It’s so refreshing that the latest viral phenomenon is Wordle, a homegrown internet minigame about guessing words.
No one can really predict the virality (virulence?) of a concept, but Wordle sure has the makings for uncontrolled community spread. It’s a well-structured minigame. It’s simple to understand and play, its only prerequisites being English literacy and an internet browser. It comes in digestible daily chunks for periodic and anticipated engagement. It has balanced difficulty: 4 letters could be difficult to localize but 6 letters may enable too much variation; and 6 guesses allows enough space but applies tangible stakes. Its instantly recognizable green emoji sharing format with the gray, yellow, and green boxes is the perfect infectious vector. And, of course, it’s free without ads.
Katie and I play too. We solve crosswords weekly, and this Wordle craze is like the spiritual successor to our NYT Spelling Bee phase last year. It’s often my last activity before bedtime. We got started three weeks ago: “Have you heard about Wordle?” Katie had said. “Everyone at the office is talking about it.” A floor at a major bank abuzz about the hot topic of an internet minigame? How marvelous!
CS50, Harvard’s introductory computer science course, is the most influential class I’ve ever taken. CS50 spurred my interest in computer science – which I nearly pursued as my career – and the methodologies of computer science continue to inform my understanding of the world and guide my decisions to this day.
The Cult of CS50
I was reminded of this because the New Yorker recently published a profile on David Malan, CS50’s charismatic and innovative professor (and my boss at one point!). Even though much of the interview focuses on Malan’s pioneering work in digital-friendly education with high production value, the article also captures some of Malan’s quirks, like his antiquated speaking habits (he says “lest” a lot) and his Jobs-esque wardrobe, and it took me back to my time at Harvard. When I took it in 2009, CS50 was more cult than ordinary Harvard course, garnering a class size approaching 700, meaning nearly half of Harvard undergrads take it. It held enormous events like an overnight hackathon and a project exhibition fair, replete with corporate sponsors such as Google, Facebook, and Dropbox. CS50 even has its own branding and swag! I still wear my “I took CS50” t-shirt and CS50 hoodie; in fact, a Harvard alum wearing a crimson H hat commented on my CS50 shirt in Trader Joe’s the other day.
It’s been on my todo list for almost half a year now, but I finally updated my website’s theme to be responsive and display properly on small windows. Yay! Continue reading Website Restyling→
We all have our ways of coping with stress. For me, it’s inane puzzle games, and I just started a new one: Threes. It’s an iPhone game, but a friend’s friend also ported a browser clone. The game is elegant. You slide tiles around a 4×4 board and combine tiles by shoving them against walls. Combine 1 and 2, combine matching numbers to get bigger numbers. Every swipe spawns a new number and you go until you lock up the board. Continue reading Stress Threes→
Recently, I recreated the original Pocket Doc insulin calculator created way back in 1985 by Dr. Jovanovič (who I work with), Dr. Peterson, and Chanoch. Part of my continuing study of diabetes and partly a programming exercise, it’s reminded me how truly remarkable the advancements in diabetes management have been in the last few decades. Continue reading The Pocket Doc insulin calculator of 1985→
