The hottest Engineering Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Can Machines Slip on Banana Peels?

Breaking Smart • 79 implied HN points • 30 Oct 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. It's funny when a self-important person slips on a banana peel because it shows their dignity being challenged. This humor comes from seeing someone with high self-esteem face an embarrassing moment.
  2. Machines can also have moments of failure, just like people. They slip up when their design looks seamless but actually has hidden flaws, similar to someone who overestimates their own abilities.
  3. Understanding the 'Contraption Factor' helps us analyze why machines fail. It shows a difference between how complex something is and how well it's designed, which can lead to unexpected problems.

Scaling the $10 Trillion Illusion & LLMs as the Dead End?

ppdispatch • 5 implied HN points • 09 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Senior engineers excel at turning vague problems into clear plans, helping teams take action and avoid confusion.
  2. Decisions about programming languages often stem from personal biases, leading to costly mistakes instead of rational choices.
  3. Rushing AI development without proper foundations can create significant technical debt and unexpected costs, showing that speed isn't everything.

AI-Shoring

davidj.substack • 23 implied HN points • 10 Jul 25
💼 Business Engineering
  1. The future of engineering may involve fewer people doing more work with the help of AI, making teams more efficient and reducing costs.
  2. Off-shoring might disappear because local engineers can now handle bigger workloads, eliminating the need for remote teams in different countries.
  3. Even though the tech job landscape is changing, it could create new opportunities in industries we can't imagine yet, as job seekers adapt to the evolving market.

6 secrets for never being blocked again

Leading Developers • 57 implied HN points • 21 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Developers can avoid being blocked by working directly on DevOps tasks themselves, like opening Pull Requests instead of just making requests. This way, they learn and the DevOps team gets involved faster.
  2. Instead of just asking for help, it's better to ask intriguing questions that engage the DevOps team. It makes them think more creatively and motivates them to assist.
  3. Developers should create their own alerts for their applications. This helps them understand their changes better and ensures that they take responsibility for their work.

🗞 Stream Recap: Product Planning

🔮 Crafting Tech Teams • 39 implied HN points • 03 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. The next book club cohort is starting with the book 'Accelerate' next week, focusing on speed reading and mutual accountability
  2. Crafting Tech Teams is a reader-supported publication that offers the option to become a free or paid subscriber to receive new posts and support the work
  3. To keep reading and access the full post archives, there's a 7-day free trial available on 🔮 Crafting Tech Teams
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How things fail

Only Wonder Knows • 39 implied HN points • 03 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Testing things to failure can reveal weaknesses and help improve reliability.
  2. The HALT test is an effective method to stress test products and discover design flaws.
  3. Each weakness identified in the HALT test presents an opportunity to enhance product reliability.

At First You Don't Succeed

Street Smart Naturalist: Explorations of the Urban Kind • 119 implied HN points • 17 Nov 22
💾 History Engineering
  1. Building projects can face lots of unexpected problems, like the Montlake Cut in Seattle, which had issues with the ground underneath.
  2. Sometimes things just don't work out on the first try, as seen when workers had to build new cofferdams multiple times before finally succeeding.
  3. Patience and safety are important, especially in big projects, as rushing can lead to dangerous situations for workers.

Tech Talks Weekly #6

Tech Talks Weekly • 19 implied HN points • 14 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Tech Talks Weekly shares recent tech talks from major conferences like Devoxx and NDC. It's a great way to keep updated on the latest in tech.
  2. There's a special edition featuring over 550 talks from Kubernetes conferences. This provides a huge resource for anyone interested in cloud technology.
  3. The newsletter encourages sharing with friends and colleagues to build a community. Spreading the word helps more people connect with the tech talk content.

🌻 E46: Next-Gen Agent or a True Leap in AI Consciousness?

Musings on AI • 72 implied HN points • 11 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. AI agents are still developing but show promise for the near future. They're getting better at aligning with human values and being more useful.
  2. Stanford's new method using Information-Directed Sampling helps AI learn more efficiently while keeping human preferences in mind. It can adapt well in changing environments.
  3. As AI becomes more common, we might see a mix of human-friendly websites and those that cater directly to AI agents. This means both types of users can interact effectively.

How Cloudflare fails

Frankly Speaking • 254 implied HN points • 13 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Companies are focusing more on engineering-focused security functions to become efficient.
  2. Cloudflare is seen as an underrated security company with a strong engineering following.
  3. Cloudflare transformed from a CDN company to offering security services like WAF, SWG, and email security.

Transmission line explorations - deeper investigations

Only Wonder Knows • 39 implied HN points • 20 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Establish a close relationship with the PCB manufacturer to discuss concerns and ask for expected ranges.
  2. Consider ordering a PCB carefully as design complexity increases, requiring more aspects to be taken into account.
  3. Copper roughness, dielectric materials, and DK uniformity are crucial factors to consider in PCB design for high-speed signals.

Interview with Intel’s Dr. Ann Kelleher

More Than Moore • 186 implied HN points • 22 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Intel has been successful in using EUV in their Intel 4 technology
  2. The development of nodes at Intel involves extensive research, pathfinding, and process development before transferring to high-volume manufacturing
  3. Intel is progressing well with their roadmap of '5 nodes in 4 years', with Intel 4 completed and Intel 3 on track

RDEL #29: Besides coding, how do software engineers contribute to the agile development process?

Research-Driven Engineering Leadership • 19 implied HN points • 12 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Software engineers in Agile development contribute beyond just coding.
  2. Non-technical tasks such as process improvement, goal setting, and meeting attendance are crucial for software engineers in Agile development.
  3. Engineers play a vital role in correctly scoping, communicating, and completing projects in Agile development processes.

Building Applications with LLMs

Sunday Letters • 79 implied HN points • 19 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. GPT-4 can do amazing things, but it has limitations because it mainly rearranges data. That makes it hard to create complex programs with just one function.
  2. The Semantic Kernel was developed to add more features like memory and procedural control, allowing for better application building with LLMs.
  3. There's a focus on creating a library of common skills and connectors for tools, which can help developers build richer experiences using familiar services.

Calibrating circuits

Only Wonder Knows • 19 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
🔬 Science Engineering
  1. Calibration of circuits can be a useful solution but it's important to know when it is necessary and when it's not.
  2. Understanding how components like sensors and resistors behave in different conditions is crucial before considering calibration.
  3. Before deciding to calibrate electronic components, a detailed technical and economic analysis should be conducted to ensure it is a suitable solution.

Edge 446: Can AI Build AI Systems? Inside OpenAI's MLE-Bench

TheSequence • 70 implied HN points • 07 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. OpenAI has created a new benchmark called MLE-Bench to test how well AI can handle machine learning engineering tasks. This means checking if AI can do things like train models and prepare datasets effectively.
  2. The idea is to see if AI can successfully write and manage its own code, which is an exciting step for technology. If AI can perform these tasks well, it could change how we approach software development.
  3. MLE-Bench focuses on real-world applications, making sure that AI can be useful in practical situations. This could lead to more efficient processes in machine learning and AI development.

SRE book notes: Wrapping Up

Bit Maybe Wise • 39 implied HN points • 13 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. The SRE book includes useful additional materials like availability tables and best practices.
  2. The book covers a wide range of topics related to Site Reliability Engineering.
  3. It emphasizes key practices such as embracing risk, eliminating toil, and effective troubleshooting.

Anticipation

Silicon Valley Outsider • 39 implied HN points • 06 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Anticipation is key in the journey of launching a satellite into space.
  2. Launching a satellite is a significant milestone for Astranis, signaling a new beginning.
  3. Despite challenges, Astranis has persevered and is ready to showcase its capabilities to the world.

The Engineering Leader's Process for Continuous Improvement

Developing Leadership • 39 implied HN points • 25 Apr 23
💼 Business Engineering
  1. Engineering leaders have two main responsibilities: improving developer experience and delivering impact to end-users.
  2. The Engineering Leader's Process for Continuous Improvement involves identifying, discussing, deciding, aligning, acting, and measuring.
  3. It is important for engineering leaders to continuously loop through the improvement process, not just during times of issue.

Chain of Thought Prompting

Prompt Engineering • 39 implied HN points • 04 May 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Breaking down problems into a series of steps is powerful.
  2. Using large language models like ChatGPT can help with the 'chain of thought' prompting technique.
  3. Understanding this technique is crucial for maximizing the benefits of these models.

AI and the end of integration testing

Sunday Letters • 39 implied HN points • 17 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. AI will change how we build software, making traditional integration testing much harder or even impossible. This is because the possibilities for what software can do will become nearly infinite.
  2. Without effective integration testing, we will rely more on monitoring and telemetry to ensure software is working well in real time. Companies will need to focus on creating systems that check themselves while they run.
  3. New challenges will arise, like how to assess things like 'helpfulness' or 'safety' in software. We may need to create new measures and standards to evaluate these more complex qualities.

RDEL #1: What’s the best way for eng teams to communicate via Slack?

Research-Driven Engineering Leadership • 39 implied HN points • 17 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Effective communication in engineering teams via Slack involves 'burstiness', quick and synchronous messaging followed by periods of silence.
  2. Research shows that 'bursty' communication styles correlate with higher team performance in distributed software engineering teams.
  3. To improve team 'burstiness', managers can observe current communication styles, consider time zone overlaps, and foster a culture of synchronous collaboration.

The Black Box "Problem"

Prompt Engineering • 39 implied HN points • 10 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Our understanding of how AI works is limited due to the black box problem.
  2. Engineers build based on understanding, while scientists dissect to understand.
  3. It's more important for AI to work as intended and be continuously tested than to fully understand how it works.

Release Cadence is a Stronger Predictor than Estimates

🔮 Crafting Tech Teams • 39 implied HN points • 19 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Release cadence is a stronger predictor than estimates when it comes to team performance.
  2. Engineers estimate their 'buying power' of time, leading to overconfidence rather than accurate forecasts.
  3. It's important to prioritize release cadence over estimates to ensure realistic planning and avoid the angst of constantly re-planning when estimates don't align with reality.

The New Age of Invention

davidj.substack • 47 implied HN points • 07 Feb 25
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Building software is now much easier and cheaper because of AI tools. This means more people can try out their ideas even if they aren't experts.
  2. People who can read and write code can now create custom software for their specific needs. This opens up possibilities for personal projects that were once too complex or costly.
  3. The trend of making software easier to build may lead to a huge increase in the number of new inventions and tools. More ease means more experimentation and creativity happening at a faster pace.

Is your AI strategy built for speed or stability? | Qodo’s Itamar Friedman

Dev Interrupted • 18 implied HN points • 22 Jul 25
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. When creating an AI strategy, know if your focus is on quick results or steady growth. This can affect how successful your team will be.
  2. It's important for developers to understand their code, even if AI is doing a lot of the work. This helps prevent issues when things go wrong.
  3. Companies need to prioritize security, as even small mistakes like weak passwords can lead to serious data breaches.

Blowing up airships in FreeCAD and Python

These Are Systems • 267 implied HN points • 08 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Designing tensile structures involves significant iteration for achieving desired 3D shapes from 2D fabric patterns.
  2. FreeCAD, with its Python interface, offers flexibility for working on tensile structure design.
  3. Deciding between top-down and bottom-up design approaches structures the rest of the design process.

Edge 374: Some Technical Details we Learned About OpenAI's Sora

TheSequence • 140 implied HN points • 29 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. OpenAI's Sora is a groundbreaking text-to-video model that can create high-quality videos up to a minute long.
  2. The release of Sora has caused a lot of excitement and discussion in the generative AI community and media outlets.
  3. While OpenAI has not revealed extensive technical details about Sora, the model includes some clever engineering optimizations.

What to make of China's 6th gen?

TP’s Substack • 53 implied HN points • 26 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. China's 6th generation fighter jets may be larger and more powerful than previous models, possibly able to carry more fuel and advanced electronics.
  2. The future of air warfare might rely on a mix of manned aircraft and unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), potentially changing the typical roles and payloads expected of fighter jets.
  3. The anticipated design and capabilities of these new jets suggest they will need significant power for advanced technologies, allowing them to perform a variety of missions effectively.

The loneliness of the long distance runbook

Wednesday Wisdom • 56 implied HN points • 11 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Runbooks are often not followed closely because experienced engineers adapt them to their own knowledge and context. This can be good, but it also means runbooks might not be used as intended.
  2. When runbooks have errors or are not up to date, they can cause big problems. It's crucial to review and update runbooks regularly to keep them relevant and accurate.
  3. Don't expect runbooks to be perfect or solve all issues. They should be seen as guidelines rather than strict instructions, and everyone should have an understanding of the system behind them.

AI Safety: Is AI The Genie Or The Lamp?

jonstokes.com • 237 implied HN points • 01 May 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. AI safety involves the debate between AI as a tool or an agent, impacting approaches to AI explainability and safety.
  2. There are conflicting folk conceptions of alignment, including individualist and collectivist perspectives centered around control.
  3. The distinction of viewing AI as the genie or the lamp, as an agent with goals or as a software tool, is crucial in shaping AI safety discussions and applications.

RDEL #26: What are the top challenges with meetings for globally distributed teams?

Research-Driven Engineering Leadership • 19 implied HN points • 22 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Distributed teams spend somewhat more time in meetings per day than co-located teams, even though they attend the same number of scheduled meetings on average.
  2. The number of participants in a meeting can affect its perceived value, with distributed teams typically having larger meetings than co-located teams.
  3. In globally distributed teams, top challenges with meetings include low availability of key people in far-shore projects, missing meeting facilitation in virtual meetings, and lack of organizational support for unscheduled meetings.

Not so fast, Mr. Fourier!

lcamtuf’s thing • 119 HN points • 12 Mar 24
🔬 Science 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.

📩 Your invite to the live streams—Wed: Tailwind Thu: Bryan Finster

🔮 Crafting Tech Teams • 19 implied HN points • 16 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. The live streams feature discussions on architecture, design techniques, and XP disciplines in Modern Frontend Engineering Culture and Software Engineering Fundamentals Series.
  2. Bryan Finster will talk about how ownership and maturity can aid in personal development in the Thursday fundamental series.
  3. Readers can access a 7-day free trial of Crafting Tech Teams for full post archives.