Essays

Stop writing shell scripts

Billy Bean classifies programming languages: “There're strongly typed languages, weakly typed languages, fifty feet of crap, and then there's shell.”

by Samuel Grayson on 2021 January 1.

UNIX shell isn't a real programming language, so stop using like one!

The Most Important Constitutional Amendment You've Never Heard Of

George E. C. Hayes, Thurgood Marshall, and James M. Nabrit (right to left) pose outside the U. S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., May 17, 1954 after their victory in a landmark, Brown v. Topeka Board of Education.

by Samuel Grayson on 2020 December 27.

This amendment lies at the heart of issues on the left and right: gay marriage, contraceptive rights, gerrymandering, gun rights, affirmative action. Can you guess what it is?

Monads as a Programming Pattern

by Samuel Grayson on 2019 August 6.

This article is written from a programmer's perspective, where a monad is a software engineering pattern. It's just another tool for your box.

Creative Thinking in Math Class

Rick Sanchez says, "School is not a place for smart people."

by Samuel Grayson on 2017 May 20.

Most students will say math class is stupid and boring. As a math person myself, I have to say: they're right!

The Chaos of History (part 2)

by Samuel Grayson on 2017 January 9.

Can history be described by mathematical formulae?

The Chaos of History (part 1)

Aftermath of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajewo

by Samuel Grayson on 2016 July 21.

We like to think that systems like human society have some predictable order, when in reality, history is driven by completely unpredictable random events.