Congrats. This seems like a great prompt to ensure a useful default experience. People should not confuse this with "anti cheating" and instead helping people learn how to learn.
Do you have further insights on AI and education since?
This has been the case for most of Gen X's career: there was very little mentoring, very little succession planning and career shaping. Instead Boomers (who came into an economy where these things, along with pensions, etc. still existed) took over early and have stayed in leadership roles longer than previous generations. A look at congress provides a template.
See my sibling comment: the v2 beam spring keyboard (metal version) worked immediately out of the box and all I had to do was but key caps on.
This is an enthusiast producing these and the beam spring mechanism is entirely redone with modern touches (e.g. support for mx style keycaps) so there is risk, but mine works great. I think that the fully enclosed beam spring mechanism should hold up better during shipping than the spring-and-barrel mechanism on the model F.
Of course YMMV and it is an expensive and rare keyboard, but my experience has been good.
Some people have mentioned quality control issues with this keyboard vendor, particularly with the Model F. I have the Model F and it is a bit finicky admittedly. I support the vendor based on their hard work to bring back these classic keyboard mechanisms, but if you want one that "just works" the Model M from Unisys is probably a better bet.
As far as the beam spring goes, this is the second revision of these switches. These switches are a complete modern re-imagination of the original beam spring switches and support Cherry-style key caps. Unlike the Model F, the switches are self-contained and setup just involved putting key-caps on. The keyboard worked flawlessly and immediately.
This is an enthusiast trying to bring back classic keyboard switches that have been out of production for decades, so I am willing to grant him some slack in general, but I'm extremely happy with my board. It's a very different typing experience, but I love it. I understand many people aren't willing to risk $400 on a keyboard, but I also want to let people know about my great experience with it.
Because it’s a physical mechanism that has a unique feel that modern switches don’t mimic.
I like lots of keyboards and switches but this is a unique switch with deep historical roots that has been brought back to life by an enthusiast. I think it’s worth supporting (if you can afford it) on general principle.
I have a model F and yes it was tricky to get working. The new beam spring (v2, metal case) was a breeze to set up (just put the caps on, mx style) and works flawlessly.
The keyboard sits very high and it is a very different feel (long travel, very loud) but it is unlike any other keyboard I have used and very inexpensive compared to used original beam springs.
Worth a look if you are a retro keyboard enthusiast.
I think that the universities have an opportunity here to be the places where manual code is written so that juniors can gain the coding expertise necessary to become effective with AI.
Many universities are not set up to take advantage of this opportunity because they lean heavily into theory and look down on coding, but some departments will make the pivot well. I hope that ours (Montana State) is one of them.
The argument for universities to be a place to learn to think critically and not learn specific skills is an even stronger value prop in an era where useful skills likely change rapidly.
There needs to be a realization of how important communication skills are to develop and possess. The act of disagreement has skill levels that do not trigger emotional responses, and cause cross understanding to occur. Learning how to convey understanding and gain understanding from others becomes more and more important in a landscape of rapid change. Which we are collectively terrible at, with most companies being miscommunication circuses, with all the stress that generates, needlessly.
The problem is that professors say "learn to think critically", then actually just want the students to learn to sound like them, and agree with them. Actual critical thought has been on the decline for some time.
This is especially true in the humanities and the social sciences. Where truth is hard to ascertain, and therefore it is easier to substitute political correctness for critical thought.
Some will probably dismiss your comment as partisan but it is very hard to (honestly) argue that this isn’t the case. “Think critically…” but only about the cliché punching bags of academia: capitalism, Western culture, American foreign policy, The Patriarchy, etc. I didn’t witness any college classes that encouraged us to think critically about socialism, or think critically about Islam, or think critically about non-Western countries’ foreign policy aims, or think critically about third-wave feminism’s impact on society. Instead, even questioning any of those sacred cows usually brands you as “far right” and professors sometimes even get fired for making others “feel unsafe” if they even try.
Note: you can still be an avowed and serious leftist and have my respect if you allow your ideas to be questioned, hold yourself to a standard of proof, and tolerate dissent. What I’m criticizing is the way especially in universities, people jump right to “You’re a Nazi/fascist and the only acceptable response is to shut you down and eject you from the community” if someone doesn’t embrace all the same political dogma as you.
"I suspect the biggest source of moral taboos will turn out to be power struggles in which one side only barely has the upper hand. That's where you'll find a group powerful enough to enforce taboos, but weak enough to need them."
Those on the left have been trying to advance their power through creating new taboos that cement their position. But they've misjudged. As a result Trump, by simply speaking to the resulting pain points, has been put on a potential course towards dictator. (Note, he doesn't have to do anything about it - just name the pain.) Will he succeed? Probably not, but he's certainly making a try of it.
Very few on the left are willing to engage in the self-reflection to realize how they have contributed to Trump's rise. It should be obvious - if Trump is an existential threat then you should reach out to people you dislike, who dislike Trump more than you. But no. We've been doubling down on ideological purity. And the horrible result is in the (currently partially demolished) White House.
100% agree. But this seems to be standard now for most political dialog. Either one group will call you a racist or the other group will call you communist. Or maybe antisemitic.
so universities become trade schools? one concern is where does one get theoretical knowledge required for e.g. going to graduate school and then doing research to push the state of the art. that's one of the reasons universities emphasize theory: it's seen as the first step on the academic ladder, not as a trade school
The majority of undergrads are at university because a degree is the qualification they need to get a job. They are not there as the first step on a path to grad school and a Ph.D. and a lifetime of deep expertise, teaching, and learning in a field that they are passionate about.
So, yes. Universities are trade schools for the white collar world. Have been for quite a while. Never mind that most companies could spend 2-4 years running high school grads through an apprenticeship type of program and probably come out with better results.
I hear you, there certainly is a huge value in understanding the theory, including in computer science. I don’t mean to put words in someone else’s mouth, but I think perhaps in the future, writing code yourself, unaided by any AI, may be thought of as more of an exercise in theory than a practical skill in its own right. Kind of like doing math “by hand” is absolutely key for someone in college to study math, whereas after graduation in a job outside of academia, the same person would have every reason to avail themselves of software that automates the same thing.
First off I don’t like the tone most people use when they say “trade school”. Most cs students go to a job out of school. Of the roughly 10% who go on to grad school, 10% will pursue a PhD.
So 99/100 students in undergrad will not be pursuing higher computer science. We should acknowledge that and the new circumstances where writing code by hand is harder to do in corporations who use AI.
Universities can provide a place to do so.
I also happen to think that writing a lot of code is an excellent way to prepare yourself for computer science theory.
“education” is not the same as “job training”. there’s more to education than learning skills you can apply at your job. it’s learning how to think critically, study literature, problem solve, collaborate with others, etc. etc. skills that I believe all humans could benefit from, irrespective of their job. yes, trade schools are more immediately valuable in the strict capitalist sense, but I wish we lived in a world where everyone could spare a few years to grow as a person, not immediately start optimizing for salary. alas, could be wishful thinking
Good question! Maybe a scheme like in France: we generally separate engineering schools, which teach a mix of theory and knowledge, for getting a white collar hob; and the masters, which teach mostly pure theoretical learning, which leads to an academical career.
Both are at the same levels at +5 years after high-school, but they leads to different career paths.
Residency programs, as in medicine. After completing your degree, you spend a few years working as a junior under formal supervision. The incentives are kind of bad but solvable.
If the underlying issue is that you need more skills to be worth hiring, it cannot be solved by shuffling the curriculum. The actual answer is more education and more training.
LLM are quite a good learning opportunity, mostly in classes where learning is sequential/needs building blocks, like mathematics, where if you miss a trimester, it's finished. Here it's like a free and immediately accessible private tutor. It would be great for computer sciences classes indeed.
I would have killed for access to an LLM during school. Not to do my homework (though that too, homework is an antipattern imo) but to fill my gaps at my own pace and level of patience. Just endlessly pestering the AI "ok, but why?" until I grokked it.
At some point we will have to stop treating universities as tests to pass, and actually what they claim to be: places to learn. Ultimately it needs to be on the student to want to learn.
Obviously this would be easier if our entire school system before university wasn't seemingly designed too destroy every last ounce of a child's curiosity.
I wish you were not right. Every single positive experience with learning for me was only related to my school was incidental and more based on luck associated with the fact that I had access to at least two very curious minds that, unlike school, showed me actual use for, among other things, proportions. It feels highly unfair that your entire life can effectively boil down to whether you meet at least one person, who can make it relatable to you.
I know many of you are keyboard aficionados and I wanted to let you know that the Model F keyboard guy is making a 2nd generation of his Beam Spring keyboards. I got one and it is unlike any other keyboard I have ever used: the tactile feedback is precise like a buckle spring but louder and with a more pronounced break. Travel feels longer and obviously the keyboard sits very high compared to modern board. But it's a heck of a typing experience if you are interested.
I've you've never heard of beam spring keyboards, this was the IBM keyboard before buckle-springs (same guy, Richard Harris) took over. It uses a very different mechanism than buckle-spring:
Very cool that someone is working to bring back these older key switches!
From the page:
> What is a Beam Spring Keyboard? Before the Model F keyboard was the Beam Spring keyboard, a keyboard that was designed to be like the IBM Selectric electric typewriters but made to work with IBM’s mainframe terminals. Originals regularly sell for over $1,000 to $2,000 but now you can get one in various “normal” modern layouts and various color options for a fraction of that cost. The new beam spring keyboards are also compatible with MX keycaps (see below for details).
Are mechanical keyboards becoming a way to show off like the programmer equivalent of loud truck exhaust?
The sound is satisfying yes, but with other people in mind I am looking for the quietest mechanical keyboard I can find these days. I have become self conscious about typing quietly during phone calls or meetings in case I am unmuted.
I had to switch to low force choc couple years ago over tendon pain. Ended up on totem for day to day & bad wings for travel. 20g silent nocturnal switches. Silencing mechanism also gives bottom out a rubber feel, worth it just for that
20g? How do you use it? I'm light typist, I'm not hammering on keys at all and even 32g is too nervous for me, I can't rest my fingers on keyboard without typing a novel. Can't imagine 20g keys.
I have loud keyboards for selfish fun typing when no one is around, and a silent one for working near others.
I use a switch called Akko Penguins, but there are tons of silent switches out there that people like. Topre keyboards also have a strong following and I think are pretty quiet.
I think the "buy a solenoid and a hammer to slap the case everything you hit a key" think most definitely is, like the typists truck nuts of keyboard mods.
This was in the original, because without that solenoid, typists accustomed to the sound of typewriters were not sure their presses registered correctly. The times were different.
In the gaming sphere these kinds of loud-ass mechanical keyboards are absolutely not in vogue anymore.
Many gamers are even migrating over to hall effect sensors over mechanical switches, since you have a full analog customizable setup for key actuation.
Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but is the loudness of your keyboard really a big deal in office environments?
Like I get if where you work is as quiet as a library, but in most places people are on voice calls, talking to each other over your head, etc. Any one complaining about clicky keys in that kind of environment can get stuffed as far as I am concerned.
https://gist.github.com/1cg/a6c6f2276a1fe5ee172282580a44a7ac
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