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by Xcelerate 684 days ago
I might be prematurely classifying your question as an instance of the XY problem, but I worked at a company that tried to create something similar — a graph visualization system that could handle 100B nodes as part of our core product and... well... I would caution you not to do so if your purpose is something along those lines.

There's almost never a use case where a customer wants to see a gigantic graph. Or researchers. Or family members for that matter. People's brains just don't seem to mesh with giant graphs. Tiny graphs, sure. Sub-graphs that display relevant information, sure. The whole thing? Nah. Unless it's for an art project, in which case giant graphs can be pretty cool looking.
1 comments
bunderbunder 684 days ago
I'm reminded of the time back in the aughties when I was asked to help print a ~300,000 page PDF. That's about 30 boxes' worth of paper if you print double-sided. I spent an hour tracing the request back to its source and discovered that they really only wanted some specific pieces of information out of it. I extracted that information from the file and printed maybe 5 pages instead.

In moments like these your job is to not be the monkey's paw. Don't just blithely give them what they asked for. Ask more questions to find out what they're actually trying to accomplish, and help them compose a more specific request that's closer to what they actually want.

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oasisbob 684 days ago
Asked to print a 300,000 page PDF you say? Almost sounds like it was meant for this guy:

https://www.psihoyos.com/image/I0000jtF1ui2j79Q

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exe34 684 days ago
> Don't just blithely give them what they asked for.

Depends on how much they're paying you for it.

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bunderbunder 684 days ago
Knowing how and when to be consultative is a key soft skill that helps get you access to the higher end of the pay scale. It's how you demonstrate that you're an independent thinker who doesn't need to be micro-managed.
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pfortuny 684 days ago
Just in case you are not being sarcastic: there is a thing called ethics, which is the basis of human relations.
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exe34 684 days ago
every man has a price though. whether that's a big cheque or a gun to your child's head.
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