# The Polymathic Engineer A newsletter about Algorithms, Computer Vision, and Distributed Systems This is one page of public article previews, not the complete archive. Follow Next page to continue. Summaries are not the original full articles. ## Latency: What It Is and What Limits It (Part II) DevFeed: [Latency: What It Is and What Limits It (Part II)]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Franco Fernando Published: 2026-09-11T09:07:39Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [The Polymathic Engineer]() Topics: [Latency]() Tags: [latency]() ### AI overview An article explaining where latency occurs in the stack, how delays accumulate, and how to measure them. ### Source excerpt Where delays hide in the stack, how they add up, and how to measure them. ## Latency Is Not a Single Number DevFeed: [Latency Is Not a Single Number]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Franco Fernando Published: 2026-09-04T07:08:23Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [The Polymathic Engineer]() Topics: [Latency](), [math]() Tags: [latency](), [math]() ### AI overview An article explaining latency through physics and mathematics, including the limits that bound it and why averages can be misleading. ### Source excerpt What latency really is. The physics and math that bound it, and why the average always lies. ## Exception Handling in Practice DevFeed: [Exception Handling in Practice]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Franco Fernando Published: 2026-08-28T05:50:28Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [The Polymathic Engineer]() Topics: [Exception](), [Code]() Tags: [code](), [exception](), [exception-handling](), [patterns]() ### AI overview An article about patterns and anti-patterns for signaling, catching, and surviving failures in code. ### Source excerpt Patterns and anti-patterns for signaling, catching, and surviving failures in your code. ## IP Addressing, Part III: Inside the IP Packet DevFeed: [IP Addressing, Part III: Inside the IP Packet]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Franco Fernando Published: 2026-08-07T09:49:52Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [The Polymathic Engineer]() Topics: [Network](), [Protocol (disambiguation)]() Tags: [fragmentation](), [internet](), [ipv4](), [ipv6](), [network](), [payload](), [protocol]() ### AI overview This tutorial examines the IPv4 datagram and header fields, explains fragmentation and MTU constraints, discusses why TCP and IP use checksums, and describes changes introduced by IPv6. ### Source excerpt What actually travels on the wire: the IPv4 header, fragmentation, and what IPv6 changed. ## IP Addressing, Part II: Scaling IPv4 Across the Internet DevFeed: [IP Addressing, Part II: Scaling IPv4 Across the Internet]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Franco Fernando Published: 2026-08-01T11:36:30Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [The Polymathic Engineer]() Topics: [Internet]() Tags: [internet](), [ip](), [ipv4](), [nat]() ### AI overview This article explains how CIDR replaced classful addressing and how private addresses and NAT helped extend the usable life of IPv4. ### Source excerpt How classful addressing gave way to CIDR, and how private addresses and NAT kept the world from running out of IPv4. ## The Anatomy of an IPv4 Address (Part I) DevFeed: [The Anatomy of an IPv4 Address (Part I)]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Franco Fernando Published: 2026-07-25T10:00:35Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [The Polymathic Engineer]() Topics: [Network]() Tags: [ipv4](), [network]() ### AI overview This tutorial explains how an IPv4 address is structured, what a subnet mask does, and how a device determines which network it belongs to. ### Source excerpt How an IPv4 address is built, what a subnet mask does, and how a device determines the network it belongs to. ## The Perceptron DevFeed: [The Perceptron]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Franco Fernando Published: 2026-07-18T05:44:10Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [The Polymathic Engineer]() Topics: [Neural Network]() Tags: [building](), [model](), [neural]() ### AI overview An explanation of how the perceptron works as a simple classification model and its role as a building block of neural networks. ### Source excerpt How the simplest classification model works, and why it is the building block of every neural network. ## How the Operating System Runs Many Tasks on One CPU DevFeed: [How the Operating System Runs Many Tasks on One CPU]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Franco Fernando Published: 2026-07-11T08:25:54Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [The Polymathic Engineer]() Topics: [Operating system](), [cpu](), [context]() Tags: [context](), [cpu](), [multitasking](), [scheduler](), [switching]() ### AI overview This article explains how an operating system runs many tasks on one CPU through multitasking, context switching, and scheduling. ### Source excerpt Multitasking, context switching, and the scheduler that makes it all work. ## When Duplicated Code Is the Better Tradeoff DevFeed: [When Duplicated Code Is the Better Tradeoff]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Franco Fernando Published: 2026-07-04T06:05:31Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [The Polymathic Engineer]() Topics: [Software Engineering](), [Code](), [distributed-systems](), [Microservice](), [Library]() Tags: [abstraction](), [bugs](), [code](), [components](), [distributed](), [distributed-systems](), [reusable-code](), [services](), [software](), [software-engineering](), [teams]() ### AI overview This article examines when following the DRY principle creates more cost than value. It argues that duplicated code can be reasonable when abstraction adds coordination overhead, tight coupling, or inflexibility, especially across distributed services and teams whose code may evolve differently. ### Source excerpt When duplicated code is the better tradeoff. ## The Training Trap: Underfitting, Overfitting, and How to Escape Them DevFeed: [The Training Trap: Underfitting, Overfitting, and How to Escape Them]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Franco Fernando Published: 2026-06-27T08:34:14Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [The Polymathic Engineer]() Topics: [Machine learning](), [Training AI Models](), [machine learning overfitting]() Tags: [guide](), [how-to](), [machine-learning](), [techniques](), [training]() ### AI overview A practical guide to common machine learning training problems, including underfitting and overfitting, with techniques for addressing them. ### Source excerpt A practical guide to the most common problems in machine learning training and the techniques to solve them. ## Service Mesh vs API Gateway (Part III) DevFeed: [Service Mesh vs API Gateway (Part III)]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Franco Fernando Published: 2026-06-20T09:02:00Z Content type: comparison Language: en Sources: [The Polymathic Engineer]() Topics: [Architecture & Design](), [API]() Tags: [api](), [api-gateway](), [mesh](), [patterns](), [vs]() ### AI overview This article compares service mesh and API Gateway patterns, explaining that they address different problems and can work best together. ### Source excerpt Two patterns that look similar, solve different problems, and work best together. ## The Depth-First Search Pattern: Exploring Trees and Graphs DevFeed: [The Depth-First Search Pattern: Exploring Trees and Graphs]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Franco Fernando Published: 2026-06-13T10:01:23Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [The Polymathic Engineer]() Topics: [Graphs]() Tags: [graphs](), [how-to]() ### AI overview This tutorial explains depth-first search, a systematic method for exploring trees and graphs by going as deep as possible before backtracking. ### Source excerpt How to systematically search through all paths by going as deep as possible before backtracking ## What a Service Mesh Gives You (Part II) DevFeed: [What a Service Mesh Gives You (Part II)]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Franco Fernando Published: 2026-06-06T10:27:13Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [The Polymathic Engineer]() Topics: [Architecture & Design]() Tags: [mesh]() ### AI overview An article about the features that make a service mesh worth the trouble. ### Source excerpt The features that make a service mesh worth the trouble. ## Service Mesh: Why and How It Works (Part I) DevFeed: [Service Mesh: Why and How It Works (Part I)]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Franco Fernando Published: 2026-05-30T09:34:40Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [The Polymathic Engineer]() Topics: [Architecture & Design]() Tags: [infrastructure](), [mesh]() ### AI overview This article explains how a dedicated infrastructure layer can manage service-to-service communication in a service mesh. ### Source excerpt How a dedicated infrastructure layer can take over the job of managing service-to-service communication.