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π BΓ©lΓ‘dy's Anomaly
In computer storage, BΓ©lΓ‘dy's anomaly is the phenomenon in which increasing the number of page frames results in an increase in the number of page faults for certain memory access patterns. This phenomenon is commonly experienced when using the first-in first-out (FIFO) page replacement algorithm. In FIFO, the page fault may or may not increase as the page frames increase, but in Optimal and stack-based algorithms like LRU, as the page frames increase the page fault decreases. LΓ‘szlΓ³ BΓ©lΓ‘dy demonstrated this in 1969.
In common computer memory management, information is loaded in specific-sized chunks. Each chunk is referred to as a page. Main memory can hold only a limited number of pages at a time. It requires a frame for each page it can load. A page fault occurs when a page is not found, and might need to be loaded from disk into memory.
When a page fault occurs and all frames are in use, one must be cleared to make room for the new page. A simple algorithm is FIFO: whichever page has been in the frames the longest is the one that is cleared. Until BΓ©lΓ‘dy's anomaly was demonstrated, it was believed that an increase in the number of page frames would always result in the same number of or fewer page faults.
Discussed on
- "BΓ©lΓ‘dy's Anomaly" | 2021-01-14 | 66 Upvotes 3 Comments
π Computer Says No
"Computer says no" is a catchphrase first used in the British sketch comedy television programme Little Britain in 2004. In British culture, the phrase is used to criticise public-facing organisations and customer service staff who rely on information stored on or generated by a computer to make decisions and respond to customers' requests, often in a manner which goes against common sense. It may also refer to a deliberately unhelpful attitude towards customers and service-users commonly experienced within British society, whereby more could be done to reach a mutually satisfactory outcome, but is not.
Discussed on
- "Computer Says No" | 2021-01-11 | 14 Upvotes 2 Comments
π 1983 United States Senate Bombing
The 1983 U.S. Senate bombing was a bomb explosion at the United States Senate on November 7, 1983, motivated by United States military involvement in Lebanon and Grenada. The attack led to heightened security in the DC metropolitan area, and the inaccessibility of certain parts of the Senate Building. Six members of the radical left-wing Resistance Conspiracy were arrested in May 1988 and charged with the bombing, as well as related bombings of Fort McNair and the Washington Navy Yard which occurred April 25, 1983, and April 20, 1984, respectively.
π First They Came
"First they came ..." is the poetic form of a post-war confessional prose by the German Lutheran pastor Martin NiemΓΆller (1892β1984). It is about the cowardice of German intellectuals and certain clergyβincluding, by his own admission, NiemΓΆller himselfβfollowing the Nazis' rise to power and subsequent incremental purging of their chosen targets, group after group. Many variations and adaptations in the spirit of the original have been published in the English language. It deals with themes of persecution, guilt, repentance, and personal responsibility.
π Xenobot
Xenobots, named after the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), are synthetic organisms that are automatically designed by computers to perform some desired function and built by combining together different biological tissues.
Xenobots are less than a 1 millimeter (0.039 inches) wide and composed of just two things: skin cells and heart muscle cells, both of which are derived from stem cells harvested from early (blastula stage) frog embryos. The skin cells provide rigid support and the heart cells act as small motors, contracting and expanding in volume to propel the xenobot forward. The shape of a xenobot's body, and its distribution of skin and heart cells, are automatically designed in simulation to perform a specific task, using a process of trial and error (an evolutionary algorithm). Xenobots have been designed to walk, swim, push pellets, carry payloads, and work together in a swarm to aggregate debris scattered along the surface of their dish into neat piles. They can survive for weeks without food and heal themselves after lacerations.
π Wikipedia frequently-encountered sources, color-coded by perceived reliability
This is a non-exhaustive list of sources whose reliability and use on Wikipedia are frequently discussed. This list summarizes prior consensus and consolidates links to the most in-depth and recent discussions from the reliable sources noticeboard and elsewhere on Wikipedia.
- Click here to check the list of sources.
Context matters tremendously, and some sources may or may not be suitable for certain uses depending on the situation. When in doubt, defer to the linked discussions for more detailed information on a particular source and its use. Consensus can change, and if more recent discussions considering new evidence or arguments reach a different consensus, this list should be updated to reflect those changes.
Reliability is an inquiry that takes place pursuant to the verifiability policy and the reliable sources guideline. Note that verifiability is only one of Wikipedia's core content policies, which also include neutral point of view and no original research. These policies work together to determine whether information from reliable sources should be included or excluded.
Discussed on
- "Wikipedia's List of Reliable Sources" | 2022-12-27 | 12 Upvotes 4 Comments
- "Wikipedia: Reliable Sources/Perennial Sources" | 2022-04-29 | 10 Upvotes 1 Comments
- "Wikipedia frequently-encountered sources, color-coded by perceived reliability" | 2021-01-08 | 99 Upvotes 79 Comments
π Universal Decimal Classification
The Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) is a bibliographic and library classification representing the systematic arrangement of all branches of human knowledge organized as a coherent system in which knowledge fields are related and inter-linked. The UDC is an analytico-synthetic and faceted classification system featuring detailed vocabulary and syntax that enables powerful content indexing and information retrieval in large collections. Since 1991, the UDC has been owned and managed by the UDC Consortium, a non-profit international association of publishers with headquarters in The Hague (Netherlands).
Unlike other library classification schemes that have started their life as national systems, the UDC was conceived and maintained as an international scheme. Its translation in world languages started at the beginning of the 20th century and has since been published in various printed editions in over 40 languages. UDC Summary, an abridged Web version of the scheme, is available in over 50 languages. The classification has been modified and extended over the years to cope with increasing output in all areas of human knowledge, and is still under continuous review to take account of new developments.
Albeit originally designed as an indexing and retrieval system, due to its logical structure and scalability, UDC has become one of the most widely used knowledge organization systems in libraries, where it is used for either shelf arrangement, content indexing or both. UDC codes can describe any type of document or object to any desired level of detail. These can include textual documents and other media such as films, video and sound recordings, illustrations, maps as well as realia such as museum objects.
Discussed on
- "Universal Decimal Classification" | 2021-01-07 | 22 Upvotes 5 Comments
π A Schelling point is a solution people choose by default in a coordination game
In game theory, a focal point (or Schelling point) is a solution that people tend to choose by default in the absence of communication. The concept was introduced by the American economist Thomas Schelling in his book The Strategy of Conflict (1960). Schelling states that "(p)eople can often concert their intentions or expectations with others if each knows that the other is trying to do the same" in a cooperative situation (at page 57), so their action would converge on a focal point which has some kind of prominence compared with the environment. However, the conspicuousness of the focal point depends on time, place and people themselves. It may not be a definite solution.
Discussed on
- "A Schelling point is a solution people choose by default in a coordination game" | 2021-01-05 | 65 Upvotes 13 Comments
π Human Rights Violations by the CIA
This article deals with the activities of the Central Intelligence Agency of the Federal government of the United States, that violate human rights.
Discussed on
- "Human Rights Violations by the CIA" | 2021-01-04 | 37 Upvotes 1 Comments
π HODL
Hodl ( HOD-Ιl; often written HODL) is slang in the cryptocurrency community for holding the cryptocurrency rather than selling it. A person who does this is known as a Hodler. It originated in a December 2013 post on the Bitcoin Forum message board by an apparently inebriated user who posted with a typo in the subject, "I AM HODLING." It is often backronymed to "hold on for dear life". In 2017, Quartz listed it as one of the essential slang terms in Bitcoin culture, and described it as a stance, "to stay invested in bitcoin and not to capitulate in the face of plunging prices." TheStreet.com referred to it as the "favorite mantra" of Bitcoin holders. Bloomberg News referred to it as a "mantra" for holders during market routs.
Discussed on
- "HODL" | 2021-01-03 | 18 Upvotes 5 Comments