arebop

15 ms·

121.
by arebop 8y ago
Your biggest mistake is comparing energy use. You need to compare the total overhead of bitcoin to the total overhead of the competitive financial system. The second mistake is comparing a per-transaction basis; this is of interest when we
122.
by arebop 8y ago
They might have done some investigation besides asking the competition to tell them how bad Google is. For example, instead of asking Yelp's CEO if his results should be on top, they could have run a UX study to see if non-interested p
123.
by arebop 8y ago
Anyway, there's a crucial difference between "financially impossible" and "politically feasible." It's important to distinguish this because what's politically feasible can shift over time; it's not i
124.
by arebop 8y ago
Why does it seem unlikely? I don't know the shape of the distribution but it doesn't seem implausible to me that a 7.5% change in the threshold amount would correspond to a 10% change in the population quantile.
125.
by arebop 8y ago
We already have case studies of heirs who have led/are leading happy and fulfilling lives without ever having participated as laborers in the economy. So it is proven that the combination of (having money and not having a job) is compa
126.
by arebop 8y ago
The article confuses me with its enumeration of multiple points of argument that appear to amount to the same thing (UBI isn't feasible "because of the cost"; UBI isn't feasible "because taxes have to be high enough
127.
by arebop 8y ago
Some of these people might want to hedge against the possibility that they will be forcibly retired early by some misfortune (economic downturn, disability, ageism, ...).
128.
by arebop 8y ago
Also it was reliable and interoperated fairly well despite other chat providers' sporadic attempts to build moats.
129.
by arebop 9y ago
It was much more nuanced than the headlines such as the one used by BuzzFeed in their original story [ https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanmac/growth-at-any-cost-top-face... ]. He was trying to start a meaningful conversation,
130.
by arebop 9y ago
Of course it could have been written in the style of a press release or perhaps reduced to a politician-style soundbite. But although pablum is harmless when leaked, it doesn't have the nuance needed to give real direction to smart and
131.
by arebop 9y ago
It's very usual for Bay Area people to pay 50%+ of their gross for housing, so new grads at FANG companies don't necessarily have a lot available after taxes, basic living expenses and debt repayment to save. Also, FANG comp packa
132.
by arebop 9y ago
Cities are built on network effects. It's the suburbs specifically that are conceived and designed such that growth and diversity destroys value.
133.
by arebop 9y ago
Vanguard itself offers annuities [ https://investor.vanguard.com/annuity ].
134.
by arebop 9y ago
I.e., the tools will make up a plausible story, such as the story that best fits the available evidence excluding the forgotten bits? That's not very reassuring for those who worry about the loss of history.
135.
by arebop 9y ago
"inflation-adjusted terms" and "real terms" are the same thing. The author was trying to avoid repetition but the only contrast intended here is between the earlier decline and later rise.
136.
by arebop 9y ago
see also https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16429463
137.
by arebop 9y ago
Billy Graham had a TED talk addressing the tech community specifically [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90mj79GqWhc ]
138.
by arebop 9y ago
Isn't $0/year savings a pretty realistic estimate for Americans? It agrees with the stats I've seen, which admittedly aren't focused on the tech industry or the top 5% income quantile.
139.
by arebop 9y ago
sounds like no: "we are taking steps with Waymo to ensure our Lidar and software represents just our good work"
140.
by arebop 9y ago
You certainly did not pay less to move in than you would have in a city without rent control. In SF, rent-controlled rents start at rates comparable to non-rent-controlled apartments. One might think they'd start higher, given that t
141.
by arebop 9y ago
In the worst case, one person has to round trip between the source and the sink. But although the worst case is the same as the best case without a delivery service, the best case for a delivery service is better. QED. There is wear on a ve
142.
by arebop 9y ago
New things tend to be expensive, but when and if they become thoroughly ordinary, they can get cheaper. Why should food delivery be more expensive than food pickup? It's easy to see that you can deliver to somebody and somebody's
143.
by arebop 9y ago
It is because we have no scalable mechanism in society to provide for the basic needs of the "emancipated." Sure, in theory the automation yields a surplus, but in practice how do we actually allocate the surplus? Not to the econo
144.
by arebop 9y ago
Should the company spend any money at all telling potential customers about their product? If so, should they use the incremental dollar to reach a random person, or a person who seems likely to be interested in the product?
145.
by arebop 9y ago
A third of rentable dwellings in San Francisco are rent-controlled, so yes.
146.
by arebop 9y ago
I wasn't attempting to realize the top commenter's fear of > unproductive debate about what consciousness is or is not I'm just addressing the question of why you'd say yes: you might be ready to be put of your misery
147.
by arebop 9y ago
The sensations you call your body change over time, until there's nothing but fatigue and pain left. If someone offered to let you resume consciousness on artificial hardware after your body had ceased to function, you might take them
148.
by arebop 9y ago
The Principal has a very distinguished and widely-recognized track record of achievement.
149.
by arebop 9y ago
I don't think you have to cover every conceivable cost. It's OK to stop when you think you're down to insignificant components of cost. I think rather than trying for a more comprehensive analysis, you should try for a more r
150.
by arebop 9y ago
Interesting idea. You got pretty hand-wavey on your analysis. You didn't include advertising costs or whatever Amazon takes as a listing fee. What happened with the R&D and Licenses/Certifications costs in your final summation

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