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
- A paradox about 'should'. I seem to have accidentally proven that drinking wine both is and is not a thing you should do. Let's hope that wine doesn't disappear in a puff of logical smoke. Added:
- Why scientists need philosophers. This is a practice essay, OK? Don't shoot me if it's no good. Added:
- How I read things on the Internet now (no, of course I don't leave the terminal!). I've been sprucing up how I follow what's happening on the Internet. I can now read all the things I want to read pretty efficiently, and enjoy doing it, which is exciting. 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: