On: The x86 architecture is the weirdo (2004)

[cryptonector]

It's definitely received wisdom that may once have been right and no longer is.

Most people are not used to facts having a half-life, but many facts do, or, rather, much knowledge, does.

We feel very secure in knowing what we know, and the reality is that we need to be willing to question a lot of things, like authority, including our very own. Now, we can't be questioning everything all the time because that way madness lies, but we can't never question anything we think we know either!

Epistemology is hard. I want a doll that says that when you pull the cord.

[cogman10 → cryptonector]

Sort of depends on the knowledge.

It's certainly true that in the tech industry things are CONSTANTLY shifting.

However, talk physics and you'll find that things rarely change, especially the physics that most college graduates learn.

[cryptonector → cogman10]

There was a famous study about the half-lives of "facts" in different fields. They do seem to vary by field.