And again with the "power of two choices" method, where at each step one selects 2 bins uniformly at random, and puts the ball in the least crowded of the two.
(Here, the two yellow bars are for the two bins selected in the current step.)
New version of my visualization of the max load when throwing n balls into n bins, this time for n=50. I slowed down the animation a little.
Yellow: bin currently selected (uniformly at random).
Red: bins with the maximum load.
Alright, the legend is a bit wrong, the y-axis should just read "Load", not "Maximum load". My bad.
... and for the "power of two choices" version.
Not sure why, but I coded a quick visualization of the maximum load when "throwing n balls into n bins", here for n=100.
Both for standard balls in bins below...
On the postdoc job market? "As foretold" some time ago, the Sydney Algorithms and Computing Theory group at @sydneycompsci.bsky.social is hiring postdocs (2 years, renewable) in Theoretical Computer Science and Algorithms!
usyd.wd105.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/USYD_E... #TCSSky
Well, this seems like a big deal. arxiv.org/abs/2603.087...
"This is the first algorithm that can PAC learn even intersections of two halfspaces in time 2^o(n)."
Two additional important points: (1) "We welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds." and (2) as a postdoc in our group, you'll have significant freedom to pursue your own research agenda in algorithms-related areas of TCS
usyd.wd105.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/USYD_E...
Important details:
- Full time, fixed term for 2 years (with the possibility of extension)
- Base salary $109,263 - $121,054 + 17% super [=retirement]
"This recruitment forms part of a broader campaign: We anticipate additional postdoctoral vacancies in the SACT group coming online later this year"
On the postdoc job market? "As foretold" some time ago, the Sydney Algorithms and Computing Theory group at @sydneycompsci.bsky.social is hiring postdocs (2 years, renewable) in Theoretical Computer Science and Algorithms!
usyd.wd105.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/USYD_E... #TCSSky
(This is of course reinforced by all these repeated claims about "this LLM has achieved the level of an average grad student," really making quite an objectionable parallel... unless that's how you think of grad students)
I'm wondering if the reason many people are so keen on this "science through repeated prompts" idea is because that's already how they operate with their students (or, outside of academia, their team).
Try this vague idea. Try again. Come back next week after trying more. Make this into a paper.
It is now March 9. The government apparently has no interest in honoring even the mildest commitments — responding to official petitions within the timeframe it is required to. @albomp.bsky.social
Petition: www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/...
Reply: it is normal, as they are working on a few last settings. HotCRP (the submission server) will then open in a few days.
It is now March 9. The government apparently has no interest in honoring even the mildest commitments — responding to official petitions within the timeframe it is required to. @albomp.bsky.social
Petition: www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/...
I've emailed the PC chair about this.
No, there's no pre-registration! That is very likely to be an error in how the submission server has been setup.
That is *not* normal. Please contact the PC chair, Sanjeev Khanna (if you don't feel comfortable doing so, I can do it later today)
Grace Hopper
In my #OTD threads I often try to draw attention to important scientists who historically haven't received the same recognition as their peers.
A science education involves a lot of lore: Stories and anecdotes meant to flesh out a narrative about the development of a field...
There was a time. My mum’s generation. She went to uni for free and even received a stipend to study. Both my parents were broke poor and they both got free uni education in Australia in the 70’s before I was born
Of course it was "cucumbers", not "cucumber." Sorry for the typo: there are many of them.
Just wondering how bad I should feel for eating tzatziki.
If cucumber are 96% water and humans are 60% water, how many % human are cucumbers?
So your point is that authors would not do what the conference organizers (PC chairs) think is best for the conference, if there's no clear "stick"?
So... That we should *not* trust the authors? :)
bsky.app/profile/sari...
(sorry, misread, it is one problem Lance pointed to in his first post. I was replying mostly to the second post. Fwiw, I see the grammatical point about using citations as noun as a second-, third-, or even n-th order concern. Well hidden in the "et al." of "Concerns et al.")
Well, mission accomplished!
(We are discussing the Call for Papers for #FOCS2026. It does that.)
bsky.app/profile/ccan...
And thankfully, the FOCS CFP recommends the use of [CG26] over [7]!
(Also... congratulations on this paper of ours, apparently? I didn't know about this [CG26] :) )
I am not convinced by the second (as the Aa et al. makes that even worse, so... Back to discussing random ordering? :) ), and the first "standard" wasn't necessarily designed for equal contribution. But also, neither are not the objections raised in the original posts!
But that's a different problem, purely grammatical and with a purely grammatical fix, which isn't the one either Lance Fortnow or Sariel raised!
