Peter Wang 🦋

Creator of SciPy, NumPy, and Numba; founder of Anaconda, Inc and NumFOCUS. CEO of Quansight, OpenTeams, and OpenTeams Global, Head of Product at Zyphra

21 days ago

"The version of me that engages that question from the point of view of confidence says the likelihood is diminishingly small. But the version of me that observes that question from the point of view of certainty is absolutely certain that we're going to make it." - @jgreenhall on making choices by evidentiary analysis versus a deeper certainty

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pwang retweeted

MacCallister Higgins

@macjshiggins

6 days ago

nobody wants to hear this but the classical NASA systems engineering is the perfect model for developing code with LLMs. people try to approximate this with planning modes, but if you’re explicit in your docs it’s never been easier to build, test, and verify complex codebases.

macjshiggins's tweet photo. nobody wants to hear this but the classical NASA systems engineering is the perfect model for developing code with LLMs. people try to approximate this with planning modes, but if you’re explicit in your docs it’s never been easier to build, test, and verify complex codebases. https://t.co/CckAuL9OTX

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Who to follow

Travis Oliphant

@teoliphant

Andrew Ng

@AndrewYNg

Co-Founder of Coursera; Stanford CS adjunct faculty. Former head of Baidu AI Group/Google Brain. #ai #machinelearning, #deeplearning #MOOCs

Wes McKinney

@wesmckinn

Founder @kennsoftware, GP @ComposedVC, AI @posit_pbc

pwang retweeted

15 days ago

I talked with @pwang — AI officer, cofounder and CEO of Anaconda, board member of the Center for Humane Technology, and founder of the Austin STEM Center — about Robert Pirsig’s metaphysics of quality, how modernity encourages defection, and a secular conception of the sacred. We discussed: - Peter’s self-description as “the music in a violin that can kind of hear itself” - The “Peter Wang-shaped hole in the universe” thought experiment - Subject-object Cartesian dualism as a false alienation - Minimum viable metaphysics & atheistic agnosticism - Religion as an evolutionary emergent coherence mechanism for human collectives - Figure and ground as a metaphysical lens—the anonymous soil that allows religion to sprout - The Unix fortune “Man was invented by water to carry itself uphill” & Peter’s teleology origin story - Process metaphysics & presentism—”we’re not going anywhere, we’re becoming someone” - Pirsig’s metaphysics of quality & the four strata of static patterns of value - The intellectual plane vs. the social plane & Ken Wilber’s pre-trans fallacy - Defection within collaborative groups as the dynamic all human social systems try to constrain - “Death from a Distance”—throwing, beta coalitions & the emergence of a middle class of power - Modernity’s shrinking locus of care & the collapse of embedded social context - The agglomeration of defectors & how fluid capital enables sociopathic hoarding - Money-on-money return as today’s dominant pruning rule - Joint attention as a scarce collective resource & social media’s perforation of shared intersubjective infrastructure - Human agency & “micro-abdications” as the aggregate source of Moloch / Game A - The augmented currency thought experiment—metering human thriving alongside financial returns - Broken collective sense-making & the search for dynamic, adaptable values - Peter’s secular conception of the sacred—the “eternal golden braid of humanity” - “Ofness”—holding both distinctness and belonging to the world … and much more.

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pwang retweeted

8 days ago

"Joint attention—the fact that we all collectively know that we all know something—is super important in terms of building and maintaining the intersubjective infrastructure of a community, a tribe, a society, a nation. And we allowed that to just get shotgunned." - @pwang on the real problem of fragmented attention

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11 days ago

@misislavski There isn’t one 😊

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11 days ago

I don’t post much on Twitter any more but just wanted to surface the kind of rampant, unabashed white nationalism that has become normalized under Trump. And Twitter is fine being a place for these idiots to thrive, build a following, and metastasize their un-American poison.

Andrew Torba

@BasedTorba

12 days ago

My home isn’t your career move. You are not entitled to the inheritance my forefathers left me. No, I will not stand by and watch you rob opportunities from my children and kinsman.

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11 days ago

I know it’s a shitpost but it’s a good one

Ethan Brooks

@alt_w_v_g

12 days ago

My wife mentioned a nice private school over dinner this week She said the campus was beautiful I asked what's the tuition She said we should look at it as an investment in him not a cost I made a note She said don't make a note I said I always make notes She said this isn't a deal I said everything is a deal She closed her eyes She said we'd discuss it Saturday I agreed Saturday 7:02am She came downstairs in her Saturday robe Coffee in hand I had my cargo shorts on The dining room had been cleared The projector was on The analyst was at the head of the table Quarter zip on, three iced coffees, a legal pad, and two laptops He had been there since 6:44am I texted him at 11:14pm Friday The text said dining room 6:45am bring the model He sent a thumbs up My wife stopped in the doorway She said what is this I said you said you wanted to discuss it She said this is not a discussion I did not respond She sat down anyway The analyst stood He said good morning ma'am She did not respond He sat back down A printed deck in front of each seat A fourth copy in case Slide 1 Tuition Schedule $38,500 per year Thirteen years $500,500 nominal Before escalators The school has raised tuition 4.2% per year for a decade With escalators $648,000 My wife said okay I said I'm not done Slide 2 Opportunity Cost Even before escalators $38,500 invested annually 10% nominal return S&P long-run average since 1928 By his eighteenth birthday $944,000 My wife said we can afford it I said I know that's not the slide Slide 3 Terminal Value at Age 65 $83 million She was quiet The analyst slid the sensitivity tables across the table 8% return $31 million 10% return $83 million 12% return $222 million She did not look She said this isn't about money I said it's always about money She said no it isn't I said then what is it about She did not answer She said you can't put a dollar value on his teachers his classmates his environment I said I can the analyst already did slide 6 He flipped to slide 6 She did not look She said the school is the best in the city I said best is a feeling She said it produces the best students I said the students were already the best before they got there She said our son deserves it I said our son deserves $83 million My son walked in He is five Dinosaur pajamas He looked at the projector He looked at the open deck on the table He looked at slide 3 He said are we modeling pre-tax or after-tax The analyst opened a new tab My wife looked at the ceiling He said what's the discount rate The analyst set down his pen She closed her eyes He said is this the same return assumption from the 529 conversation The analyst stopped typing He looked at me I did not say anything She stood up Sat back down He said dad can I help I said yes He pulled up a chair The analyst handed him a printout He started reading My wife watched him read She watched him for a long time She said his name He looked up She said do you like school He said the work is too easy and the kids don't ask questions She did not respond She looked at the ceiling She walked out of the room The analyst started packing up He said should I follow up Monday sir I said no follow up needed He'll be fine Sent from my iPhone

alt_w_v_g's tweet photo. My wife mentioned a nice private school over dinner this week
She said the campus was beautiful
I asked what's the tuition
She said we should look at it as an investment in him not a cost
I made a note
She said don't make a note
I said I always make notes
She said this isn't a deal
I said everything is a deal
She closed her eyes

She said we'd discuss it Saturday
I agreed

Saturday 7:02am
She came downstairs in her Saturday robe
Coffee in hand
I had my cargo shorts on

The dining room had been cleared
The projector was on
The analyst was at the head of the table
Quarter zip on, three iced coffees, a legal pad, and two laptops
He had been there since 6:44am

I texted him at 11:14pm Friday
The text said dining room 6:45am bring the model
He sent a thumbs up

My wife stopped in the doorway
She said what is this
I said you said you wanted to discuss it
She said this is not a discussion
I did not respond
She sat down anyway

The analyst stood
He said good morning ma'am
She did not respond
He sat back down
A printed deck in front of each seat
A fourth copy in case

Slide 1 Tuition Schedule
$38,500 per year
Thirteen years
$500,500 nominal
Before escalators
The school has raised tuition 4.2% per year for a decade
With escalators $648,000
My wife said okay
I said I'm not done

Slide 2 Opportunity Cost
Even before escalators
$38,500 invested annually
10% nominal return
S&P long-run average since 1928
By his eighteenth birthday $944,000
My wife said we can afford it
I said I know that's not the slide

Slide 3 Terminal Value at Age 65
$83 million
She was quiet

The analyst slid the sensitivity tables across the table
8% return $31 million
10% return $83 million
12% return $222 million
She did not look

She said this isn't about money
I said it's always about money
She said no it isn't
I said then what is it about
She did not answer

She said you can't put a dollar value on his teachers his classmates his environment
I said I can the analyst already did slide 6
He flipped to slide 6
She did not look

She said the school is the best in the city
I said best is a feeling
She said it produces the best students
I said the students were already the best before they got there

She said our son deserves it
I said our son deserves $83 million

My son walked in
He is five
Dinosaur pajamas
He looked at the projector
He looked at the open deck on the table
He looked at slide 3
He said are we modeling pre-tax or after-tax
The analyst opened a new tab
My wife looked at the ceiling

He said what's the discount rate
The analyst set down his pen
She closed her eyes

He said is this the same return assumption from the 529 conversation
The analyst stopped typing
He looked at me
I did not say anything

She stood up
Sat back down

He said dad can I help
I said yes
He pulled up a chair
The analyst handed him a printout
He started reading

My wife watched him read
She watched him for a long time

She said his name
He looked up
She said do you like school
He said the work is too easy and the kids don't ask questions

She did not respond
She looked at the ceiling
She walked out of the room

The analyst started packing up
He said should I follow up Monday sir
I said no follow up needed

He'll be fine

Sent from my iPhone

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pwang retweeted

Ethan Brooks

@alt_w_v_g

12 days ago

My wife mentioned a nice private school over dinner this week She said the campus was beautiful I asked what's the tuition She said we should look at it as an investment in him not a cost I made a note She said don't make a note I said I always make notes She said this isn't a deal I said everything is a deal She closed her eyes She said we'd discuss it Saturday I agreed Saturday 7:02am She came downstairs in her Saturday robe Coffee in hand I had my cargo shorts on The dining room had been cleared The projector was on The analyst was at the head of the table Quarter zip on, three iced coffees, a legal pad, and two laptops He had been there since 6:44am I texted him at 11:14pm Friday The text said dining room 6:45am bring the model He sent a thumbs up My wife stopped in the doorway She said what is this I said you said you wanted to discuss it She said this is not a discussion I did not respond She sat down anyway The analyst stood He said good morning ma'am She did not respond He sat back down A printed deck in front of each seat A fourth copy in case Slide 1 Tuition Schedule $38,500 per year Thirteen years $500,500 nominal Before escalators The school has raised tuition 4.2% per year for a decade With escalators $648,000 My wife said okay I said I'm not done Slide 2 Opportunity Cost Even before escalators $38,500 invested annually 10% nominal return S&P long-run average since 1928 By his eighteenth birthday $944,000 My wife said we can afford it I said I know that's not the slide Slide 3 Terminal Value at Age 65 $83 million She was quiet The analyst slid the sensitivity tables across the table 8% return $31 million 10% return $83 million 12% return $222 million She did not look She said this isn't about money I said it's always about money She said no it isn't I said then what is it about She did not answer She said you can't put a dollar value on his teachers his classmates his environment I said I can the analyst already did slide 6 He flipped to slide 6 She did not look She said the school is the best in the city I said best is a feeling She said it produces the best students I said the students were already the best before they got there She said our son deserves it I said our son deserves $83 million My son walked in He is five Dinosaur pajamas He looked at the projector He looked at the open deck on the table He looked at slide 3 He said are we modeling pre-tax or after-tax The analyst opened a new tab My wife looked at the ceiling He said what's the discount rate The analyst set down his pen She closed her eyes He said is this the same return assumption from the 529 conversation The analyst stopped typing He looked at me I did not say anything She stood up Sat back down He said dad can I help I said yes He pulled up a chair The analyst handed him a printout He started reading My wife watched him read She watched him for a long time She said his name He looked up She said do you like school He said the work is too easy and the kids don't ask questions She did not respond She looked at the ceiling She walked out of the room The analyst started packing up He said should I follow up Monday sir I said no follow up needed He'll be fine Sent from my iPhone

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13 days ago

I had such a great time with Jim taking about my “worldviews” - the conceptual foundations of how I look at the world and all the complexity within it. Has nothing to do with anything in particular, and yet it has everything to do with everything. 😉

15 days ago

I talked with @pwang — AI officer, cofounder and CEO of Anaconda, board member of the Center for Humane Technology, and founder of the Austin STEM Center — about Robert Pirsig’s metaphysics of quality, how modernity encourages defection, and a secular conception of the sacred. We discussed: - Peter’s self-description as “the music in a violin that can kind of hear itself” - The “Peter Wang-shaped hole in the universe” thought experiment - Subject-object Cartesian dualism as a false alienation - Minimum viable metaphysics & atheistic agnosticism - Religion as an evolutionary emergent coherence mechanism for human collectives - Figure and ground as a metaphysical lens—the anonymous soil that allows religion to sprout - The Unix fortune “Man was invented by water to carry itself uphill” & Peter’s teleology origin story - Process metaphysics & presentism—”we’re not going anywhere, we’re becoming someone” - Pirsig’s metaphysics of quality & the four strata of static patterns of value - The intellectual plane vs. the social plane & Ken Wilber’s pre-trans fallacy - Defection within collaborative groups as the dynamic all human social systems try to constrain - “Death from a Distance”—throwing, beta coalitions & the emergence of a middle class of power - Modernity’s shrinking locus of care & the collapse of embedded social context - The agglomeration of defectors & how fluid capital enables sociopathic hoarding - Money-on-money return as today’s dominant pruning rule - Joint attention as a scarce collective resource & social media’s perforation of shared intersubjective infrastructure - Human agency & “micro-abdications” as the aggregate source of Moloch / Game A - The augmented currency thought experiment—metering human thriving alongside financial returns - Broken collective sense-making & the search for dynamic, adaptable values - Peter’s secular conception of the sacred—the “eternal golden braid of humanity” - “Ofness”—holding both distinctness and belonging to the world … and much more.

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13 days ago

@jamescham We should start a google doc or hackpad for the PRD. I’ve wanted something similar, but also wanted specific sent interfaces to it, so it’s kind of an “active hivemind”

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15 days ago

Wait wait I was told that AI was going to hit recursive self improvement by itself later this year… hiring Karpathy breaks the recursive step unless they’re going to actively breed or clone him

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pwang retweeted

James Cham

@jamescham

17 days ago

“the halting problem, but for LLMs” — Sam describes the next problem https://t.co/cUU0kaQnPo

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pwang retweeted

swyx

@swyx

16 days ago

this seems quite doable in the space of a single 2-3 hour workshop — any brave soul want to try to livecode this for people as a learning exercise?

swyx's tweet photo. this seems quite doable in the space of a single 2-3 hour workshop — any brave soul want to try to livecode this for people as a learning exercise? https://t.co/VTfzaB4NpK

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