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Sutton's Zeroth Law

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  • M Member_5893260

    Here's my zeroth law of software development, which I now share for your amusement: NQ/t=c, where: - N is the number of programmers on the project; - Q is the quality of the final product; - t is the time taken to develop the product; - c is a constant

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    MacSpudster
    wrote on last edited by
    #16

    NQ/t=c is incorrect. It is: NQ/t=C^2 Where "C" = Change; as in "_________ in my pocket" from all of the "_________ requests"

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    • M MacSpudster

      NQ/t=c is incorrect. It is: NQ/t=C^2 Where "C" = Change; as in "_________ in my pocket" from all of the "_________ requests"

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      Member_5893260
      wrote on last edited by
      #17

      That's the spirit!

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      • J Jorgen Andersson

        I was thinking more in the lines of: NQM(2f+1)/t=c, where: - N is the number of programmers on the project; - Q is the quality of the final product; - M is the number of managers on the project; - f is feature creep (in percents of the original number of features); - t is the time taken to develop the product; - c is a constant

        Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello[^]

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        SoMad
        wrote on last edited by
        #18

        I think we are getting somewhere, but you also need to account for "New Technology" with a heavier factor than feature creep (e.g. "We are going to change our platform to be all in the Cloud"). Soren Madsen

        "When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty

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        • S SoMad

          I think we are getting somewhere, but you also need to account for "New Technology" with a heavier factor than feature creep (e.g. "We are going to change our platform to be all in the Cloud"). Soren Madsen

          "When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty

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          Jorgen Andersson
          wrote on last edited by
          #19

          Nah, a new technology is a whole load of features in one go, you just need to break them apart and the formula will still work.

          Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello[^]

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          • L Lost User

            Why 2f+1 and not f+1 ?

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            PIEBALDconsult
            wrote on last edited by
            #20

            learner'sbug wrote:

            not f+1 ?

            Because f+1 is a race with no passing.

            This space intentionally left blank.

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            • M Member_5893260

              Here's my zeroth law of software development, which I now share for your amusement: NQ/t=c, where: - N is the number of programmers on the project; - Q is the quality of the final product; - t is the time taken to develop the product; - c is a constant

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              0bx
              wrote on last edited by
              #21

              Not so sure about that. If either N or Q are 0, then c = 0. Knowing this and assuming c is a constant, then t = lim(x->inf), or lim(x->-inf).

              .

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              • M Member_5893260

                I thought about it... but that's not strictly true, anyway, if you consider the relativistic effects of high-density, high-mass objects: in fact, "the speed of light in a vacuum around a given mass is a constant" -- but that's not true, either, because the speed of light is the speed at which one can circumnavigate the universe once in a period of one universe lifetime... and since the universe is expanding, that value is changing constantly (along with the size of a meter, and so forth)... so effectively, the speed of light is a constant only because we want it to be.

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                robocodeboy
                wrote on last edited by
                #22

                No. In a vacuum the speed of light is constant. No exceptions. The light can be bent by mass, but not slowed down. The universe is expanding, yes, so the light is going to need more and more time to travel across it, but the speed is still constant. No implications about it. In fact, relativity states that the speed of light in a vacuum is the ONLY thing that remains constant in different reference systems. Which can get you down in a very deep rabbit hole: time shrinks and space expands, but whoever are you, wherever are you, you will still get around 300'000 km/s for a ray of light in a vacuum.

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                • R robocodeboy

                  No. In a vacuum the speed of light is constant. No exceptions. The light can be bent by mass, but not slowed down. The universe is expanding, yes, so the light is going to need more and more time to travel across it, but the speed is still constant. No implications about it. In fact, relativity states that the speed of light in a vacuum is the ONLY thing that remains constant in different reference systems. Which can get you down in a very deep rabbit hole: time shrinks and space expands, but whoever are you, wherever are you, you will still get around 300'000 km/s for a ray of light in a vacuum.

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                  Member_5893260
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #23

                  Yes, but the size of a kilometer changes as the universe expands. So does the size of the instruments used to measure it, and the atoms constituting said instruments, so we don't notice... but to an outside (the universe) observer, a difference would be noticeable.

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                  • 0 0bx

                    Not so sure about that. If either N or Q are 0, then c = 0. Knowing this and assuming c is a constant, then t = lim(x->inf), or lim(x->-inf).

                    .

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                    Member_5893260
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #24

                    Well, it almost makes sense: if you have no programmers, it's not really supposed to mean anything...

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                    • M Member_5893260

                      I thought about it... but that's not strictly true, anyway, if you consider the relativistic effects of high-density, high-mass objects: in fact, "the speed of light in a vacuum around a given mass is a constant" -- but that's not true, either, because the speed of light is the speed at which one can circumnavigate the universe once in a period of one universe lifetime... and since the universe is expanding, that value is changing constantly (along with the size of a meter, and so forth)... so effectively, the speed of light is a constant only because we want it to be.

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                      Tim Carmichael
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #25

                      Is the universe expanding, or it is simply our abilty to see further into the universe that is expanding? If we can't see the reaches of the universe, how can we know that it is expanding? And, if it is expanding, what is it expanding into? Does the absence of matter mean that space doesn't exist?

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                      • T Tim Carmichael

                        Is the universe expanding, or it is simply our abilty to see further into the universe that is expanding? If we can't see the reaches of the universe, how can we know that it is expanding? And, if it is expanding, what is it expanding into? Does the absence of matter mean that space doesn't exist?

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                        Member_5893260
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #26

                        Well, the general consensus is that it's expanding because everything we observe out there is somewhat red-shifted, thus the Doppler effect tells us that everything's retreating from everything else. The question of what it's expanding into is more interesting: my own theory which I've held for a long time, and which is now becoming accepted by various factions within astrophysics, is that the universe is actually an exploding singularity within a larger universe: this explains several things, such as the fact that the size of the universe is (mathematically) much greater than it should be. In theory, if the universe is 13.7 billion years old (as is currently stated) then its radius should be 13.7 billion light years, since it shouldn't be possible for it to expand faster than the speed of light. But in fact, it's something like twice that: a conundrum which has stumped physicists for a while now. However, if the universe is an exploding singularity, then its theoretical radius is determined by the radius of the event horizon of the black hole surrounding such a singularity -- into which matter can fall from outside. This would explain massive objects on the boundaries of what we can see - such as quasars and so on - which conventional closed-system theory cannot explain - and also where all that extra mass came from. There would be a shift in perception between what we can see and the universe outside, simply because of the time dilation effect one would perceive when approaching a large center of mass. Furthermore, if one were to calculate the distribution of matter inside a black hole with the mass of the universe, then one would actually come out with a distribution of matter virtually identical to what we can see now. My theory goes on to state that (a) all singularities detonate at the instant they form (having achieved critical mass), but that because of the time dilation effect, an outside observer would not detect the explosion: it would appear to take an almost infinite time to occur (although, to an entity inside the exploding black hole, time would proceed at a regular pace, with the "outside" appearing almost infinitely slow, and thus unfathomable: there would be a definite interface between "inside" and "outside"; and that (b) a singularity is not zero-sized at all, but is in fact one Planck length: this removes the problem of it actually taking an infinite length of time for the explosion to occur (as seen from outside). This theory is supported by the fact that known black holes, such as the superma

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                        • M Member_5893260

                          Well, the general consensus is that it's expanding because everything we observe out there is somewhat red-shifted, thus the Doppler effect tells us that everything's retreating from everything else. The question of what it's expanding into is more interesting: my own theory which I've held for a long time, and which is now becoming accepted by various factions within astrophysics, is that the universe is actually an exploding singularity within a larger universe: this explains several things, such as the fact that the size of the universe is (mathematically) much greater than it should be. In theory, if the universe is 13.7 billion years old (as is currently stated) then its radius should be 13.7 billion light years, since it shouldn't be possible for it to expand faster than the speed of light. But in fact, it's something like twice that: a conundrum which has stumped physicists for a while now. However, if the universe is an exploding singularity, then its theoretical radius is determined by the radius of the event horizon of the black hole surrounding such a singularity -- into which matter can fall from outside. This would explain massive objects on the boundaries of what we can see - such as quasars and so on - which conventional closed-system theory cannot explain - and also where all that extra mass came from. There would be a shift in perception between what we can see and the universe outside, simply because of the time dilation effect one would perceive when approaching a large center of mass. Furthermore, if one were to calculate the distribution of matter inside a black hole with the mass of the universe, then one would actually come out with a distribution of matter virtually identical to what we can see now. My theory goes on to state that (a) all singularities detonate at the instant they form (having achieved critical mass), but that because of the time dilation effect, an outside observer would not detect the explosion: it would appear to take an almost infinite time to occur (although, to an entity inside the exploding black hole, time would proceed at a regular pace, with the "outside" appearing almost infinitely slow, and thus unfathomable: there would be a definite interface between "inside" and "outside"; and that (b) a singularity is not zero-sized at all, but is in fact one Planck length: this removes the problem of it actually taking an infinite length of time for the explosion to occur (as seen from outside). This theory is supported by the fact that known black holes, such as the superma

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                          Tim Carmichael
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #27

                          A well reasoned explanation, which is better than most of the time when it is simply stated 'scientists say...' and to counter that simple arguement is to invite ridicule. While I may not understand what you wrote, or agree with it, as I said, it is a possible, well explained answer. Thank you, Tim

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                          • T Tim Carmichael

                            A well reasoned explanation, which is better than most of the time when it is simply stated 'scientists say...' and to counter that simple arguement is to invite ridicule. While I may not understand what you wrote, or agree with it, as I said, it is a possible, well explained answer. Thank you, Tim

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                            Member_5893260
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #28

                            Thanks! [Disclaimer: I'm not sure I agree with it, either, but it does have the benefit of being an explanation which isn't currently disprovable, and which does explain a lot of "that weird shit" which seems to plague the field...!]

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                            • M Member_5893260

                              Well, it almost makes sense: if you have no programmers, it's not really supposed to mean anything...

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                              0bx
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #29

                              Yes, no programmers means zero enthropy. It also means that either everything is working fine and the visible problem space is zero... or total economic collapse.

                              .

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                              • M Member_5893260

                                Well, the general consensus is that it's expanding because everything we observe out there is somewhat red-shifted, thus the Doppler effect tells us that everything's retreating from everything else. The question of what it's expanding into is more interesting: my own theory which I've held for a long time, and which is now becoming accepted by various factions within astrophysics, is that the universe is actually an exploding singularity within a larger universe: this explains several things, such as the fact that the size of the universe is (mathematically) much greater than it should be. In theory, if the universe is 13.7 billion years old (as is currently stated) then its radius should be 13.7 billion light years, since it shouldn't be possible for it to expand faster than the speed of light. But in fact, it's something like twice that: a conundrum which has stumped physicists for a while now. However, if the universe is an exploding singularity, then its theoretical radius is determined by the radius of the event horizon of the black hole surrounding such a singularity -- into which matter can fall from outside. This would explain massive objects on the boundaries of what we can see - such as quasars and so on - which conventional closed-system theory cannot explain - and also where all that extra mass came from. There would be a shift in perception between what we can see and the universe outside, simply because of the time dilation effect one would perceive when approaching a large center of mass. Furthermore, if one were to calculate the distribution of matter inside a black hole with the mass of the universe, then one would actually come out with a distribution of matter virtually identical to what we can see now. My theory goes on to state that (a) all singularities detonate at the instant they form (having achieved critical mass), but that because of the time dilation effect, an outside observer would not detect the explosion: it would appear to take an almost infinite time to occur (although, to an entity inside the exploding black hole, time would proceed at a regular pace, with the "outside" appearing almost infinitely slow, and thus unfathomable: there would be a definite interface between "inside" and "outside"; and that (b) a singularity is not zero-sized at all, but is in fact one Planck length: this removes the problem of it actually taking an infinite length of time for the explosion to occur (as seen from outside). This theory is supported by the fact that known black holes, such as the superma

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                                B Offline
                                Brisingr Aerowing
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #30

                                WALL OF TEXT!

                                <voice type="Ebeneezer Scrooge"> Bah. dumb bugs </voice>

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                                • M Member_5893260

                                  Yes, but the size of a kilometer changes as the universe expands. So does the size of the instruments used to measure it, and the atoms constituting said instruments, so we don't notice... but to an outside (the universe) observer, a difference would be noticeable.

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                                  Lutoslaw
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #31

                                  Dan Sutton wrote:

                                  size of a kilometer changes as the universe expands

                                  ...but not here.

                                  Dan Sutton wrote:

                                  So does the size of the instruments used to measure it, and the atoms constituting said instrument

                                  No. A distance between very big objects (clusters of galaxies) raises, but in smaller systems (galaxies, planetary systems, the Earth) the objects themself are held by gravitation. In our local neibourhood, it's not like:

                                  * *
                                  ** **

                                  It is like this:

                                  * *
                                  * *

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                                  • L Lutoslaw

                                    Dan Sutton wrote:

                                    size of a kilometer changes as the universe expands

                                    ...but not here.

                                    Dan Sutton wrote:

                                    So does the size of the instruments used to measure it, and the atoms constituting said instrument

                                    No. A distance between very big objects (clusters of galaxies) raises, but in smaller systems (galaxies, planetary systems, the Earth) the objects themself are held by gravitation. In our local neibourhood, it's not like:

                                    * *
                                    ** **

                                    It is like this:

                                    * *
                                    * *

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                                    Member_5893260
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #32

                                    Yes, but the effect of gravitation and the distances between things are dependent on the speed of light, which is a function of the size of the universe. As the speed of light increases, the sizes of everything and the distances between them adjust accordingly to keep it looking the same to anything inside the event: an observer outside the universe would see everything growing, but to us, it looks as though it's a constant size. In fact, though, the sizes of everything, down to the levels of quarks and so forth, change with the expansion of the universe, as do the distances between them: but from our point of view - because we're part of that process - we can't detect this happening... although, logically, it does. The concept of big objects becoming further apart is also true, but from our point of view as well as from the point of view of an external observer: there are two different paradigms at work here.

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                                    • M Member_5893260

                                      Brilliant! Although... since you don't want to affect N inversely with M, then I suggest: (N^(M(2f+1)))Q/t=c ...which, since M implies 2f+1, could theoretically be shortened to: (N^M)Q/t=c (or else, we could include a constant to state the probability of someone posting a thread like this...)

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                                      Lutoslaw
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #33

                                      It makes sense. When M=1 then everything works fine, but when M=2 or more, then a quality drops exponentially. Also, instead of t we could take some Chi squared distribution, as from a certain point of time, giving more time brings more bad code.

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                                      • M Member_5893260

                                        Yes, but the effect of gravitation and the distances between things are dependent on the speed of light, which is a function of the size of the universe. As the speed of light increases, the sizes of everything and the distances between them adjust accordingly to keep it looking the same to anything inside the event: an observer outside the universe would see everything growing, but to us, it looks as though it's a constant size. In fact, though, the sizes of everything, down to the levels of quarks and so forth, change with the expansion of the universe, as do the distances between them: but from our point of view - because we're part of that process - we can't detect this happening... although, logically, it does. The concept of big objects becoming further apart is also true, but from our point of view as well as from the point of view of an external observer: there are two different paradigms at work here.

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                                        Lutoslaw
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #34

                                        Dan Sutton wrote:

                                        speed of light is a function of the size of the universe.

                                        I don't get it. What kind of function? It is constant. In early universe, the space itself was densier, so even if it was as small as a golf ball, a light would need the same time to travel through it. There would be the same amount of space to go through.

                                        Dan Sutton wrote:

                                        an observer outside the universe

                                        Wait, what? "Outside the universe" means... where exactly?

                                        Dan Sutton wrote:

                                        In fact, though, the sizes of everything, down to the levels of quarks and so forth, change with the expansion of the universe

                                        If it was true, then a structure of the universe - planets and stars and so on - wouldn't change that much during time (looking backwards). Why? There would be no reason to be so. If all particles scale (and, as a consequence, all interactions between them -- beacuse a ratio distances to sizes would be constant), then the early universe would be just a downscaled version of today, like a toy car -- which brings us to a creationstic point of view. Also, it would be as cold as it is today and there wouldn't exist a microwave background, which is a trace of a hot "particle soup" cooked on a birdth of the universe. But we know, that there IS a microwave background. We can observe protogalaxies and other relicts which clearly prove that the very early universe was hot and dense. If particles was small and distant -- as they are today -- then a density would be the same.

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                                        • L Lutoslaw

                                          Dan Sutton wrote:

                                          speed of light is a function of the size of the universe.

                                          I don't get it. What kind of function? It is constant. In early universe, the space itself was densier, so even if it was as small as a golf ball, a light would need the same time to travel through it. There would be the same amount of space to go through.

                                          Dan Sutton wrote:

                                          an observer outside the universe

                                          Wait, what? "Outside the universe" means... where exactly?

                                          Dan Sutton wrote:

                                          In fact, though, the sizes of everything, down to the levels of quarks and so forth, change with the expansion of the universe

                                          If it was true, then a structure of the universe - planets and stars and so on - wouldn't change that much during time (looking backwards). Why? There would be no reason to be so. If all particles scale (and, as a consequence, all interactions between them -- beacuse a ratio distances to sizes would be constant), then the early universe would be just a downscaled version of today, like a toy car -- which brings us to a creationstic point of view. Also, it would be as cold as it is today and there wouldn't exist a microwave background, which is a trace of a hot "particle soup" cooked on a birdth of the universe. But we know, that there IS a microwave background. We can observe protogalaxies and other relicts which clearly prove that the very early universe was hot and dense. If particles was small and distant -- as they are today -- then a density would be the same.

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                                          M Offline
                                          Member_5893260
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #35

                                          You said it, but you don't know you said it: "even if the it was as small as a golf ball, a light would need the same time to travel through it" -- true. But when the universe was that compressed, time dilation around that much condensed mass meant that time itself ran slower. Light always takes one universe lifetime to go right around the universe once: it doesn't matter how large the universe is... but as the universe expands, time runs faster (from the point of view of an outside observer). From the point of view of an observer inside the universe, it always travels at the same speed over the same distance. But "speed" is dependent upon the rate of flow of time - which changes as the universe expands, and thus so does the speed of light and so forth. Consider the type of time dilation effects one would experience within the Schwarzchild radius of a black hole... then realize that the universe is entirely within the Schwarzchild radius of an expanding black hole. But things can change within it: the dilation of the flow of time doesn't preclude other physical effects taking place: there's nothing creationistic about it: in fact, it insists that there was a big bang, and that it's still exploding.

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