RC06. Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam

Daily dispatches from my 12 weeks at the Recurse Center in Summer 2023

I spent a lot of time today drawing out various logic gates schematics. Too much time. I hadn’t known that NAND logic is so magical and that it’s possible to derive all other logic gates from combinations of NANDs, but now that I do I can’t get enough NAND.

Besides drawing logic diagrams, the other thing I started today was SICP.

Actually, before I cracked the book I had to get my Scheme environment up and running. One of my group mates recommended DrRacket which allows you to run the version of Scheme used in the SICP book. But I ended up going MIT/GNU Scheme, which thus far suits me. Is it because of the Latin sign-offs when halting with (exit)? I won’t say. All I know is that, between the sorcery talk (“In effect, we conjure the spirits of the computer with our spells”) and the calamitous quips from Cato the Elder (“Furthermore, I consider that Carthage must be destroyed”), I’m feeling like I’ve just embarked on a proper quest.

Here’s what else happened:

• Checkins
• Finished first week’s problem set for #nand2tetris
• Became so enmeshed in drawing logic diagrams that I was late to a meeting with an RC career counselor, who encouraged my near-term plans
• Made it through almost two LeetCode problems with the Neetcode group
• Met some new folks