xgk

7 ms·

1.
by xgk 3mo ago
Mixture-of-Expert (MoE) was introduced in the 1990s [1, 2], see also [3, 4]. The idea was that MoE scales up model capacity and only introduces small computation overhead. MoEs did not become viable for high-performance applications until s
2.
by xgk 6mo ago
Indeed, that is the standard approach. It is also how some of the aforementioned languages desugar opaque type synonyms during compilation. It has the slight disadvantage that we can no longer use variables like x in some situation
3.
by xgk 6mo ago
There are even more algebras on the same bits, when you take signed integers into account, such as saturating arithmetic . One interesting programming language construct that might be useful in this context are Opaque Type Synonyms , a re
4.
by xgk 6mo ago
> CPUs actually implements 5 distinct data types Yes, that's true, but the registers themselves are untyped, what modern CPUs really implement is multiple instruction semantics over the same bit-patterns. In short: same bits, fi
5.
by xgk 3y ago
> China’s terrible demographics Are China's demographics appreciatively different from other industrialised countries? Questionable. Not to mention that it's unclear why an aging society is a problem at least for the next 100
6.
by xgk 3y ago
> In terms of design, China has world class companies. And not just companies. This is currently the world's top open-source RISC-V development https://github.com/OpenXiangShan coming from the Chinese Academy of S
7.
by xgk 3y ago
An alternative explanation might involve both of: 1. Stopping technology transfer worked exceedingly well for the west weakening the Soviet Union during the Cold War. 2. A distinct lack of (non-violent) alternatives for the West preventing
8.
by xgk 3y ago
Sorry, I should have said: ... (row)hammer hard enough, every sufficiently dense/modern DRAM ...
9.
by xgk 3y ago
I think if you (row)hammer hard enough, every DRAM will eventually flip a bit.
10.
by xgk 3y ago
This is misleading. I recommend [1] as an introduction to the semiconductor physics behind the Rowhammer problem. Rowhammer is an instance of the "weird machine" problem behind many security problems, i.e. a mismatch between t
11.
by xgk 3y ago
Agree. The extreme secrecy of DRAM manufacturers about the innards of their chips puts an additional obstacles in the way of memory controllers (MCs) implementing efficient Rowhammer defences. In particular, if the MC doesn't know whic
12.
by xgk 3y ago
The possibility of flipping bits in DRAM in a Rowhammer like fashion, was known in the DRAM industry since at least the 1990s (sorry, no reference handy), and Rowhammer-like access was used in DRAM quality testing. As silicon density increa
13.
by xgk 3y ago
It has been possible to re-purpose such additional refresh cycles as an additional Rowhammer attack vector, see https://www.usenix.org/conference/usenixsecurity22/presentat...
14.
by xgk 3y ago
Have you ever seen any even moderately detailed specification of what the DRAM manufacturers do in this regard? I have not, and I looked. I am deeply sceptical .... I don't believe that Rowhammer mitigations happen inside the DRAM ch
15.
by xgk 6y ago
On one side ... On the other side ... Only one of those sides has children in substantial numbers, so this polarity will sort itself out over longer time scales. As somebody living next to a primary school in a very progressiv
16.
by xgk 6y ago
questionably from the beginning Agreed. If you look at what's the majority of compute loads (e.g. Instagram, Snap, Netflix, HPC) then that's (a) not particularly security critical, and (b) so big that the vendors can spli
17.
by xgk 6y ago
Other networking protocols coming from a telco background, in particular ATM and ISDN, were all circuit switched, and had suitable resource reservation for QoS. Acceptance of telephony degradation was probably driven by cost: VoIP was free
18.
by xgk 7y ago
studies are bs because We should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The problem is that we do not currently know how to carry out studies on the efficacy of programming language paradigms under "controlled labor
19.
by xgk 7y ago
somehow messed with Cs absorption line In a simple case yes, but if all other time keeping mechanisms would also be messed with by dark matter, there might be no way of saying which one is the right own.
20.
by xgk 7y ago
The clock drift of A1 and A2 could be correlated for some reason that we don't currently understand.
21.
by xgk 7y ago
You cannot measure how fast light travels in a fixed time unit without reference to time: you need to define length! Length is currently defined with reference to caesium time: the 2019 SI definition of metre takes "the fixed numer
22.
by xgk 7y ago
precisely known transitions There is an interesting philosophical conundrum here, in that one could argue it's the other way around: the precision you mention is a consequence of the fact that we currently define time r
23.
by xgk 9y ago
> separate safety from the much more complex liveness True, and with program logics, you can choose partial correctness vs total vs generalised correctness. Itt's even worse in practise. With many contemporary dependently typed lang
24.
by xgk 9y ago
> to separate specification from verification Exactly. Program logics are superior in this regard: the encourage rather than inhibit separation of concerns. (Not to mention: program logics are more developed and cover a large class of co
25.
by xgk 9y ago
melody, harmony, and rhythm [...] timbre You are missing the fifth and most important: meaning! To be fair meaning is extra-musical, and varies between listeners. Other than that, you are absolutely correct: timber is the focus o
26.
by xgk 9y ago
Beethoven and Goethe worked in a specific artistic context which is radically incompatible with industrial production that is characteristic of modern pop-music and marketing. Hence a facile quip like "Beethoven would be making techno
27.
by xgk 9y ago
what it is they have against repetition They find it boring. Would you come to HN every day if the linked articles never changed? I'm quite enamoured with Schmidthuber's theory of creativity [1, 2] Schmidh
28.
by xgk 9y ago
And course the reply: I found Aphex Twin's reply disappointing. Like a petulant child he essentially negated Stockhausen's points, without engaging with them. It seems to me that Stockhausen was trying to be helpful -- af
29.
by xgk 9y ago
I'm not really pushing any specific notion of genius, but was challenging the claim that B. would be making techno today. I agree, "there's got to be something convincing", but it's unlikely to be musical. Most musi
30.
by xgk 9y ago
I don't see pop-music as vile. For me it's a social tool. It gets me & friends into a certain shared mood: relax, unwind, get drunk, etc etc. But it's not artistic: pop-music is surprise-free, it's conventional, it

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