<rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><channel><title>Hacker News: andrewp123</title><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=andrewp123</link><description>Hacker News RSS</description><docs>https://hnrss.org/</docs><generator>hnrss v2.1.1</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 06:29:13 +0000</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://hnrss.org/user?id=andrewp123" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"></atom:link><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "The Marshmallow Test does not reliably predict adult functioning"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I don’t know how any experiment like this could be taken seriously. Your action could change 15 minutes apart if you feel like having sugar, if the guy felt intimidating or not, if the last thing he said seemed friendly or if his facial expression was off at the very end, etc.<p>There must be a better way of judging the validity of a social experiment using first principles. There’s a huge psychological side that people completely ignore.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 03 Aug 2024 18:23:22 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41148261</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41148261</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41148261</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "We need visual programming. No, not like that"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Algorithms are graphs, data structures are graphs, networks are graphs, relationships are graphs.<p>Let’s use text to describe everything!</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 15 Jul 2024 03:24:50 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40965032</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40965032</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40965032</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "Quantum entangled photons react to Earth's spin"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I’m not sure how interesting this is - of course rotation causes the paths to differ and become measurable.<p>I’ve been wondering about sending photons away from earth and having their paths bend due to gravity (and later have them interfere). That would be interesting because GR would be involved.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 17 Jun 2024 18:26:29 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40709206</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40709206</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40709206</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "Show HN: HackerNews but for research papers"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I was thinking of creating something like this but centered around posting one’s intuitions on research, instead of the papers themselves (which are hard to read, even the list of titles are hard to parse). But researchers are afraid to say anything stupid and would prefer saying nothing at all.<p>It’s a hard problem but could be a good platform for research discussions considering none exists today. Best of luck.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 25 May 2024 18:59:29 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40477098</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40477098</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40477098</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "Bend: a high-level language that runs on GPUs (via HVM2)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I just wanted to comment on how good the homepage is - it's immediately clear what you do. Most people working with "combinators" would feel a need to use lots of scary lingo, but OP actually shows the simple idea behind the tool (this is the opposite take of most academics, who instead show every last detail and never tell you what's going on). I really appreciate it - we need more of this.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 19:58:36 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40393660</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40393660</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40393660</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "Dymaxion Car"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>The word dynamic was popular in naming around that time - dynamic programming is another example (1950s).<p>Somehow just by internalizing the old meaning of the world “dynamic”, I feel I have a better idea of what the world felt like back then.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2024 07:13:33 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40340528</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40340528</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40340528</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "Solving Recurrence Relations"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>A powerful method in math is to assume the thing you're looking for is continuous, in which case you can write it F(n) = a0 + a1 n + a2 n^2 + ... .<p>You can solve Fibonacci by writing it as<p>a0 + a1 n + a2 n^2 + ...<p>= a0 + a1 (n-1) + a2 (n-1)^2 + ...<p>+ a0 + a1 (n-2) + a2 (n-2)^2 + ...<p>Expand terms, then match the n, n^2, n^3 etc terms and solve for a0, a1, a2, etc. This works in solving differential equations too - it's called "Method of Frobenius" (easier in diffeq because you don't have to do annoying binomial coefficient math).</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2024 04:55:29 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40339897</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40339897</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40339897</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "Unix forking the universe by running IBM's free online quantum computer"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I can't imagine you believe P=NP.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2024 19:50:48 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40330248</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40330248</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40330248</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "Apple apologizes for iPad 'Crush' ad that 'missed the mark'"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Always a bad idea to destroy musical instruments.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2024 21:19:18 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40323899</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40323899</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40323899</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "Unix forking the universe by running IBM's free online quantum computer"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I just tried finding a good resource and I can’t. All of them are mile long page scrolls… I don’t know how they have so much stuff to spew. Qiskit had amazing lessons with cool illustrations (although they did spew at the end) but I can’t even find that anymore on their site.<p>Don’t worry though, even the professional researchers I’ve worked with think it’s a waste of time. The field is screwed.<p>Here’s a quick explanation from me- 
The state |x> means you have some qubits that represent the number x. Say you want to represent the number 13, that just means you have |1,0,1,1>, it just means you have 4 qubits in this configuration (quits can be 0 or 1). It’s also written |13>. If you want the state “13 AND 14 AND 15” in superposition where qubits are both 0 and 1, that’s represented by |1,0,1,1> + |1,1,0,0> + |1,1,0,1>. It’s in that superposition and can interact with itself until you choose to measure it. When you do go to measure it, you might measure any of the values (you dont get to choose which). Maybe you measure 15, that means the state is now |1,1,0,1>, you just deleted all the terms that aren’t 15.<p>This is a full pic of Shor’s algorithm 
<a href="https://images.app.goo.gl/ZE5rDxHScm4LUqms6" rel="nofollow">https://images.app.goo.gl/ZE5rDxHScm4LUqms6</a><p>If you look at the pic, main idea is the first layer of H’s creates the state sum_x=0…2^n-1 |x, 0>, then gate U turns that state into sum_x |x, f(x)>, then the measurements measure which f(x) you have, deleting all the terms that don’t have that f(x) in them, so for example if you measure that f(x) is 13, the state is now |0, 13> + |15, 13> + |30, 13> + |45, 13> + …
This is the periodic state. Now that we have it we can just apply a gate that takes the QFT (finds the frequency, which here turns the state into roughly |15, 13>), and then measures it, giving the answer period=15.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2024 16:14:44 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40320669</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40320669</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40320669</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "Unix forking the universe by running IBM's free online quantum computer"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Yep, they're essentially giant brute force machines. You can find the period of a function by passing all the inputs through it at once and destructively interfering the result.<p>Why is there a speedup in quantum, though? Why can't you just brute force classically? The answer is that whether quantum or classical, you can always build a hard-coded circuit that essentially swaps the time and space complexity - just make it so that for every operation you were doing in time, instead, every operation happens at its own place in space.<p>Quantum is special because it also takes the "log" of the space complexity b/c n qubits represent 2^n bits. So quantum lets you swap space with time and then take the log of time, lol. Superposition, interference, etc aren't really even needed in the explanation.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2024 05:07:47 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40294521</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40294521</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40294521</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "Unix forking the universe by running IBM's free online quantum computer"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Correct - superposition doesn't fork the world - measurement does. And correct, you can't communicate with the other universe after the split has happened [1]. I'm glad you mentioned that quantum computers can't solve NP-complete problems - my next blog post was going to be about why. Here's an overview of what I plan on saying:<p>A typical quantum algorithm like Shor's works by sending every possible input through a gate, and so you get every possible output out in a superposition. If you were to just measure that, you'd get a random result - so instead, you need to somehow interfere the output to get the actual result. You do this by taking advantage of the fact that the superposition is a periodic function and the amplitude repeats. This is literally the core assumption of the algorithm.(a common way of doing this using the QFT).<p>Every quantum algorithm requires some kind of structure in the output like this. Deustch's algo, dumb ones like Simon's algo, etc. NP-Complete problems have no structure to them, so even if you build a gate that creates the superposition you want, it's not possible to destructively interfere it to get an answer (I don't know how to prove that there's no structure to NP-Complete outputs - it just feels trivial, since they're only solvable in exponential time, so there must be an exponential amount of "structure" there).<p>---<p>[1] The only way to communicate with the other universe would be to try to use quantum mechanics with something like an entangled pair. But no information can be communicated through an entangled pair if all you just have 1 of the 2 particles! Measurement collapses a state nonlocally, and if you could somehow measure one particle and change the probability distribution of the other, you'd be communicating faster than light. The measurement genuinely changes the state and the amplitudes, but not in a way that the other person can detect. It's really interesting and leads to stuff like teleportation.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2024 04:57:47 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40294462</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40294462</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40294462</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "Unix forking the universe by running IBM's free online quantum computer"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>If you roll a regular coin without any quantum effects, every version of you will either see only heads, or only tails. You need quantum in order to make the choice nondeterministic.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 23:52:19 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40292864</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40292864</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40292864</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Unix forking the universe by running IBM's free online quantum computer]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Article URL: <a href="https://parel.es/blog/quantum-dice">https://parel.es/blog/quantum-dice</a></p>
<p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40292452">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40292452</a></p>
<p>Points: 58</p>
<p># Comments: 46</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 22:52:07 +0000</pubDate><link>https://parel.es/blog/quantum-dice</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40292452</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40292452</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "How & Why I use IBM's Quantum Computer to Make Decisions"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>It's a similar idea. The only difference is that if the event is quantum, the universe is choosing for you (otherwise the flip is deterministic).</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 22:38:41 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40292361</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40292361</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40292361</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Show HN: Deriveit.org – A smart resource to master LeetCode efficiently]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>The goal of our site is to teach smart people how to quickly master LeetCode. This boils down to two main ideas:<p>-organized intelligently<p>-simpler explanations than what you find online<p>(==> more efficient)<p>We’re super proud of our content, and we've helped a bunch of people land FAANG offers: just recently 2 people have landed Amazon using our platform. We made sure to cover all the ideas you learn from the Blind75 and NeetCode150, and people actually feel ready for their interviews after using our platform.<p>We've had 30,000+ users so far, and we're even officially used in classes at Cornell University and UTDallas. We also have a growing Discord community. Don't hesitate to reach out here or in our Discord if you have any questions (they can even be LeetCode questions).<p>You can start free, and if you're ready to buy, use code "Recursion" for a sizable HN discount :)</p>
<hr>
<p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40291309">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40291309</a></p>
<p>Points: 2</p>
<p># Comments: 0</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 20:50:59 +0000</pubDate><link>https://deriveit.org/coding/using-recursion-215</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40291309</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40291309</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[How & Why I use IBM's Quantum Computer to Make Decisions]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Article URL: <a href="https://parel.es/blog/quantum-dice?hn2">https://parel.es/blog/quantum-dice?hn2</a></p>
<p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40289386">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40289386</a></p>
<p>Points: 1</p>
<p># Comments: 2</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 18:10:09 +0000</pubDate><link>https://parel.es/blog/quantum-dice?hn2</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40289386</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40289386</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "Coding interviews are stupid (ish)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>If you want a more efficient way to practice, I’ve been working on <a href="https://deriveit.org/coding/roadmap#note-215" rel="nofollow">https://deriveit.org/coding/roadmap#note-215</a>. It’s LeetCode site that’s<p>-organized intelligently<p>-has simpler explanations than you find online<p>We’re super proud of our content and just recently 2 people have landed Amazon with us. People actually feel ready for interviews with us. Give it a go :).</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 17:21:49 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40288697</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40288697</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40288697</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Using quantum computers to make meaningful decisions in real life]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Article URL: <a href="https://parel.es/blog/quantum-dice?hn">https://parel.es/blog/quantum-dice?hn</a></p>
<p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40283747">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40283747</a></p>
<p>Points: 1</p>
<p># Comments: 0</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 09:31:08 +0000</pubDate><link>https://parel.es/blog/quantum-dice?hn</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40283747</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40283747</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by andrewp123 in "Show HN: New Next.js Monorepo Boilerplate"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Wow, shipfa.st boilerplate is really taking off!</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 05:53:30 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40282768</link><dc:creator>andrewp123</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40282768</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40282768</guid></item></channel></rss>