The hottest Algorithms Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

Not so fast, Mr. Fourier!

lcamtuf’s thing • 2332 implied HN points • 12 Mar 24
🔬 Science Computing Signal Processing Mathematics Algorithms Engineering
  1. The discrete Fourier transform (DFT) is a crucial algorithm in modern computing, used for tasks like communication, image and audio processing, and data compression.
  2. DFT transforms time-domain waveforms into frequency domain readings, allowing for analysis and manipulation of signals like isolating instruments or applying effects like Auto-Tune in music.
  3. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) optimizes DFT by reducing the number of necessary calculations, making it more efficient for large-scale applications in computing.

Inside FunSearch: Google DeepMind’s LLM that Discovered New Math and Computer Science Algorithms

TheSequence • 1106 implied HN points • 18 Jan 24
🕹 Technology AI Algorithms Computer Science Mathematics Machine Learning
  1. Discovering new science is a significant challenge for AI models.
  2. Google DeepMind's FunSearch model can generate new mathematics and computer science algorithms.
  3. FunSearch uses a Language Model to create computer programs and iteratively search for solutions in the function space.

Your Attention Has Been STOLEN | Peter Boghossian & Johann Hari

Peter Boghossian • 609 implied HN points • 30 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Social media Algorithms Interpersonal Relationships Democracy
  1. Johann Hari and Peter Boghossian discuss the impact of technology addiction on attention spans and society.
  2. They emphasize the role of social media in capturing attention and keeping users engaged through algorithms.
  3. The shortened attention spans affect relationships, political engagement, and democracy.

⬜ Beyond the search engine

One Thing • 573 implied HN points • 01 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Search Engines Algorithms Internet Social media Data Privacy
  1. Utilize small, alternative search engines that offer unique approaches not influenced by market trends
  2. Consider using unconventional methods when searching, such as leveraging platforms like Reddit for information
  3. Prioritize authentic search experiences, focusing on genuine connections and unique discoveries rather than catering solely to algorithms
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The Sliding Window Technique[Technique Tuesdays]

Technology Made Simple • 279 implied HN points • 28 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Algorithms Problem Solving Software Engineering Artificial Intelligence Data Structures
  1. The sliding window technique is a powerful algorithmic model used for problem-solving in coding interviews and software engineering, offering efficiency and practicality.
  2. Benefits of using the sliding window technique include reducing duplicate work, maintaining consistent linear time complexity, and its utility in AI feature extraction processes.
  3. Spotting the sliding window technique involves identifying keywords like maximum, minimum, longest, or shortest, dealing with continuous elements, and converting brute-force approaches into efficient solutions.

wind and rain and sun and data

Dan Davies - "Back of Mind" • 334 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Energy Data Trading Algorithms Regulation
  1. Supply and demand for electricity become more unpredictable with an increasing proportion of wind and solar energy
  2. The profit motive drives the application of information processing power and bandwidth to solve energy planning problems
  3. Market trading and the profit motive are ways to match the variety of the energy problem with the regulatory system

105 trillion digits of pi

A Piece of the Pi: mathematics explained • 60 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
🔬 Science Mathematics Algorithms
  1. The number pi has now been calculated to 105 trillion decimal places using the Chudnovsky algorithm over 75 days.
  2. Ramanujan's formula for pi has been expanded and improved upon over the years, with the Chudnovsky brothers developing a formula that computes pi to 13 decimal places.
  3. Bellard's formula and the BBP formula provide ways to compute specific digits of pi without having to calculate all earlier digits, making validations faster and more efficient.

Fun with Serial and Parallel Sum Reductions

CPU fun • 121 implied HN points • 22 Feb 24
🔬 Science Mathematics Computer Science Algorithms
  1. Floating point arithmetic can be more complex than expected, especially due to limited mantissa bits, affecting the accuracy of calculations.
  2. Complaining about OpenMP reductions giving 'the wrong answer' is misguided; the issue likely existed in the serial code and is now being exposed.
  3. Changing the type of the accumulator to 'double' can help resolve issues with floating point arithmetic and accuracy during sum reductions.

Navigating Attention-Driving Algorithms, Capturing the Premium of Proximity for Virtual Teams, & New AI Devices

Implications, by Scott Belsky • 530 implied HN points • 18 Nov 23
🕹 Technology AI Algorithms Remote work
  1. AI-powered algorithms are driving polarization by optimizing for attention-grabbing content, widening the surface area of topics that stoke anger.
  2. Our social media feeds are now sourced from algorithmic preferences rather than social networks, shaping the content we are exposed to.
  3. The benefits of physical proximity in fostering creativity and relationships for teams will lead to the emergence of new technologies and management strategies supporting hybrid and remote work environments.

Standards Body Considers Uncloaking Secret Encryption Algorithms

Zero Day • 659 implied HN points • 11 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Security Encryption Standards Algorithms
  1. European standards body may make new encryption algorithms public due to backlash over secrecy.
  2. Previously kept secret algorithms had major flaws, prompting consideration for greater transparency.
  3. Independent researchers found vulnerabilities, including intentional backdoors, in old encryption algorithms in use for over 25 years.

Controlling Rate-Limited Events - Implementation

Low Latency Trading Insights • 117 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Algorithms Data Structures Coding Performance
  1. The requirements for a rate-limiting algorithm include precise event counting, fast performance especially during market turbulence, and minimal impact on cache memory.
  2. Creating a rate-limiting algorithm using a multimap for counting events has inefficiencies; a better solution involves enhancements for optimal performance.
  3. A bounded approximation approach for rate limiting achieves memory efficiency by assuming a minimum time precision and implementing a clever advance-and-clear mechanism.

The Vision Pro? Daddy, chill

The Rectangle • 113 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Hardware Social media Artificial Intelligence Spatial Computing Algorithms
  1. The release of the Vision Pro highlights a split in culture between bootlickers and contrarians.
  2. Bootlickers overly defend products and praise them, while contrarians overly criticize and find flaws in them.
  3. Algorithmisation exacerbates this cultural division by boosting controversial content and leading us into binary situations.

455: Rolex Pricing, Jensen & Nvidia, China Chip Ban 1.5, Costco, Google Maps to Optimize Cities, Bicycle for the Mind, and Beckham

Liberty’s Highlights • 452 implied HN points • 18 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Chips Algorithms Data Analysis Artificial Intelligence Tech Companies
  1. It's liberating to realize that most fields are understandable to an interested outsider, focusing on big ideas.
  2. Exploring new fields and combining knowledge from different areas can lead to rich and interesting discoveries.
  3. Taking calculated risks and thorough preparation can lead to successful outcomes in business decisions, like pushing all the chips in.

k-Core Decomposition

Graphs For Science • 52 implied HN points • 24 Feb 24
🔬 Science Graph Theory Algorithms Data Analysis
  1. k-Core Decomposition is a way to explore the structure of networks by identifying the largest subgraph where every node has a specified minimum degree.
  2. The k-Core Decomposition algorithm involves recursively removing nodes with degrees lower than a specified threshold to reveal the k-core and k-shell structure of a graph.
  3. The degree of a node in a k-core doesn't have an upper limit, providing unique insights into network connectivity beyond traditional degree-based analysis.

Fast Computation of Fibonacci Numbers: Part II

Confessions of a Code Addict • 288 implied HN points • 12 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Mathematics Programming Algorithms Education
  1. A new method to compute Fibonacci numbers using a closed-form expression without having to resort to floating point arithmetic.
  2. Representation of irrational numbers using two parts can be done in code allowing for precise computation of Fibonacci numbers.
  3. Understanding rings and implementing arithmetic operations within it can help in computing Fibonacci numbers without any loss of precision.

Adversarial Examples in AI

Rod’s Blog • 39 implied HN points • 29 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Security Research Algorithms
  1. Adversarial examples can deceive AI systems by manipulating inputs, leading to incorrect outcomes in various domains like medical imaging and autonomous vehicles.
  2. Understanding these risks is crucial for building effective defenses and creating awareness about the vulnerabilities in AI systems.
  3. Researchers are actively working to develop robust defenses against adversarial attacks to enhance the security and reliability of AI technology.

Do we need RL for RLHF?

Democratizing Automation • 182 implied HN points • 06 Dec 23
🕹 Technology AI Research Algorithms Data Models
  1. The debate around integrating human preferences into large language models using RL methods like DPO is ongoing.
  2. There is a need for high-quality datasets and tools to definitively answer questions about the alignment of language models with RLHF.
  3. DPO can be a strong optimizer, but the key challenge lies in limitations with data, tooling, and evaluation rather than the choice of optimizer.

Implementing Softmax using RISC-V Vector

Fprox’s Substack • 39 implied HN points • 12 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Programming Algorithms Computing Simulation Hardware
  1. Softmax is a non-linear normalization layer commonly used in neural networks to compute probabilities of multiple classes.
  2. When implementing Softmax, numerical stability is crucial due to exponential function's rapid growth, requiring clever techniques to prevent overflow.
  3. RISC-V Vector (RVV) can be used to efficiently implement complex functions like Softmax, with stable and accurate results compared to naive implementations.

A Linear Algebra Trick for Computing Fibonacci Numbers Fast

Confessions of a Code Addict • 158 HN points • 05 Nov 23
🔬 Science Mathematics Computing Algorithms Linear Algebra Complexity
  1. A linear algebra technique can be applied to compute Fibonacci numbers quickly with a logarithmic time complexity.
  2. Efficient algorithms like repeated squaring can compute powers of matrices in logarithmic time, improving performance for Fibonacci number calculations.
  3. A closed form expression using the golden ratio offers a direct method to compute Fibonacci numbers, showing different approaches with varied performance.

Can GPT-4 *Actually* Write Code?

Tyler Glaiel's Blog • 567 HN points • 17 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Coding Algorithms Machine Learning Programming
  1. GPT-4 can write code when given existing algorithms or well-known problems, as it remixes existing solutions.
  2. However, when faced with novel or unique problems, GPT-4 struggles to provide accurate solutions and can make incorrect guesses.
  3. It's crucial to understand that while GPT-4 can generate code, it may not be reliable for solving complex, new problems in programming.

Grief for Twitter

Kyle Chayka Industries • 175 implied HN points • 11 Oct 23
🎭️ Culture Social media Internet Community Algorithms
  1. Twitter used to be a vibrant platform for diverse discussions and connections, but has now deteriorated due to algorithms and glitches.
  2. Finding spaces for meaningful human interaction on the internet is becoming increasingly challenging as platforms focus more on algorithms and less on authentic conversations.
  3. Despite the challenges, platforms like Substack are emerging as potential spaces for cultivating genuine communities and conversations.

A deeper than average look into Stacks [Math Mondays]

Technology Made Simple • 99 implied HN points • 21 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Programming Data Structures Algorithms Computer Science Software Engineering
  1. Stacks are powerful data structures in software engineering and can be modified extensively to suit different use cases.
  2. Implementing Stacks using a Singly Linked List can be beneficial for dynamic resizing, though Arrays are often preferred due to memory considerations.
  3. Exploring variations like Persistent Stacks, Limiting Stack Size, Ensuring Type Safety, Thread Safety, Tracking Min/Max, and Undo Operations can enhance the functionality and efficiency of Stacks in various scenarios.

GM Shaders Mini: Math

GM Shaders Mini Tuts • 157 implied HN points • 11 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Algorithms
  1. Alpha blending in shader programming requires blending colors and alpha channels separately.
  2. Weighted averages provide greater control for combining multiple elements together in shaders.
  3. Creating a simple 3D perspective effect in shaders involves scaling with a linear gradient.

GM Shaders Mini: Imagination

GM Shaders Mini Tuts • 157 implied HN points • 02 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Graphics Programming Mathematics Algorithms Tutorials
  1. When working with shaders, think in terms of vector fields to direct the flow and create gradients.
  2. Consider the acceptable input domains and the output ranges of your functions to prevent errors and unexpected results.
  3. Utilize periodic functions for repetition, sine and cosine for waves and rotations, dot product as a ruler, and exponentiation for adjusting brightness levels.

Judging myself by likes

Kyle Chayka Industries • 195 implied HN points • 22 Jul 23
🎭️ Culture Technology Social media Digital Culture Algorithms Influence
  1. Likes can impact how we judge our online success, but their significance varies across platforms.
  2. Algorithms on social media have changed how engagement is measured, making it harder to interpret likes as a true reflection of content quality.
  3. The age of likes is evolving, with platforms like TikTok shifting focus away from visible likes but still using them to influence content.