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Semantics for 2D Rasterization
Kulkarni, Whiting, and Panchekha introduce μSkia—a Lean-mechanized formal semantics for Skia 2D graphics—and an optimizer that speeds rasterization ~18.7% on Chrome-derived Skia programs while proving replacements correct.
4 min · 1,009 words
Simon Sapin models Factorio Space Age quality upcycling with transition matrices and equilibrium equations, then builds an interactive TypeScript calculator for gambling, washing, upcycling, and asteroid reprocessing loops.
15 min · 3,372 words
Comparison of Arena Architecture in malloc()
When multiple threads simultaneously allocate or deallocate memory from the allocator, the allocator will serialize them. Programs making intensive use of the allocator actually slow down as the number of processors increases.
8 min · 1,880 words
Software occlusion culling in Block Game
Eniko walks through software-rendered occlusion culling for a voxel/block game on a weak integrated GPU—why CPU-side culling mattered, how the technique works, and the performance wins on modest hardware.
16 min · 3,579 words
What makes Lisp difficult to read?
The Lisp family of programming languages is infamous for their parenthesis-heavy syntax. Many people, myself included, find this syntax more difficult to read than the notation of languages like Python, Java or C. The perceived unreadability of Lisp is so significant that multiple attempts have been made to create new notations to aid Lisp’s adoption. Yet, despite these attempts and Lisp being nea
11 min · 2,635 words
The Graph Will Set You Free: Why Every Creative Tool Is Becoming a Node Canvas
Hirad Sab traces node-based creative tools from Sketchpad to modern AI canvases, arguing graphs are the right abstraction when generation becomes a networked, composable process.
8 min · 1,935 words
The Shadows Lurking in the Equations
FuzzyGraph visualizes equation error topography, not just exact zeros—revealing black holes, shadow lines, and near-solution underwater islands invisible to conventional binary graphing of algebraic curves.
5 min · 1,136 words
Malleable software: Restoring user agency in a world of locked-down apps
Ink & Switch’s essay on malleable software: why today’s locked-down apps strip user agency, and what it would take to restore tools people can reshape themselves.
34 min · 7,761 words
Jens Egholm Pedersen argues modern science is synonymous with open-source software: why reproducible code matters as much as papers, and what researchers should do next.
7 min · 1,517 words
Software sandboxing: The basics
A deep primer on software sandboxing: threat models, OS mechanisms, and practical patterns for isolating untrusted code—foundational reading for secure systems and agent runtimes.
39 min · 9,084 words
How Your Code Runs: The Journey of a Program Through the CPU
A clear walkthrough of CPU architecture—control unit, ALU, registers, and memory—and how a simple program is compiled, loaded, and executed instruction by instruction.
3 min · 730 words
One of the unwritten rules of the Internet seems to be that whenever something Amiga-related is mentioned, at least one Amiga fan myself included must show up and try to explain the concept of screens. Amiga screens can have different resolutions, we'll tell you, and one can drag them, we'll say, and other Amiga users rally in agreement, while non-Amiga users probably still don't get what's so great about screens. Until now, when this text has been written, in the hope of converting unsuspecting normies into full-blown Amiga screen lovers.
10 min · 2,400 words
A clear comparison of union types and sum types: how they overlap, where their subtle differences change API design and safety, and when each model fits better in modern languages.
9 min · 1,967 words
Gregory Gundersen reconstructs backpropagation from first principles, explaining why the algorithm needs a backward pass to compute neural network gradients efficiently.
6 min · 1,490 words
How Hacker News ranking really works: scoring, controversy, and penalties
Ken Shirriff reverse-engineers Hacker News ranking: the gravity formula, controversy penalties after ~40 comments, title/domain penalties (including historical NSA demotion), and how ~20% of front-page stories are tweaked.
15 min · 3,547 words
A practical guide to writing C++ that actually uses the machine well—covering language and hardware basics, common pitfalls, and habits that keep hot paths fast without premature micro-optimization theater.
17 min · 3,904 words