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Computer, Enhance!

npub1vpdaules56l88y785h4563sk6ujhm7s7payeey6geuglht97uk7q0hp35p@drss.io

Programming Courses and Interviews, by Casey Muratori.

Q&A #88 (2026-10-02)

2 Oct 2026

Answers to questions from the last Q&A thread.

Nested SIMD Predicates

23 Sep 2026

Before moving on, it’s worth looking at how we would handle more complex predicates than the ones present in the haversine loop.

SIMD Mask Registers

14 Sep 2026

Although CPUs that support them are still relatively rare by percentage of installed base, mask registers are a powerful feature of modern SIMD hardware well worth understanding.

What Is AI Doing to Math?

10 Sep 2026

Listen now (113 mins) | A special double-episode of Wading Through AI covering the recent headlines in the world of formal mathematics.

High-Performance Database Architecture

9 Sep 2026

An interview with Tyler Cloutier

520 Pages Per Hour

8 Sep 2026

I wanted to provide some perspective on the research process for The Big OOPs and The Root lectures. This was only feasible method I found.

Is AI a Good Research Assistant?

2 Sep 2026

Listen now | Recently, I gave a talk called The Root of the Root of All Evil. Like The Big OOPs, it was a research-intensive talk, so Demetri and I decided it might serve as a good spot test for how

SIMD Masking

31 Aug 2026

Once we execute both sides of an if/else, we need some way of merging the results.

The Root of the Root of All Evil

26 Aug 2026

A Brief History of Programming's Most Ambiguous Catchphrase

Q&A #87 (2026-08-25)

25 Aug 2026

Answers to questions from the last Q&A thread.

The Pit of Success

19 Aug 2026

An Interview with Rico Mariani

The Pattern Behind x64 CMPPS/PD Immediates

18 Aug 2026

If you're wondering how the 5 bits used in the CMPPD/PS immediate got assigned the way they did, Pete Cawley's got your back.

SIMD Predicates

17 Aug 2026

Although counterintuitive at first, using purpose-built comparison instructions we can easily translate if/else branches into SIMD code.

Branchless Absolute Value

10 Aug 2026

Some operations are uniform enough that, even though we might ordinarily think of them as using a predicate, they can nonetheless be done by direct manipulation of the underlying bit pattern.

What New Jobs?

5 Aug 2026

Appeals to prior technological revolutions are often used to assuage fears that AI will lead to widespread unemployment.

Three Steps from Scalar to SIMD

3 Aug 2026

When we want to change the interior of a loop (with complex control flow) from processing one thing to processing several at a time, it's best to tackle the problem in three sequential steps.

Why AI Companies Need Scale

2 Jul 2026

AI companies seem fixated on scaling.

Let's Decode the Mystery Bytes!

22 Jun 2026

In this follow-up to "Let's Answer Ray's Question!", we go all the way down the rabbit hole to decode the mysterious eight bytes that kept showing up in-between Ray's allocations.

Will AI End the Open Internet?

16 Jun 2026

Listen now | With previously open source projects going closed, and artists increasingly concerned about posting their work online, is AI reversing the internet’s long-established trend toward

Q&A #86 (2026-06-10)

10 Jun 2026

Answers to questions from the last Q&A thread.

Q&A #86 (2026-06-10)

10 Jun 2026

Intuitive Random Selection (with Marc LeBlanc)

9 Jun 2026

Intuitive Random Selection (with Marc LeBlanc)

9 Jun 2026

After the ECS interview, Mahk shared a new random selection that's much more intuitive than the one typically used in game development.

Will AI Make Me Worse?

4 Jun 2026

As people increasingly rely on AI to do some or all of their work, what effects will this have on people's work quality, skills, and emotional state?

Will AI Make Me Worse?

4 Jun 2026

The First Entity Component System

1 Jun 2026

Marc LeBlanc walks me through how the development of Underworld I & II, System Shock, Flight Unlimited, and finally Thief: The Dark Project gave rise to the architecture we now call an "ECS".

The First Entity Component System

1 Jun 2026

How to Use uops.info

30 May 2026

Now that we've done our own microarchitecture investigations, it's time to get familiar with one of the best x64 microarchitecture data sites.

How to Use uops.info

30 May 2026

Q&A #85 (2026-05-26)

27 May 2026

Answers to questions from the last Q&A thread.

Q&A #85 (2026-05-26)

27 May 2026

Let's Answer Ray's Question!

4 May 2026

Ramon Santamaria asked why one compiler appeared to produce different behavior than others. The underlying technical reason is much more interesting than a simple answer of "undefined behavior".

Let's Answer Ray's Question!

4 May 2026

Block Interleaving

28 Apr 2026

Breaking up dependency chains to better suit the processor's out-of-order scheduling gets most of the benefit of in-order interleaving without requiring a fully interleaved instruction stream.

Block Interleaving

28 Apr 2026

The Ethics of Generative AI

23 Apr 2026

Listen now | What is the appropriate ethical framework for thinking about generative AI?

Q&A #84 (2026-04-20)

21 Apr 2026

Answers to questions from the last Q&A thread.

"Am I Crazy?"

16 Apr 2026

Listen now | Why do people seem to be having such drastically different experiences with AI from one another?

In-order Interleaving

16 Apr 2026

By handing the CPU an instruction stream it can execute in order, we can exceed the limits we hit when we rely on its out-of-order execution capabilities.

My Thoughts on Notch's DLSS Post

3 Apr 2026

The creator of Minecraft recently made a (controversial?) post about DLSS. I wanted to add some relevant context about GPU hardware.

My Thoughts on Notch's DLSS Post

3 Apr 2026

Making Sense of the Hype

13 Mar 2026

Listen now (74 mins) | Using the Anthropic C compiler post as an example, Demetri proposes a two-axis approach for assessing claims about AI.

Making Sense of the Hype

13 Mar 2026

Q&A #83 (2026-03-11)

12 Mar 2026

Q&A #83 (2026-03-11)

12 Mar 2026

Answers to questions from the last Q&A thread.

Should You Be A Carpenter?

5 Mar 2026

Should You Be A Carpenter?

5 Mar 2026

Listen now (108 mins) | Is entering the "knowledge economy" today too risky given the field's increasing focus on AI?

Dependency Chain Stalls

4 Mar 2026

Dependency Chain Stalls

4 Mar 2026

The CPU's ability to extract parallelism has its limits.

The Sitdown: Types of DRAM and the DRAM Shortage

31 Jan 2026

On Wednesday mornings, I am often a guest on The Standup podcast. It’s a wide-audience podcast, so we don’t go too in-depth on any particular topic. To give myself more time to ramble, I’ve