4 ms·

The mathematics are above my intellectual capacities, but I still find the man and his lifestyle fascinating. Though I admit his heart attack probably wasn't a

The mathematics are above my intellectual capacities, but I still find the man and his lifestyle fascinating. Though I admit his heart attack probably wasn't a coincidence, sadly. I wonder if national, institutional, or otherwise "eccentric" sponsorships (encouraging a similar migrant-madman approach to academic cultivation) of some of the folks on HN wouldn't lead to meaningful discoveries in CS. I often see comments that some of the users here long to "make a computer do neat tricks all day", and I can't help but think meager sponsorship could go a long way in this area. Existing grant structures, being much more traditional, are constrained by their cost.

qsort 2mo ago
> I wonder if national, institutional, or otherwise "eccentric" sponsorships (encouraging a similar migrant-madman approach to academic cultivation) of some of the folks on HN wouldn't lead to meaningful discoveries in CS. The problem is that Paul Erdos was eccentric but he was also Paul Erdos. I'm not saying you're implying that, but I feel it's a similar line of thinking to how popular culture often romanticizes autism and Asperger's because some very smart people are (allegedly) affected. The same group includes people who need 24/7 care. Computer science at the frontier is as specialized and hard as mathematics, you need years of study to truly understand a field well enough to make meaningful contributions. You can try sponsoring me if you really want, but I don't think you'd be spending your money wisely in expectation.
- ComputerPerson 2mo ago
  FWIW I've worked in two different academic labs, both of which would have benefited from a runaway worker barreling down random paths, as long as they were being productive in some capacity.
  - eru 2mo ago
    > [...] as long as they were being productive in some capacity. I'm afraid you only know that after the fact. You might also like TempleOS, or at least the context and history behind it.
    - ComputerPerson 2mo ago
      I guess that's the crux of the issue
e4325f 2mo ago
> Though I admit his heart attack probably wasn't a coincidence, sadly. He died aged 83...
- ComputerPerson 2mo ago
  I didn't know that. A poor assumption I made that his amohetamine use shortened his life significantly.
  - inigyou 2mo ago
    Most drugs aren't as unhealthy as the government wants you to believe.
arjie 2mo ago
When Gwern needed a fellowship to come to SF he got one. When he had his “great idea” it was funded. The truly unique people out there find a way. Any government bureaucrat will just find the Jason Ardays of the world.
- jltsiren 2mo ago
  That's survivorship bias. If there are truly unique people who never get a chance to do what they would be good at, we don't hear about them. Private sector bureaucrats are no different from government ones. The fundamental issue is that if you have a system, it's going to fail outliers. Almost by definition. And the situation is even worse if the system uses metrics for making decisions.
  - arjie 2mo ago
    Well, if the statement is "we need some eccentric thinkers" then survivors suffice. We have some eccentric thinkers. If the statement is "we need more eccentric thinkers" then I think I'm going to demand the rigor of "explain why we need to increase the quantity and why your proposed intervention is the best way to get there with evidence behind it".
AussieWog93 2mo ago
Honestly, I think our extremely liberal disability benefits scheme achieves this to a large extent (albeit possibly with downsides for both the recipient and society). Look at all of the crazy stuff made by unemployed trans people/autists over the past decade, disproportionately from countries with strong welfare states.

qsort 2mo ago

> I wonder if national, institutional, or otherwise "eccentric" sponsorships (encouraging a similar migrant-madman approach to academic cultivation) of some of the folks on HN wouldn't lead to meaningful discoveries in CS. The problem is that Paul Erdos was eccentric but he was also Paul Erdos. I'm not saying you're implying that, but I feel it's a similar line of thinking to how popular culture often romanticizes autism and Asperger's because some very smart people are (allegedly) affected. The same group includes people who need 24/7 care. Computer science at the frontier is as specialized and hard as mathematics, you need years of study to truly understand a field well enough to make meaningful contributions. You can try sponsoring me if you really want, but I don't think you'd be spending your money wisely in expectation.

ComputerPerson 2mo ago
FWIW I've worked in two different academic labs, both of which would have benefited from a runaway worker barreling down random paths, as long as they were being productive in some capacity.
- eru 2mo ago
  > [...] as long as they were being productive in some capacity. I'm afraid you only know that after the fact. You might also like TempleOS, or at least the context and history behind it.
  - ComputerPerson 2mo ago
    I guess that's the crux of the issue

e4325f 2mo ago

> Though I admit his heart attack probably wasn't a coincidence, sadly. He died aged 83...

ComputerPerson 2mo ago
I didn't know that. A poor assumption I made that his amohetamine use shortened his life significantly.
- inigyou 2mo ago
  Most drugs aren't as unhealthy as the government wants you to believe.

arjie 2mo ago

When Gwern needed a fellowship to come to SF he got one. When he had his “great idea” it was funded. The truly unique people out there find a way. Any government bureaucrat will just find the Jason Ardays of the world.

jltsiren 2mo ago
That's survivorship bias. If there are truly unique people who never get a chance to do what they would be good at, we don't hear about them. Private sector bureaucrats are no different from government ones. The fundamental issue is that if you have a system, it's going to fail outliers. Almost by definition. And the situation is even worse if the system uses metrics for making decisions.
- arjie 2mo ago
  Well, if the statement is "we need some eccentric thinkers" then survivors suffice. We have some eccentric thinkers. If the statement is "we need more eccentric thinkers" then I think I'm going to demand the rigor of "explain why we need to increase the quantity and why your proposed intervention is the best way to get there with evidence behind it".

AussieWog93 2mo ago

Honestly, I think our extremely liberal disability benefits scheme achieves this to a large extent (albeit possibly with downsides for both the recipient and society). Look at all of the crazy stuff made by unemployed trans people/autists over the past decade, disproportionately from countries with strong welfare states.