Top all-time · #5444
David MacKay
Personal blog · itila.blogspot.comsciencehealth
David MacKay writes Everything is Connected, a personal blog at itila.blogspot.com about science and health. Since 2016, 14 different Hacker News readers have linked it 15 times, most often “David MacKay, FRS died today, his diary is remarkable”. The last post was in 2016, but the archive is still widely read.
Most-linked posts?
- David MacKay, FRS died today, his diary is remarkable3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2016-04-14
What Hacker News says?
There's some active development at https://github.com/ipomoena/dasher/releases , discussed by David at http://itila.blogspot.com/2016/03/dasher-version-50-released...
Comment linking /2016/03/dasher-version-50-released.html
on “David J.C. MacKay, Machine Learning pioneer, dies”Submitted David J.C. MacKay, Machine Learning pioneer, dies as a story · 260 points
HN discussionBefore research into sustainable energy, David MacKay had rediscovered Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes in early 90s, perhaps the most common type of error correction codes used nowadays in commercial systems (alongside with Reed Solomon codes used for storage). He then worked on sustainable energy long before it became fashionable. His early death was a significant loss. He blogged cheerfully from hospital til…
Comment linking /2016/04/perhaps-my-last-post-well-see.html?m=1
on “Sustainable Energy without the Hot Air (Revised, Community Edition)”Submitted Perhaps my last post – we'll see (2016) as a story · 45 points
HN discussionIt‘s such a tragedy that he died so young. Prof Mackay was a role model who impacted our world in many positive ways (e.g. his work in information theory, Bayesian statistics, environmental science). I recommend his lecture on information theory which is available on youtube [1]. He also documented the progress of his cancer very detailed on his blog [2], which is a very interesting (and sad) read. [1] https://youtu…
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on “Sustainable Energy without the Hot Air (Revised, Community Edition)”Submitted David MacKay, FRS died today, his diary is remarkable as a story · 7 points
HN discussionThe original author was blogging just a couple days prior to his death. Rest in peace https://itila.blogspot.com/2015/09/what-do-you-tell-children...
Comment linking /2015/09/what-do-you-tell-children.html
on “Sustainable energy without the hot air (2008)”Submitted What do you tell the children? (2015) as a story · 2 points
HN discussionThe book recommended here, David MacKay's Without the Hot Air really is remarkable, and I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in energy, renewables, or nuclear (which MacKay somewhat grudgingly endorses), and the energy-intensity of modern industrial life. http://www.withouthotair.com MacKay himself, a CalTech-trained physicist, worked at Cambridge. He died about five months ago, noted only modestly at HN…
Comment linking /2016/04/index-for-first-23-cancer-chapters.html
on “What does a kilowatt hour look like?”Submitted Index for the First 23 Cancer Chapters by David MacKay as a story · 1 points
HN discussionJust read his post where he describes receiving his diagnosis and initial treatment. https://itila.blogspot.com/2015/08/unexpected-signs-of-malig... Now I feel emotionally exhausted. I really hope I live long enough to see cancer eradicated.
Comment linking /2015/08/unexpected-signs-of-malignancy.html
on “Perhaps my last post – we'll see (2016)”It nigh-on was. There were three appendices, one of which made it into The Times and The Telegraph but got misrepresented by them; and then a posthumous post by the spouse that is still accruing undeleted comment spam (I've only found 2 real comments out of 236.) in September 2025. * https://itila.blogspot.com/2016/04/davids-last-interview.htm... * https://itila.blogspot.com/2016/04/appendix-one-horlicks.htm... * ht…
Comment linking /2016/04/appendix-one-horlicks.html?showComment=1460846205087
on “Perhaps my last post – we'll see (2016)”I just learned about Mackay's lectures on YouTube and am working through the same. Outstanding teacher. I was so sad to see he died shortly after the course was recorded. He has a gripping/heartbreaking chronicle at https://itila.blogspot.com
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on “Ask HN: Comment here about whatever you're passionate about at the moment”Is this the post you mean? http://itila.blogspot.com/2016/04/appendix-two-open-letter-t...
Comment linking /2016/04/appendix-two-open-letter-to-directors.html?m=1
on “David MacKay: Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms: The Book”
