Comments on: I’m losing it http://blog.xcski.com/2004/07/08/im-losing-it Everything I used to bore people on newsgroups and mailing lists with, now in one inconvenient place. Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:25:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Matt McLeod http://blog.xcski.com/2004/07/08/im-losing-it#comment-295 Matt McLeod Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000 http://xcski.com/wordpress/?p=252#comment-295 We had a similar problem recently. Our locally-written system configuration management system (manages system configs, not CM) uses boolean foo for selecting which hosts a given chunk of code operates on. It turns out that the documentation (written by the same guy who wrote the code) was wrong. He'd documented that using NOT implied AND (OR is implied otherwise), but it turns out that the code actually uses OR when there's a NOT without anything else, so... While fixing this he went around and talked to the 8 or so people in our group who use this system, and got about 5 or 6 different and conflicting answers to "how do you think this works?". Seems that discrete math isn't as common an area of study as I'd understood it to be in CS degrees. We had a similar problem recently. Our locally-written system configuration management system (manages system configs, not CM) uses boolean foo for selecting which hosts a given chunk of code operates on.

It turns out that the documentation (written by the same guy who wrote the code) was wrong. He’d documented that using NOT implied AND (OR is implied otherwise), but it turns out that the code actually uses OR when there’s a NOT without anything else, so…

While fixing this he went around and talked to the 8 or so people in our group who use this system, and got about 5 or 6 different and conflicting answers to “how do you think this works?”.

Seems that discrete math isn’t as common an area of study as I’d understood it to be in CS degrees.

]]> By: Mike http://blog.xcski.com/2004/07/08/im-losing-it#comment-296 Mike Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000 http://xcski.com/wordpress/?p=252#comment-296 Matt - it was a required course at my old school. Dunno about my new one. Maybe they do something at convocation to remove all vestiges of logic from brains? Of course, given the apparent logic of some of the profs I work with, maybe it's the teachers, not the lack of teaching. Matt - it was a required course at my old school. Dunno about my new one.

Maybe they do something at convocation to remove all vestiges of logic from brains?

Of course, given the apparent logic of some of the profs I work with, maybe it’s the teachers, not the lack of teaching.

]]> By: J. http://blog.xcski.com/2004/07/08/im-losing-it#comment-297 J. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000 http://xcski.com/wordpress/?p=252#comment-297 I've read that three times, and I cannot figure out what your boss is talking about. That's not even at a "taking a discrete math" course level–that's just basic thinking. If the rating is G, PG, R, or (heaven forbid!) NC-17, then the rating does not equal PG-13. But that's the same problem you're having, so I'm not helping. As an aside, PSU has a whopping two courses in discrete math. I've taken one, and it was horribly taught. I’ve read that three times, and I cannot figure out what your boss is talking about. That’s not even at a “taking a discrete math” course level–that’s just basic thinking. If the rating is G, PG, R, or (heaven forbid!) NC-17, then the rating does not equal PG-13. But that’s the same problem you’re having, so I’m not helping.

As an aside, PSU has a whopping two courses in discrete math. I’ve taken one, and it was horribly taught.

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