct 21
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Social media Algorithm Political parties Study Censorship
  1. Twitter's algorithm favors right-wing politicians and media outlets in several countries like the US, Britain, Japan, Germany, France, Spain, and Canada.
  2. The algorithm amplifies right-leaning news outlets and parties more than left-leaning ones.
  3. In most cases, center-right and neoliberal politicians, parties, and media are the most promoted on Twitter.

Grounding: The Holly Grail of Natural Language Processing and Why 99% misunderstand what ChatGPT is all about.

Laszlo’s Newsletter • 32 implied HN points • 12 Feb 23
🕹 Technology NLP Algorithm Communication Search
  1. Grounding in natural language processing is crucial for successful communication by establishing shared mutual information.
  2. ChatGPT lacks grounding capabilities, as it focuses on predicting the next word rather than understanding context.
  3. PageRank by Google prioritizes accuracy over guessing, while ChatGPT may provide inaccurate information due to its lack of grounding.

How to Figure out the correct distance finding algorithm [Technique Tuesday]

Technology Made Simple • 79 implied HN points • 30 Mar 22
🕹 Technology Algorithm Graphs Coding Interviews Data Structures
  1. BFS and DFS algorithms are foundational and crucial for various graph traversal problems, forming the basis for more complicated algorithms.
  2. Topological Sort, Djikstra's Algorithm, and A* are important graph traversal algorithms to master, especially for weighted graphs and AI applications like self-driving cars.
  3. For determining the correct graph traversal algorithm, identify if you need to find the shortest path (use BFS or A* for unweighted/weighted graphs), or if you need to visit the complete graph (use DFS for problems involving the entire graph).

[Solution]Problem 21: Rotate List by k elements[Facebook/Meta]

Technology Made Simple • 79 implied HN points • 20 Jan 22
🕹 Technology Coding Problem Solving Software Engineering Algorithm
  1. When trying to solve a problem involving rotating a list by k elements, consider the pattern finding technique to optimize the solution.
  2. Understanding the periodic nature of the problem can help reduce the number of operations needed, especially with large values of n and k.
  3. A key insight for rotating a list by k elements is to split the list into sublists based on the pivot (k) and manipulate these sublists to achieve the desired rotation without creating new copies.

Problem 52:Search 2D Matrix[Microsoft]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 17 Aug 22
🕹 Technology Coding Algorithm Newsletter Interviews Social media
  1. The problem of searching a 2D matrix, like Problem 52 with Microsoft, requires logical thinking rather than complex algorithms.
  2. In the problem, diligently understanding the matrix properties and basic algebra can lead to a solution.
  3. The problem scenario involves searching for a specific value in an integer matrix with sorted rows, making it crucial to spot the required insights for efficient searching.

The Cholocalate Milk Rule: Knowing when to sort your input [Technique Tuesdays]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 05 Jul 22
🕹 Technology Coding Algorithm Sorting Problem Solving Interviews
  1. Knowing when to sort your input is crucial in certain coding problems. The Chocolate Milk Rule helps in identifying when sorting can lead to the solution.
  2. The Chocolate Milk Rule works when the solutions can be filtered based on ordering and when solutions are generated from input subsets. It can be applied in various scenarios like 3 Sum, 2 Sum Sorted, and even Search.
  3. Sorting the input makes it easier to filter solutions based on their magnitude. This simplifies the process of finding solutions to coding problems.

[Solution]Problem 34: Find Safe States[Microsoft]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 22 Apr 22
🕹 Technology Graphs DFS Algorithm Coding Programming
  1. The problem involves identifying safe nodes in a directed graph, which are nodes where all paths lead to terminal nodes. These safe nodes cannot be part of a cycle.
  2. The algorithm for identifying safe nodes can utilize DFS (Depth First Search) to traverse the graph efficiently and detect cycles or terminal nodes.
  3. Traversing the graph step-by-step, checking if each node is safe based on its neighbors, and building the solution methodically is key to solving the problem effectively.

The cheat code to getting good at Recursive Programming[Technique Tuesday]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 20 Apr 22
🕹 Technology Programming Computer Science Coding Algorithm
  1. Understanding recursion is crucial for coding at top tech companies, and it's a powerful concept in Computer Science.
  2. To improve at recursive programming, practice more recursion by solving specific types of questions such as sorting, list operations, and classic recursive functions.
  3. Getting exposure to Functional Programming can significantly enhance your recursive programming skills by encouraging a purely recursive way of thinking.

Steps for building Recursive solutions[Technique Tuesday]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 13 Apr 22
🕹 Technology Coding Tutorial Algorithm Recursion Dynamic Programming
  1. Developing recursive solutions involves creating conjectures, working from base cases, and simplifying complex problems into already solved ones.
  2. Starting with a brute force solution is crucial before attempting dynamic programming for optimal solutions.
  3. Building a strong foundation in recursive thinking is key to mastering more complex concepts like dynamic programming.