frontpage.
newsnewestaskshowjobs

Open Source @Github

fp.

Open in hackernews

We have proof automation now

https://www.imperialviolet.org/2026/07/26/zstd-lean.html
19•zdw•1h ago

Comments

Jhsto•23m ago
As a meta-comment on the topic, something I have noticed is that there still exists confusion what it means to use theorem provers for projects -- the other day I read a tweet from Paradigm, a crypto-VC now seemingly AI-pilled. Some LP of theirs had made a Lean 4 formalization of the Ethereum's virtual machine. The tweet said this would have cost like $150k in API tokens ("would have", as in, I guess they get theirs for free), and took a week of inference time for an LLM to produce. I somehow got distracted to actually take a look at the code, which I found rather light on theorems. Nor did the project make use of Batteries or Mathlib which are arguably the one of the strongest motivation for me personally to use Lean4. That is, I generally rather rely on someone else getting the category theory and algebraic structures right, which then leaves me the proof obligation to show the correspondence with whatever toy I'm working on. Here I'm fine to use LLMs for proof search, very similar to how would I use a SMT solver. But what I have found is that the language models have to be really coerced into using these libraries, because otherwise the models much rather overfit and overclaim a solution with a 3 minute inference task rather than attempt to fulfill the proof obligations over 3 hours. And I feel nauseated when I need to convince the LLM (I use Claude) that filling the proof obligation is for "academic exercise" or because I'm coerced into doing so, because otherwise it will come up with reasons of its own why it does not want to do it. Now, this happens under the mental model in which I'm interested in finding equivalences with prior work. Many LLM generated Lean code reads more as if someone was interested whether X can be turned into a Lean 4 program, which is mostly yes, and that in general is a positive thing. But, if you are not interested in refinement types and theorems, why not just choose Haskell? The point is, I strongly sense that unless you have good questions to ask, then that's very evident in these languages. And, this is something the LLM won't help you -- if you don't impose a proof obligation for it, it certainly will not try to go the extra mile to conjure one for you.

Decker, a platform that builds on the legacy of Hypercard and classic macOS

https://beyondloom.com/decker/
163•tosh•4h ago•35 comments

It's not empowering to hand off the details

https://davidnicholaswilliams.com/its-not-empowering-to-hand-off-the-details/
143•davnicwil•4h ago•65 comments

Plasma Tunnels Reveal How Dying Satellites Fall to Earth

https://spectrum.ieee.org/space-debris-atmosphere-burn-up
24•marc__1•2h ago•3 comments

Introduction to Data-Oriented Design [pdf]

https://www.gamedevs.org/uploads/introduction-to-data-oriented-design.pdf
77•tosh•4h ago•18 comments

We have proof automation now

https://www.imperialviolet.org/2026/07/26/zstd-lean.html
19•zdw•1h ago•1 comments

Design is compromise

https://stephango.com/design-is-compromise
157•ankitg12•6h ago•66 comments

Simulate cassette tape audio profiles using FFmpeg

https://github.com/AARomanov1985/Audio-Cassette-Simulation
30•xterminal•2h ago•16 comments

Htmx 4.0, the first JavaScript library to release exclusively on the Game Boy

https://swag.htmx.org/en-cad/products/htmx-4-the-game
299•rcy•10h ago•98 comments

Show HN: CheapSecurity – Lightweight, Self-Hosted CCTV for Linux SBCs

https://github.com/gmrandazzo/CheapSecurity
92•zeldone•6h ago•17 comments

Teaching Kids Forth – Anna Liberty

https://gracefulliberty.com/articles/teaching-kids-forth/
13•rbanffy•1h ago•3 comments

How to Write English Prose

https://thelampmagazine.com/blog/how-to-write-english-prose
55•geneticdrifts•5h ago•30 comments

Multiway Turing Machines (2021 pre-ai)

https://bulletins.wolframphysics.org/2021/02/multiway-turing-machines/
14•marysminefnuf•1h ago•3 comments

Go Analysis Framework: modular static analysis by go team

https://pkg.go.dev/golang.org/x/tools/go/analysis
166•AbuAssar•10h ago•34 comments

The relay market powering token resellers and fraud

https://vectoral.com/blog/token-relay-market
136•mlenhard•7h ago•85 comments

I learned PCB design, 3D printing and C just to listen to music

https://pentaton.app/blog/2026-07-12-introducing-pentaton-lp/
160•interfeco•3d ago•35 comments

Using ThinkPad T480 as a mobile phone

https://grego.site/blog/thinkphone
101•marosgrego•5h ago•39 comments

The New AI Superpowers: Focus and Followthrough

https://www.rickmanelius.com/p/the-new-ai-superpowers-focus-and
107•mooreds•9h ago•35 comments

Jimothy the raccoon has a rare spinal condition. Here's what that means

https://www.popsci.com/science/whats-jimothy-raccoon-condition/
90•speckx•5d ago•44 comments

Kill The Cookie Banner

https://killthecookiebanner.eu/
739•rapnie•10h ago•345 comments

What's Under Your Feet in New York City?

https://practical.engineering/blog/2026/7/21/whats-under-your-feet-in-new-york-city
145•sohkamyung•4d ago•31 comments

Building the Grace Cathedral experience

https://blog.playcanvas.com/building-the-grace-cathedral-experience/
24•ovenchips•4d ago•4 comments

GrapheneOS protections against data extraction from locked devices

https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/40700-grapheneos-protections-against-data-extraction-from-locked...
356•Cider9986•16h ago•214 comments

Using sed to make indexes for books (1997)

https://www.pement.org/sed/make_indexes.txt
37•TMWNN•3d ago•8 comments

Private mission launches to extend life of out-of-gas communication satellites

https://phys.org/news/2026-07-private-mission-life-gas-communication.html
5•jnord•3d ago•2 comments

How AST-grep Rewrote Tree-sitter in Rust and Made It 30% Faster

https://astgrep.com/blog/tree-sitter-rust-rewrite
31•herrington_d•4h ago•2 comments

Show HN: Infinite Jigsaw Game

https://infinitejigsaw.com
16•impostervt•2h ago•13 comments

Show HN: Reverse Minesweeper

https://sunflowersgame.com/
118•pompomsheep•9h ago•40 comments

London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

https://aerospaceglobalnews.com/news/gatwick-airport-robotic-parking-stanley-robotics/
262•agotterer•8h ago•218 comments

Some more things about Django I've been enjoying

https://jvns.ca/blog/2026/07/21/more-nice-django-things/
116•surprisetalk•5d ago•69 comments

A shell colon does nothing. Use it anyway

https://refp.se/articles/your-shell-and-the-magic-colon
376•olexsmir•1d ago•157 comments