Friday Read: “What Is Code?” by Paul Ford (Bloomberg Businessweek)

Well, I read all* 38,000 words of this piece and I think I understand computer programming now! Or, at least, better than I did. Check this out for the knowledge, but also the writing and the great design work. And if you finish it, you’ll get a very cool Certificate of Achievement. Mine features me looking angrily at my monitor because I forgot that my computer camera is on my actual computer, which sits at an (unflattering) angle on my desk. You also might have a dream where people say “Python” and “Ruby on Rails” over and over again, which is something I experienced this morning.

*Most. Sometimes my eyes just looked at the words in some paragraphs and nothing really registered, but I did make a very big effort to read and comprehend this whole thing.

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What else?

I don’t know. I kind of hated everything I read this week! I literally have nothing to recommend other than this list of “99 Things All Yuccies Love” – even though it also made me feel bad about myself – and this New Yorker piece about reproduction, marriage, and the Constitution.

I’ve been ending these things with songs lately, so here is “Broken Necks” by Eskimeaux.