Zangoose

Technically I think python already has an intermediate step that it uses before it starts running a script that compiles it into a lower-ish language (at least the cpython interpreter does this, it probably isn't a part of the language specification though)

The actual line between JIT languages and interpreted languages is pretty thin since I think most interpreted languages do something similar to minimize the amount that needs to be done at runtime

Screw it. Let's actually make python script an ISA that gets run on physical hardware with no higher level tooling. Then we can have the python virtual environment which runs this for fools who don't have the right hardware. Finally, when people start complaining about naming we make Python Script 2.1, which is a JIT language built on top of IL that looks nothing like either of them but can emulate both python and python script with the performance cost of being a quarter as fast as both.

I'm also Gen Z and this was me for a while as well. Something that really helped me is not focusing as much on all of the million things going wrong that are way out of my control, and taking smaller steps wherever I can to try to make things better. That shift in perspective has made a lot of things more manageable and less overwhelming even if I still ultimately have the same negative outlook on everything that's going on right now.

If I understand this right, is the idea something like this?

Developers using FOSS libraries (even if their code is not necessarily FOSS itself), along with the end users of those products, don't have to pay for it in any way. Because of that, it's an "external cost" that no one thinks about even though most projects do need some kind of funding?

Hate to break it to you but people born in 2006 are turning 18 this year (and are technically considered "adults").

My point wasn't that FAANG isn't exploitative (my bad if it came off that way, I didn't mean for that), it's that everywhere else is also exploitative to some degree (most probably less so than FAANG, there are definitely a few that are worse though), and that it could still be reasonable to work there for some people.

The other consideration is that pretty much every company you could work for as a software developer is going to try to take advantage of your work. Most companies are morally bad at best and morally terrible at worst. If you discourage any good person from working there, the problem will only snowball from there.

If working at FAANG gives you the resources to support things you're passionate about, and you're willing to stand up for your values when they do something bad, there isn't a problem with that IMO.

If he was counting his money in $100 bills it would still take him about 40 years,

Edit: assuming he counts 1 $100 bill per second

Among us chip bags??? GET OUT OF MY HEAD

Another interesting low-level interpreter/emulated system to look into for anyone else trying to get started with this type of thing is the CHIP-8! It's a pretty basic 8/16-bit instruction set (there are 35 opcodes, the instructions themselves are mostly simple) and there are tons of detailed guides on making one and writing roms for them.