So, I did a batch at the Recurse Center earlier this year. My main goal going into the batch was to work on some performance-based software engineering, and to learn more about low-level systems stuff. Knowing no Rust, and wanting to deepen my knowledge in database systems, I spontaneously arrived on this as a project at day one. I have long postponed writing some coherent rendition of all I learned through this period, and I have decided to just bite the bullet and write about my progress anyways, months after basically abandoning (not having time for) the project. Please do...

> TL;DR: C++ performance is hairy for tons of small object allocations / deallocations especially when the compiler cannot intuit what you are trying to do Ahead-of-Time. Memory pools might resolve this issue but for nested calls finding free objects to acquire is tougher. Rust also performs poorly in this scenario. The JVM is king at this kind of problem thanks to the JIT and Garbage Colector. Introduction Some months ago, I decided to walk through a popular programming languages book called Crafting Interpreters by Rob Nystrom. The book teaches you to build an interpreter for a dynamic language called...

I have been using memory palaces extensively for over 3-4 years now. I first discovered them while going through the book “Moonwalking with Einstein” by Joshua Foer. Back then I was very interested in finding ways to read and absorb information faster to become a superlearner, enhancing my performance. As a sophomore year engineering student taking courses that required some physical intuition (Fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, strength of materials ), I found these palaces effective for memorization through visualization. Over time, I learned more advanced methods for using these palaces as I stopped using notes for learning (both taking in class...

According to my Goodreads account, I managed to read about 45 books this year. While maintaining my usual bursts in reading frequency, I still managed to get through some pages. I think what really helped me this time was having a good bunch of books I really wanted to get through, and even though I did not remain faithful to that original list, it gave me the drive to read more. [Fig 1] All the books I read In this year in review post, I am going to be going through the books I read this year. I will select...