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ScienceQuiet 3d · day 3

“Coding Theory: A Playful Introduction” blog post circulates on HN, Lobsters, Mastodon

A flashlight-blinking thought experiment explaining coding theory basics spreads across tech link-sharing sites.

newest coverage 2d agosummary written 2d ago3 pieces31 likes & upvotes1 comments Hacker NewsMastodonLobsters

What to know

  • The post uses a fictional scenario of children signaling each other with flashlights to build up the core ideas of coding theory: messages, symbols, codewords, encoding and decoding.
  • It explicitly distinguishes coding theory from computer programming ("coding"), a common point of confusion.
  • The article was cross-posted with no accompanying discussion across Hacker News, Lobsters, and Mastodon within a single day.

Param Rathour Blog author

How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump posts

Peak 1 piece in one hour at Sep 20, 9 PM; 3 pieces over 3 days (3 posts) Sep 20, 9 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Hacker News 1Sep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 11 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 1 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 3 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Lobsters 1Sep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 5 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 7 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 9 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 11 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 1 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 3 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 5 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 7 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 9 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 11 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 1 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 3 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 5 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 7 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 9 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 11 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 1 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 3 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 7 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 9 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quiet 123
Sep 21Sep 22yesterdaynow · 12:58 AM ET
  1. 3

    Post submitted to Lobsters

    User anex9d submits the same article to Lobsters, where it registers a score of 1.

  2. 2

    Post shared on Mastodon

    User hkrn@mstdn.social shares the article link along with a reference to the original Hacker News submission.

  3. 1

    Blog post submitted to Hacker News

    User vismit2000 posts the article "Coding Theory: A Playful Introduction" to Hacker News, where it reaches a score of 12.

    “you have just discovered Coding Theory…”
    — Param Rathour