You Are Not Expected to Understand This - How 26 Lines of Code Changed the World

This collection of texts explores the **profound impact of code and software on various aspects of society**, from its early conceptualisation to modern-day applications. It discusses how **human decisions, biases, and ingenious solutions are embedded within code**, influencing everything from space exploration and the internet's structure to social interactions and public safety. The sources examine **pivotal moments in computing history**, such as the development of programming languages like BASIC and COBOL, the invention of email, and the rise of digital gaming. Furthermore, they highlight **critical challenges like software vulnerabilities and ethical dilemmas**, including the unintended consequences of algorithms in policing and advertising, and the ongoing struggle for digital privacy and inclusivity. Ultimately, the compilation underscores that **code is not merely technical but a deeply human endeavour** with far-reaching societal implications.

Raspberry Pi Weather Clock

 I have a 2 line by 16 character LCD display with a I2C interface. I wanted to use it as a clock and date display which also could display the current weather.

Date and Time Display

Weather Display

I am using a raspberry pi 5 to run a python script to drive the display using the GPIO pins

Rapsberry Pi 5 clock/weather

You will need an API key to open weather openweatherapi. Put your api key in an .env file as openweathermapapikey=yourkey. The python script uses the dotenv library to read this and use your API key. This is a free service with usage limitations. You will need to change the parameters to the open weather API to use you city and units.

        params = {

            "q": "Etobicoke,Ontario,CA",

            "units": "metric",  # For Celsius

            "appid": OPENWEATHERMAPAPIKEY  # API key

        }

#!/usr/bin/env python3

"""

lcd_weatherclock.py - A program that displays a clock on an LCD screen

and shows weather information for 10 seconds when a button is pressed.

"""

from LCD import LCD

import datetime

import time

import requests

import os

from dotenv import load_dotenv

from gpiozero import Button

import threading

# Load environment variables from .env file

load_dotenv()

# Initialize LCD

lcd = LCD(2, 0x27, True)

lcd.clear()

# Initialize button with debounce

button = Button(21, pull_up=True, bounce_time=0.2)  # 200ms debounce time

# Global variables

display_mode = "clock"  # Can be "clock" or "weather"

weather_timer = None

def get_etobicoke_weather():

    """

    Get current weather for Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada using OpenWeatherMap API

    """

    try:

        # OpenWeatherMap API endpoint for current weather

        url = "https://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather"

        # Get APP ID for weather api

        OPENWEATHERMAPAPIKEY = os.getenv("openweathermapapikey")

        # Parameters for Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada

        params = {

            "q": "Etobicoke,Ontario,CA",

            "units": "metric",  # For Celsius

            "appid": OPENWEATHERMAPAPIKEY  # API key

        }

        # Make the API request

        response = requests.get(url, params=params)

        # Check if the request was successful

        if response.status_code == 200:

            # Parse the JSON response

            weather_data = response.json()

            # Extract relevant information

            temperature = weather_data["main"]["temp"]

            condition = weather_data["weather"][0]["main"]

            humidity = weather_data["main"]["humidity"]

            return {

                "temperature": temperature,

                "condition": condition,

                "humidity": humidity

            }

        else:

            return {"error": f"API Error: {response.status_code}"}

    except Exception as e:

        return {"error": f"Error: {str(e)}"}

def display_weather(lcd):

    """

    Display weather data on the LCD

    """

    global display_mode

    

    # Set display mode to weather

    display_mode = "weather"

    

    # Show loading message

    lcd.clear()

    lcd.message("Weather...")

    

    # Get weather data

    weather_data = get_etobicoke_weather()

    

    lcd.clear()

    if "error" in weather_data:

        lcd.message("Weather Error")

        lcd.message(weather_data["error"][:16], 2)  # Truncate to fit LCD width

    else:

        # Format and display weather information

        temp_str = f"Temp: {weather_data['temperature']:.1f}C"

        cond_str = f"{weather_data['condition']} {weather_data['humidity']}%"

        lcd.message(temp_str)

        lcd.message(cond_str, 2)

    

    # Set a timer to switch back to clock after 10 seconds

    global weather_timer

    if weather_timer:

        weather_timer.cancel()

    weather_timer = threading.Timer(10.0, switch_to_clock)

    weather_timer.start()

def switch_to_clock():

    """

    Switch display back to clock mode

    """

    global display_mode

    display_mode = "clock"

    # The main loop will update the display on the next iteration

def display_clock(lcd, force_update=False):

    """

    Display clock on the LCD

    """

    now = datetime.datetime.now()

    currenttime = now.strftime("%H:%M:%S")

    currentdate = now.strftime("%d-%m-%Y")

    

    # Only update if time/date changed or force update is requested

    if force_update or currenttime != display_clock.lasttime or currentdate != display_clock.lastdate:

        lcd.clear()

        lcd.message('%02d:%02d:%02d' % (now.hour, now.minute, now.second), 1)

        lcd.message('%02d-%02d-%04d' % (now.day, now.month, now.year), 2)

        display_clock.lasttime = currenttime

        display_clock.lastdate = currentdate

# Initialize static variables for display_clock function

display_clock.lasttime = ''

display_clock.lastdate = ''

def button_pressed():

    """Function called when button is pressed"""

    global display_mode

    if display_mode == "clock":

        display_weather(lcd)

# Assign callback function to button press event

button.when_pressed = button_pressed

# Display welcome message

lcd.message("Weather Clock")

lcd.message("Starting...", 2)

time.sleep(2)

lcd.clear()

# Main loop

try:

    while True:

        if display_mode == "clock":

            display_clock(lcd)

        time.sleep(0.1)

except KeyboardInterrupt:

    # Clean up on exit

    if weather_timer:

        weather_timer.cancel()

    lcd.clear()

    print("\nExiting program")

Vegetative Electron Microscopy

 In episode 64 of the AI Inside podcast, titled "Vegetative Electron Microscopy Doesn't Exist", Jason and Jeff discuss the  hallucination of "Vegetative Electron Microscopy" by leading AI tools.

I decided to see what the latest Gemini deep research 2.5 pro thinks it is.

I asked it to explain the meaning of Vegetative Electron Microscopy.

I copied the result to a Google Doc. 

Scroll down to the conclusion and the first paragraph states,

The investigation undertaken in this report confirms that the phrase "Vegetative Electron Microscopy" is not a standard, recognised term within the scientific field of electron microscopy.1 Its appearance in the scientific literature is anomalous and has been linked to several potential sources, including technical errors in digital text processing (AI/OCR errors), mistranslations from other languages (specifically Persian), or its use as a marker or artifact associated with fraudulent publications generated by paper mills.1 The fact that the phrase has been explicitly corrected to "scanning electron microscopy" in at least one publication further underscores its erroneous nature.

GIMP 3.0 Released

 After 7 years, the new version, 3.0, of GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) has been released.

Death Is Not Final - The Debate

 The Open To Debate site debated the statement "Death is not finale". The moderator-in-chief John Donvan does his usual great moderator job.

For the statement is Eben Alexander, Neurosurgeon, Author of ‘Proof of Heaven’ and Raymond Moody, Medical Doctor, Author of ‘Life After Life’.

Against is Sean Carroll, Physicist & writer and Steven Novella, Academic Neurologist at the Yale School of Medicine.

From the web site "If consciousness is just the workings of neurons and synapses, how do we explain the phenomenon of near-death experience? By some accounts, about 3% of the U.S. population has had one: an out-of-body experience often characterized by remarkable visions and feelings of peace and joy, all while the physical body is close to death. To skeptics, there are more plausible, natural explanations, like oxygen deprivation. Is the prospect of an existence after death “real” and provable by science, or a construct of wishful thinking about our own mortality?"

Amy Webb Launches 2025 Emerging Tech Trend Report | SXSW LIVE

Amy Webb, a popular American futurist and author, who appears regularly on the Twit.tv network, appeared on the South by South West 2025 event. Her presentation is available on Youtube.

Amy Webb Launches 2025 Emerging Tech Trend Report | SXSW LIVE

Look for the 2025 forecast from the Future Today Institute at https://ftsg.com/.

SIX EASY PIECES. Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher

SIX EASY PIECES. Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher 

Six Easy Pieces grew out of the need to bring to as wide an audience as possible a substantial yet nontechnical physics primer based on the science of Richard Feynman. We have chosen the six easiest chapters from Feynman’s celebrated and landmark text, The Feynman Lectures on Physics (originally published in 1963), which remains his most famous publication. General readers are fortunate that Feynman chose to present certain key topics in largely qualitative terms without formal mathematics, and  hese are brought together for Six Easy Pieces.