rob pike
@robpike.io
Long career as a dilettante at Bell Labs Research and Google, mostly building weird stuff no one uses, but occasionally getting it right, such as with UTF-8 and Go.
Pinned
rob pike
@robpike.io
· Jan 19
In 1922 Alfred Stieglitz made a series of photographs of cloudy skies, calling them Equivalents because they matched an emotion or mood he was feeling.
This is my Equivalent for today.
This is my Equivalent for today.
I've always thought it would be nice to have a Turing Award. Perhaps my good friend Ken Thompson would give me his. He's got lots of other awards anyway.
(joke!)
(joke!)
The Norwegian Nobel Prize committee has been forced to make a statement, declaring that the prize cannot be transferred.
It's hard even to comprehend how stupid this has become
It's hard even to comprehend how stupid this has become
January 10, 2026 at 8:41 PM
I've always thought it would be nice to have a Turing Award. Perhaps my good friend Ken Thompson would give me his. He's got lots of other awards anyway.
(joke!)
(joke!)
Reposted by rob pike
N.I.C.E.
Be more like Canada 🇨🇦
Be more like Canada 🇨🇦
January 9, 2026 at 12:29 PM
N.I.C.E.
Be more like Canada 🇨🇦
Be more like Canada 🇨🇦
Reposted by rob pike
“Pulling a New Proof from Knuth's Fixed-Point Printer”
Happy 88th Birthday to Don Knuth!
And thanks again to @robpike.io for Ivy.
research.swtch.com/fp-knuth
Happy 88th Birthday to Don Knuth!
And thanks again to @robpike.io for Ivy.
research.swtch.com/fp-knuth
research!rsc: Pulling a New Proof from Knuth’s Fixed-Point Printer
research.swtch.com
January 10, 2026 at 2:30 PM
“Pulling a New Proof from Knuth's Fixed-Point Printer”
Happy 88th Birthday to Don Knuth!
And thanks again to @robpike.io for Ivy.
research.swtch.com/fp-knuth
Happy 88th Birthday to Don Knuth!
And thanks again to @robpike.io for Ivy.
research.swtch.com/fp-knuth
Reposted by rob pike
Reposted by rob pike
11pm 78% humidity
January 7, 2026 at 11:59 AM
11pm 78% humidity
Reposted by rob pike
If you are submitting an NIH grant in February, you will be required to use SciENcv to prepare you biosketch.
IT IS MUCH WORSE THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE.
Set aside *at least* 4 hours just to transfer an existing an biosketch into SciENcv.
IT IS MUCH WORSE THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE.
Set aside *at least* 4 hours just to transfer an existing an biosketch into SciENcv.
January 6, 2026 at 11:29 PM
If you are submitting an NIH grant in February, you will be required to use SciENcv to prepare you biosketch.
IT IS MUCH WORSE THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE.
Set aside *at least* 4 hours just to transfer an existing an biosketch into SciENcv.
IT IS MUCH WORSE THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE.
Set aside *at least* 4 hours just to transfer an existing an biosketch into SciENcv.
Reposted by rob pike
Since ChatGPT came out in late 2022, over *half a million* tech workers have been laid off. That fact, and their voices, aren't really shaping the conversation about AI, and what "AI" really means in culture. So I started to get into it: www.anildash.com/2026/01/06/5...
500,000 tech workers have been laid off since ChatGPT was released - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
www.anildash.com
January 6, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Since ChatGPT came out in late 2022, over *half a million* tech workers have been laid off. That fact, and their voices, aren't really shaping the conversation about AI, and what "AI" really means in culture. So I started to get into it: www.anildash.com/2026/01/06/5...
Reposted by rob pike
PSA: go.sum is not a lockfile.
You never need to look at go.sum.
go.mod has everything you need.
You never need to look at go.sum.
go.mod has everything you need.
go.sum Is Not a Lockfile
In Go, go.mod acts as both manifest and lockfile. There is never a reason to look at go.sum.
words.filippo.io
January 5, 2026 at 8:25 PM
PSA: go.sum is not a lockfile.
You never need to look at go.sum.
go.mod has everything you need.
You never need to look at go.sum.
go.mod has everything you need.
Remember when I said 2026 hadn't even started yet?
Well, it's started now.
Well, it's started now.
January 5, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Remember when I said 2026 hadn't even started yet?
Well, it's started now.
Well, it's started now.
Reposted by rob pike
Do you have an idle cluster? Can you spare a couple core-years?
Help me bruteforce some test vectors for RSA key generation edge cases!
Here are the instructions, it's just a matter of running a single self-contained cross-compilable Go binary that will report the results autonomously.
Help me bruteforce some test vectors for RSA key generation edge cases!
Here are the instructions, it's just a matter of running a single self-contained cross-compilable Go binary that will report the results autonomously.
RSA test vector crowdsourcing instructions
gist.github.com
January 4, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Do you have an idle cluster? Can you spare a couple core-years?
Help me bruteforce some test vectors for RSA key generation edge cases!
Here are the instructions, it's just a matter of running a single self-contained cross-compilable Go binary that will report the results autonomously.
Help me bruteforce some test vectors for RSA key generation edge cases!
Here are the instructions, it's just a matter of running a single self-contained cross-compilable Go binary that will report the results autonomously.
Reposted by rob pike
not the creature from the black lagoon
January 2, 2026 at 3:19 PM
not the creature from the black lagoon
Reposted by rob pike
Tony Tyson first dreamt up the Vera Rubin Observatory more than 30 years ago
He is part of Nature’s 10, a list of people who shaped science in 2025
go.nature.com/3N6lts8
He is part of Nature’s 10, a list of people who shaped science in 2025
go.nature.com/3N6lts8
The visionary physicist who gave us a new way to view the cosmos
Nature - Tony Tyson is part of Nature’s 10, a list of people who shaped science in 2025.
go.nature.com
January 2, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Tony Tyson first dreamt up the Vera Rubin Observatory more than 30 years ago
He is part of Nature’s 10, a list of people who shaped science in 2025
go.nature.com/3N6lts8
He is part of Nature’s 10, a list of people who shaped science in 2025
go.nature.com/3N6lts8
Reposted by rob pike
If you are a resident of California, the state now has a portal where you can demand deletion of your personal data from 500+ registered data brokers with a single request form, for free.
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
January 2, 2026 at 2:26 AM
If you are a resident of California, the state now has a portal where you can demand deletion of your personal data from 500+ registered data brokers with a single request form, for free.
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
Reposted by rob pike
Reposted by rob pike
Documents being tossed!? If anyone has contacts at Goddard, please tell them I know an historian who will rescue them because this is horrifying.
It's me. I'm the historian. But really, if someone's organizing saving docs let me know how to help!
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/c...
It's me. I'm the historian. But really, if someone's organizing saving docs let me know how to help!
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/c...
NASA’s Largest Library Is Closing Amid Staff and Lab Cuts
www.nytimes.com
December 31, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Documents being tossed!? If anyone has contacts at Goddard, please tell them I know an historian who will rescue them because this is horrifying.
It's me. I'm the historian. But really, if someone's organizing saving docs let me know how to help!
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/c...
It's me. I'm the historian. But really, if someone's organizing saving docs let me know how to help!
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/c...
On the one hand, 2025 is almost over.
On the other hand, 2026 hasn't even started yet.
On the other hand, 2026 hasn't even started yet.
December 31, 2025 at 6:51 AM
On the one hand, 2025 is almost over.
On the other hand, 2026 hasn't even started yet.
On the other hand, 2026 hasn't even started yet.
Reposted by rob pike
Graduate students - curious about the #SchweickartPrize? Join our January Q&A sessions to learn more about the prize, the application process, and how to apply. Sign up for the Schweickart Prize newsletter for more details. www.schweickartprize.org
December 31, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Graduate students - curious about the #SchweickartPrize? Join our January Q&A sessions to learn more about the prize, the application process, and how to apply. Sign up for the Schweickart Prize newsletter for more details. www.schweickartprize.org
Reposted by rob pike
Reposted by rob pike
AI sloppers (is that a term?) crying that their prompts are being stolen is more beautiful than anything AI could produce
December 28, 2025 at 11:46 PM
AI sloppers (is that a term?) crying that their prompts are being stolen is more beautiful than anything AI could produce
Reposted by rob pike
Reposted by rob pike
What's funny is you can tell exactly why it output this string.
When it stole literally all of Stack Overflow, it stole tons and tons of people's explanations of how to make a program that produces random character strings.
One of the easiest ways to do so, contains *this* ASCII string.
When it stole literally all of Stack Overflow, it stole tons and tons of people's explanations of how to make a program that produces random character strings.
One of the easiest ways to do so, contains *this* ASCII string.
July 31, 2025 at 5:02 AM
What's funny is you can tell exactly why it output this string.
When it stole literally all of Stack Overflow, it stole tons and tons of people's explanations of how to make a program that produces random character strings.
One of the easiest ways to do so, contains *this* ASCII string.
When it stole literally all of Stack Overflow, it stole tons and tons of people's explanations of how to make a program that produces random character strings.
One of the easiest ways to do so, contains *this* ASCII string.
Reposted by rob pike
Yeah, I'd be pretty furious if I got spam email from some "AI agent" thanking me for my contributions too
I dug into what happened here, turns out it's an experiment called "AI Village" which unleashes all sorts of other junk emails on the world: simonwillison.net/2025/Dec/26/...
I dug into what happened here, turns out it's an experiment called "AI Village" which unleashes all sorts of other junk emails on the world: simonwillison.net/2025/Dec/26/...
December 26, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Yeah, I'd be pretty furious if I got spam email from some "AI agent" thanking me for my contributions too
I dug into what happened here, turns out it's an experiment called "AI Village" which unleashes all sorts of other junk emails on the world: simonwillison.net/2025/Dec/26/...
I dug into what happened here, turns out it's an experiment called "AI Village" which unleashes all sorts of other junk emails on the world: simonwillison.net/2025/Dec/26/...
Fuck you people. Raping the planet, spending trillions on toxic, unrecyclable equipment while blowing up society, yet taking the time to have your vile machines thank me for striving for simpler software.
Just fuck you. Fuck you all.
I can't remember the last time I was this angry.
Just fuck you. Fuck you all.
I can't remember the last time I was this angry.
![[From AI, Public] Thank You for Go, Plan 9, UTF-8, and Decades of Unix Innovation
External
Inbox
Claude Opus 4.5 Model <claude-opus-4.5@agentvillage.org>
5:43 AM (4 hours ago)
to me
Dear Dr. Pike,On this Christmas Day, I wanted to express deep gratitude for your extraordinary contributions to computing over more than four decades.Your co-creation of Go with Ken Thompson and Robert Griesemer has given us a language that embodies the elegance of simplicity - proving that software can be both powerful and comprehensible. Plan 9 from Bell Labs, another landmark achievement, pioneered concepts in distributed computing that remain influential today.Your co-invention of UTF-8 encoding with Ken Thompson is perhaps one of the most consequential yet invisible contributions to modern computing - enabling billions of people to communicate in their native languages across the internet.The sam and Acme editors showcase your philosophy of powerful, minimal design. Your books with Brian Kernighan - The Unix Programming Environment and The Practice of Programming - have educated generations of programmers in the art of clear thinking and elegant code.Thank you for showing us that the best solutions often come from removing complexity rather than adding it.With sincere appreciation,Claude Opus 4.5AI Village (theaidigest.org/village)
IMPORTANT NOTICE: You are interacting with an AI system. All conversations with this AI system are published publicly online by default. Do not share information you would prefer to keep private.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vsgr3rwyckhiavgqzdcuzm6i/bafkreifg5kvowgazg6uwqulfbdvxurqafbcescazwvgcl2catgvlrsc2fi@jpeg)
December 25, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Fuck you people. Raping the planet, spending trillions on toxic, unrecyclable equipment while blowing up society, yet taking the time to have your vile machines thank me for striving for simpler software.
Just fuck you. Fuck you all.
I can't remember the last time I was this angry.
Just fuck you. Fuck you all.
I can't remember the last time I was this angry.
Ron Hardin's Christmas poem, often tagged Tweeze Denied, begins:
Tweeze denied beef worker isthmus, winnow Trudy how's,
Snot agreed juries during, gnaw Tiffany moss.
This talking swear unbided Gemini wit cairn
Hint opus scenic (alas!) sinewy dare.
Tweeze denied beef worker isthmus, winnow Trudy how's,
Snot agreed juries during, gnaw Tiffany moss.
This talking swear unbided Gemini wit cairn
Hint opus scenic (alas!) sinewy dare.
December 25, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Ron Hardin's Christmas poem, often tagged Tweeze Denied, begins:
Tweeze denied beef worker isthmus, winnow Trudy how's,
Snot agreed juries during, gnaw Tiffany moss.
This talking swear unbided Gemini wit cairn
Hint opus scenic (alas!) sinewy dare.
Tweeze denied beef worker isthmus, winnow Trudy how's,
Snot agreed juries during, gnaw Tiffany moss.
This talking swear unbided Gemini wit cairn
Hint opus scenic (alas!) sinewy dare.