mysqldump to CSV Updated 2025-07-16
Mystery film Updated 2025-07-16
Narrative device Updated 2025-07-16
Quantum computing bibliography Updated 2025-07-16
Red Hat Updated 2025-07-16
Software design pattern Updated 2025-07-16
Extraterrestrial life Updated 2025-07-16
Jim Baggott Updated 2025-07-16
NASA Updated 2025-07-16
Natural sort order Updated 2025-07-16
Navier-Stokes equations Updated 2025-07-16
Porting Updated 2025-07-16
Software testing Updated 2025-07-16
Rail transport in Great Britain Updated 2025-07-16
Raising and lowering indices Updated 2025-07-16
Ciro's Edict #4 Further improvements to the website's base technology Updated 2025-07-16
github.com/cirosantilli/node-express-sequelize-nextjs-realworld-example-app contains the same baseline tech as OurBigBook, and I have been use to quickly test/benchmark new concepts for the website base.
I'm almost proud about that project, as a reasonable template for a Next.js project. It is not perfect, notably see issues on the issue tracker, but it it quite reasonable.
The side effects of ambitious goals are often the most valuable thing achieved once again? I to actually make the project be more important thatn the side effects this time, but we'll see.
Since the last update, I've made some major improvements to the baseline tech of the website, which I'll move little by little into OurBigBook. Some of the improvements actually started in OurBigBook.com. The improvements were:
- got a satisfactorily comprehensive linting working at: this commit. Nothing is easy, not even that! Part of the wisdom extracted to: stackoverflow.com/questions/58233482/next-js-setting-up-eslint-for-nextjs/70519682#70519682.
- fully rationalized directory structure to avoid nasty errors that show up in Next.js when accidentally requiring backend stuff on the client. Commit. A detailed explanation of this was extracted to: stackoverflow.com/questions/64926174/module-not-found-cant-resolve-fs-in-next-js-application/70363153#70363153.
- create an extremely clean and rationalized way to do API tests from a simple
npm test. These now actually start a clean server, and make full HTTP requests to that server. Commit. Wisdom extracted to: stackoverflow.com/questions/63762896/whats-the-best-way-to-test-express-js-api/70479940#70479940. - greatly reduce the number of SQL queries, fully understood every problem
- more intelligently using JOINs where I have managed to get Sequelize to do what I fucking want. This also led to several sequelize Stack Overflow answers as usual: stackoverflow.com/search?tab=newest&q=user%3a895245%20%5bsequelize%5dEverything that I didn't manage to do because of crappy sequelize is documented at: github.com/cirosantilli/node-express-sequelize-nextjs-realworld-example-app/issues/5
- better understanding Next.js/React/useSWR do avoid doing double API queries
Playstation Updated 2025-07-16
System of ordinary differential equations Updated 2025-07-16
The best code is no code at all Updated 2025-07-16
Some blogs:
- blog.codinghorror.com/the-best-code-is-no-code-at-all/ The Best Code is No Code At All (2007)
- www.skrenta.com/2007/05/code_is_our_enemy.html Code is our enemy (2007)
Also resonates with backward design.
The missing link between basic and advanced Updated 2025-07-16
One of Ciro Santilli's strongest feeling in education is that material often falls in either of the two categories:
- hundreds of too basic popular science, e.g.:
- a 5 minute popular science video trying to explain quantum electrodynamics (an advanced subject) for someone who doesn't know what a Riemann integral is (a basic subject)
- a few full university courses that takes 20 hours to deliver the first punchline of the course
Ciro believes that there is often an important missing link between them, e.g.:
If we as a society are unable to provide this sweet Middle Way sweet-spot, it is unreasonable to expect that learners will ever have the motivation to advance, because it is just too boring! They are just more likely to go play video games instead.
It is Ciro's hope that OurBigBook.com will help to fill exactly that gap.
In Ciro's view, as of the 2020's this critical gap generally lies somewhere between the end of undergraduate studies, and at the start of postgraduate studies.
Let's take the gloves off more often, and give the full thing to interested students! Let students learn what they want to learn, and do that as soon as possible! Life is too short!
This problem is basically the knowledge version of the last mile problem. When we reach the end of graduate, there are enough directions of knowledge to go off into, that the probability that a great free tutorial exists is relatively low. Of course, as one approaches the realm of novel research, the branching is so wide that having perfect tutorials becomes impossible. Ciro's goal in life go push the last mile marker a bit further out.
Related:
- universityphysicstutorials.com/ by Adam Beatty mentions:
There are myriad resources for physics and maths. The Kahn Academy and Patrick JMT were the best for me. They really helped me out. The question is, what resources are there for the advanced undergraduate courses?
In this video, the noted chemist mentions how he managed to get into a chemistry research development before he even joined university, due to a somewhat exceptional situation. Section "The only reason for universities to exist should be the laboratories" also comes to mind. This is exactly the type of thing that Ciro Santilli wants to make much more widespread.
Stories of Ainan Celeste Cawley fighting to advance his kids education beyond school, and being forbidden to do so by a stupid educational system, also come to mind.
Bibliography:
There are unlisted articles, also show them or only show them.