SamPatt

29 ms·

391.
by SamPatt 3y ago
I'll add to the anecdotes here: I lost 90 lbs and got fit over the past five years, and my Fitbit played an important role in that. Initially, it was helpful for me to be aware of my overall physical activity. Weight loss is mostly die
392.
by SamPatt 3y ago
I don't know if it's necessary to even invoke hormones for this (it may be true, I'm not sure), you can also view confirmation bias as simply more efficient. It requires less mental energy to slot new information into an exis
393.
by SamPatt 3y ago
This is a nice sentiment, but I've found that needing to pay attention to my dog while walking him does interrupt my thinking. Walking with him is good for us both, but walking alone is better for thinking.
394.
by SamPatt 3y ago
It's an unrealistic expectation that no evidence posted online is contrived or exaggerated. Even a cursory examination of "legitimate" channels such as academic work, or communication from governments, will find plenty such e
395.
by SamPatt 3y ago
I've read height is weakly correlated (which intuitively makes sense, as greater height is more or less synonymous with larger body size). Also the second-to-fourth digit ratio seems correlated. Longer ring finger seems to indicate mor
396.
by SamPatt 3y ago
This feels misleading. Social media platforms were removing content discussing lab leak theories, and there's enough evidence of government officials colluding with those platforms generally to suspect they could have played a role in
397.
by SamPatt 3y ago
I'm using survival in a non-traditional way here. I'm not talking about "survival mode," I mean the normal development path you're describing, which is actually the one that best leads to survival.
398.
by SamPatt 3y ago
My theory: Life is difficult enough that there are many psychological defenses in place - both at the individual and societal level - to keep us focused on our survival and not devote too many mental resources to considering underlying ques
399.
by SamPatt 3y ago
Yet another example of the benefits of taking a daily walk. It's not a panacea, but at this point I think it should be considered as essential as showering, brushing teeth, etc.
400.
by SamPatt 3y ago
OP is sharing a personal project, he's not claiming he's solved the mental health crisis. This is Hacker News. These types of projects are half of the reason I come here, what's with the hate?
401.
by SamPatt 3y ago
>Every watt spent doing anything PoW is just that much more intensification of our current climate crisis. Every watt spent doing anything, period, right? Like using your computer to send comments on HN? Or streaming video? Or any one of
402.
by SamPatt 3y ago
To whom, and over what timescales? I'd wager that the vast majority of Londoners living during the war did not see a net benefit from their neighborhoods being destroyed. Whether or not future generations reaped a benefit at their expe
403.
by SamPatt 3y ago
>What saved us was the surprising phenomenon... It's only surprising if you (like Malthus and Erlich) had the intellectual arrogance to believe you could predict the future. I cannot predict humanity's future, but I can look at
404.
by SamPatt 3y ago
It's also important to remember that history is full of people claiming we're about to run into a brick wall (Malthus, Erlich and company), yet things just keep getting better. Perhaps humans are better drivers than you think?
405.
by SamPatt 3y ago
Land - and thus population - is not evenly distributed across the globe, there is far more of both in the northern hemisphere. Global transmission of electricity isn't a "problem," it's non-existant.
406.
by SamPatt 3y ago
Destroying ourselves, as measured by population, which is the highest in the history of our species? Or measured by longevity, or leisure time, or other living standards, all of which are drastically higher than they were only a few generat
407.
by SamPatt 3y ago
I've run into this issue a lot with ChatGPT, and almost never with GPT-4. I know it isn't always possible, but just using GPT-4 prevents this 99% of the time (basically 100% with proper prompting).
408.
by SamPatt 3y ago
Thanks, you too!
409.
by SamPatt 3y ago
Thank you for the encouragement. I don't have an idea I'm sufficiently excited about, but the longer I'm unemployed the more I begin considering them.
410.
by SamPatt 3y ago
Been looking seriously for ~4 months now, no luck yet. My degree is in political science and I worked at a DC think tank as a research fellow focused on technology policy before leaving to co-found a VC-backed tech startup. After five years
411.
by SamPatt 3y ago
I have computers from the 90s which I will almost certainly never touch again, but they played such a big role in my young life I can't seem to toss them. I keep thinking I'll boot them back up one day and show my kids.
412.
by SamPatt 3y ago
Do you have a sense for what motivates "support" users? Already in listening through what is on there, a few people were clearly depressed, and lending support to those people is awesome, but also difficult to sustain (for any giv
413.
by SamPatt 3y ago
Cool idea, I tried it and I see the value. Looks like a lot of work for a small team. How do you ensure user privacy? If someone accessed your data could they link voice messages with email address?
414.
by SamPatt 3y ago
Many of the strongest opponents of sex work are women. I can't speak for the commenter you're responding to, but the delusional part of that quote for me was the idea that men opposed sex work because women earn a lot of money. I&
415.
by SamPatt 3y ago
It's a strong El Nino this year. It will almost certainly be cooler next year.
416.
by SamPatt 3y ago
Earth's average temperature right now is ~17° Celsius. So...no.
417.
by SamPatt 3y ago
Given your username, I'm assuming you're the author of these articles. Thank you for writing them. Very informative. It makes sense that maturity would occur earlier in an environment where resources are plentiful.
418.
by SamPatt 3y ago
Sorry about my presumption. Could your children form sentences before they attended school? Almost certainly yes, so I don't understand your earlier claim.
419.
by SamPatt 3y ago
Some interesting points in here, but the author seems to imply that the obesity epidemic is really just in our minds. I don't buy that part at all.
420.
by SamPatt 3y ago
You definitely don't have children.

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