Joe Carstairs
Hi! 👋 My name is Joe Carstairs. I’m a software developer at Scott Logic, a graduate of Philosophy and Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh, a committed Christian and a pretty rubbish poet.
I’m also the secretary of the Scots Language Society. Help me maintain our website!
HMU with your thoughts on philosophy of science, Scots verse and John the Evangelist.
Or get me on Facebook, Mastodon, LinkedIn, BlueSky, or GitHub.
My blog
2025
- Arianism. I'm summarising what I've learned recently about Arianism: the heresy par excellence, named for the early-fourth-century Alexandrian priest, Arius. I'll conclude with some reflections on why we still need to reject Arian temptations and affirm Nicene orthodoxy today. Added:
- 381: how the church as we know it was made. The church which defines our world now is in a significant way the one which emerged out of sixty years of controversy from the Council of Constantinople in 381. I've been charting what happened, why, and the ongoing legacy. Added:
- Changing my ambitions. When I started my first degree, I had unrealistic and unhelpful ambitions. For my second degree, I'm setting my sights on different targets. Added:
My links
2025
- Free social media from billionaire control. I just donated $40. These guys are promising to do whatever it takes to make sure the AT Protocol is genuinely owned by everyone. Added:
- Bank of England's 'Millenium of Macroeconomic Data'. There was no long-term price inflation from 1200 (when these data begin) until 1550. WHAT?! Added:
2024
- "Rules" that terminal programs follow. Handy for the next time you develop a CLI or TUI. Also handy as a user: now I know about readline key bindings, which are everywhere apparently. Added:
- Sexual symmetry and asymmetry. Alexander Pruss has a bizarre, but at first blush convincing, argument that complementarians about gender don’t have to appeal to morally significant intrinsic differences between men and women. Added:
- Please just stop saying 'just'. A pretty good case for avoiding the word 'just' in software engineering. I admit I've been guilty, too. Added: