Mental Models

Greedy fallback as a traffic jam vs elastic fallback as multiple flowing lanes

Beating the Bound — Without Reordering

We follow the curve — from greedy to elastic, from clustered chaos to calm — and show how one small shift bends the whole system.

Keys struggling up a steep curve as load factor increases

The Invisible Wall Around Hash Tables

This isn’t just about faster hash tables. It’s about breaking long-standing assumptions — and what that shift means for building tighter, simpler, more resilient systems.

Coloured pencil drawing of a human brain with maze-like pathways and a single orange path cutting through

No Silver Bullet and the Systems Mindset

This isn’t just about one paper. It’s about the shift it caused — from chasing tools to understanding systems, from hoping for miracles to working with reality.