Chapters: Ch 1 · Ch 2 · Ch 3 · Ch 4 · Ch 5
Nix
The Determinate Nix Installer — Zero to Nix Zero to Nix’s guide to the Determinate Systems Nix installer — a more reliable, multi-user Nix installation experience than the official installer. Zero to Nix provides the most beginner-friendly introduction to the Nix ecosystem and its reproducible build guarantees. https://zero-to-nix.com/concepts/nix-installer
Miscellaneous Programming
Edward Kmett: Why B-Trees Exist and Are Provably Optimal (@kmett) Edward Kmett’s tweet explaining the information-theoretic and cache-hierarchy reasons why B-trees are provably optimal for many applications — connecting the physical constraints of memory hierarchies to the mathematical analysis of tree branching factors. https://x.com/kmett/status/1811904210021286014
Erik Meijer: Real Life Case of Law of Excluded Middle — Hallucination (@headinthebox) Erik Meijer applies classical logic to the LLM hallucination debate: “Hallucination is Inevitable” vs “AI guarantees accuracy and eliminates hallucinations” — demonstrating how the law of excluded middle forces a choice between these incompatible propositions and what it implies about formal verification of AI systems. https://x.com/headinthebox/status/1801087634200199464
Satnam Singh: Erik Meijer Tames AI with Lambda Calculus and Big-Step Semantics Tweet referencing Erik Meijer’s work applying lambda calculus and operational semantics to constrain and reason about AI model behavior. A perspective on formal methods as a framework for AI reliability rather than purely for traditional software. https://x.com/satnam6502/status/1817243947800129956
Bounties on Scala Open Source (algora.io) Algora’s bounty console for Scala open source projects: financial incentives for fixing issues, adding features, or improving documentation in the Scala ecosystem. Useful for both finding paid contribution opportunities and incentivizing work on projects you depend on. https://console.algora.io/bounties/t/scala
Why, After 6 Years, I’m Over GraphQL (bessey.dev) A candid post-mortem from a long-time GraphQL practitioner explaining the accumulated frustrations: N+1 query problems at scale, authorization complexity, schema stitching nightmares, and the cases where REST and JSON:API would have been simpler. A useful counterweight to GraphQL evangelism. https://bessey.dev/
Mathematics in India (bhavana.org.in) Bhavana journal’s series on the history of mathematics in India: zero, the decimal system, infinite series, combinatorics, and the Āryabhaṭa tradition. Bridges Indian mathematical history with modern number theory and analysis. https://bhavana.org.in/mathematics-in-india-6/