iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sure I agree that all those things seem like possible corrections to go from ordered to unordered counting. The reason why these vague heuristics don't work though is I think sort of irreducible. They don't work because when you try to make them precise they just don't do what you want them to do.

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And tools get names, you can have favorite ones, can refine their designs and find new unexpected uses for them.

I was taught a technique you use once is a trick; more than once and it becomes a tool. Not surprising that it is hard to tell the difference between the two on first encounter. A generous teacher can tell you "remember this it is a tool not a trick" even so it can be hard to get this as a student.

I see. I had not encountered this complaint before.

Do you have a concrete example you can share of a statement and it's converse where this happens?

Stars and bars (combinatorics) - Wikipedia

I knew that I was using possibly opaque jargon and was prepared to give a reference in case you said you didn't know what it meant: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stars_a...

en.wikipedia.org

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From independent things being factorial I think one can stitch together the formula for the (combinatorial) binomial coefficients and that unlocks a new tool that is very useful.

When order doesn't matter I think this is highly nontrivial stuff about counting integer partitions with various properties. I am able to sniff out that it is more complex by following my intuition for the order matters case and seeing that combinatorial dragons appear on the edge of the map.

Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Not a combinatorialist but I'd say my mental model for this type of thing is very tool based. Eg i have some (weak) sense of smell for when to count with stars-and-bars that works for the order matters case.

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Reposted by Joel Dodge

People sleep on CUNY but it is one of the absolute JEWELS of U.S. Higher Ed and has been for decades. And what's the thanks the system gets??? It has to fight for its life every single year because it has been systematically defunded.

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Joel Dodge @weakthinker.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

100% would hard quit playing or thinking about magic forever if they did a HP set.

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Reposted by Joel Dodge

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 24/09/2026

Last night I planted an olive tree at Gracie Mansion with Palestinian families from Gaza. May peace be our future.

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Reposted by Joel Dodge

Jules @ds9official.singles · 23/09/2026

one thing about newsom is that once you notice his gul dukat vibe you can't unsee it

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Joel Dodge @weakthinker.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Academics - like most large groups of people do - are not a monolith and contain a huge number that are evil, selfish, or bracingly stupid.

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Reposted by Joel Dodge

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 19/09/2026

Every now and then I see myself referred to as an "AI Denier" and I want to be clear I acknowledge "AI" exists, it's just I think it's a massive energy drain, created from theft, implemented poorly for inappropriate tasks by loathsome tech executives who get hard at the idea of the rest of us dying

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Reposted by Joel Dodge

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 19/09/2026

A cancer vaccine succeeded in a clinical trial in preventing the recurrence of melanoma, a result experts say is a breakthrough for mRNA-based treatments. Trials for lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and other diseases' vaccines are also underway.

washingtonpost.com

A melanoma vaccine was hailed as a breakthrough. Which cancers are next?

Trials investigating mRNA vaccines for lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and other diseases are already underway.

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Joel Dodge @weakthinker.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

It's the things that I love to do myself and even if they are things I'm going to fail at I love to fail at them myself.

Barbara Fantechi @barbarafantechi.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Reposted by Joel Dodge

Some of us take the extra pledge to not use AI at all. I took it without effort because the stuff people tell me they use AI for is exactly what I LOVE to do myself. It's like pledging not to use a machine to eat my gelato for me. (OT I had excellent gelato this afternoon).

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Joel Dodge @weakthinker.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Based on seeing this recommendation I am now near the end of this audiobook and it's so wonderful.

Spooky Rin Stedecore 👻🎃 🔪 @stedeco.re · 19/09/2026

Reposted by Joel Dodge

This is incredible and "but without the opposition to the Anschluss" turns it into art

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Joel Dodge @weakthinker.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Thank you possibly Bartolomeo Calderoni or Beniamino Schiavon and Luigi Quaglino🙏🙏🙏🙏