b3kart

30 ms·

121.
by b3kart 6y ago
Of course it is, if we agree that incremental research isn't necessarily "SOTA chasing". Deep learning, and in fact all scientific breakthroughs, did not materialize out of nowhere. They're a culmination of a long sequen
122.
by b3kart 6y ago
Good point. Almost as useful as saying "all you need to learn is Boolean algebra" when it comes to computing.
123.
by b3kart 6y ago
Some good points in the article, but I disagree with the tone and the conclusion. > we’ve rewarded and lauded incremental researchers as innovators, increased their budgets so they can do even more incremental research There isn't a
124.
by b3kart 6y ago
To play the devil’s advocate: maybe it doesn’t make sense if you think of Dropbox as a utility for syncing files across computers. But maybe it does make sense if you think of them as a company that’s responsible for safely and securely sto
125.
by b3kart 6y ago
People should really learn to separate work and play. As soon as you utter “ROI” your play has become work.
126.
by b3kart 6y ago
I am not sure how I feel about “X books this year” types of goals. Sounds like this could encourage reading thin, “quick” books. Why don’t people do something like “read for X hours a week” instead? Unless “Y books read” is the end-goal in
127.
by b3kart 6y ago
Yep, this whole thread is one big apples-to-oranges comparison. An average software engineer is lower status than a lawyer at a top law-firm with fierce competition for every position. Well, duh. Why don't we compare a senior FAANG eng
128.
by b3kart 6y ago
Sorry, I don’t get it. Are you saying fitting a linear regression model to data and making predictions somehow isn’t machine learning? I am confused.
129.
by b3kart 6y ago
Does it really come from the battle between VCs though? My understanding is that these VC-backed companies of Uber type are designed to run at a loss until a) the market dominance is achieved, at which point the prices are raised to get to
130.
by b3kart 6y ago
> but as a consumer, might as well ride the wave I am mostly doing the same: I understand what Uber is doing, but it's just so much more convenient than your old-school taxi company. However, to play the devil's advocate, this
131.
by b3kart 6y ago
Funny that people who can afford to pay to not see any ads are the same people that advertisers would like to get to.
132.
by b3kart 6y ago
Yeah, this is completely inaccurate, as other comments are also saying. Indeed, PhDs are shorter in Europe, but getting a PhD in 2 years is not just uncommon, but next to impossible. Credible universities won't even let you defend that
133.
by b3kart 6y ago
Yep. Don't make promises when the outcome is not up to you. See [1] for many examples of acquired companies going back on such statements. [1]: https://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com/
134.
by b3kart 6y ago
Sorry, I strongly dislike both "Work harder" and "Never give up". How hard is hard enough? When you're burnt out? Or even harder still? And why _never_ give up? What if you're "not giving up" pursuing
135.
by b3kart 6y ago
Two counterpoints here: 1) Humans can estimate their own uncertainty. Ask a person to show how long a meter is, and they'll give you an estimate. Then ask them to show you the "error bounds", i.e. what they're "qu
136.
by b3kart 6y ago
Disconnect the console and put it away on some remote shelf. Make it more difficult to act on impulse, while still being able to play if you _really_ want to. Sticking to 1hr at a time is more tricky...
137.
by b3kart 6y ago
A good point re him having two roles. Speaking your mind and expressing yourself freely are both paramount for a good thinker, while both are anathemas for anything that has to do with people’s opinion and politics. Maybe the two roles just
138.
by b3kart 6y ago
Not being afraid of coming across as cringeworthy might contribute to producing the original ideas that you respect.
139.
by b3kart 6y ago
Surely you’re not implying devs in Europe are somehow inferior to devs in the US?
140.
by b3kart 6y ago
From the perspective of UX of a power user, you’d need to convince me that all of these Electron apps is “progress”.
141.
by b3kart 6y ago
I’ve set-up an iPhone’s Shortcuts workflow which basically replicates the shell script above. Works very well. Reading on mobile is a bit painful, but doable, and I mostly do it at a computer anyway.
142.
by b3kart 6y ago
Yep, I think that’s (at least partially) true, even if it’s not explicitly acknowledged in the company. Same with Google and their endless new projects: what else would all those smart engineers do? Support existing projects? Yeah, let’s se
143.
by b3kart 6y ago
You're broadening the context. I am not saying Google as company is something you can't compete with. Many companies do so successfully in various markets. I am talking about search in particular. Which is why you bringing Microso
144.
by b3kart 6y ago
Thanks. I’ve tried about a million different tricks at the time, none of which worked. I’ve given up on it. There has been a Twitter thread by an Apple engineer which I won’t be able to locate now, but the crux was that they know they’re br
145.
by b3kart 6y ago
Sure, but when Google have been starting out they didn’t have to compete with...Google (as it is today). While companies that would like to enter the market now have to. And Google has a massive competitive advantage: their data and their s
146.
by b3kart 6y ago
> 4K display That’s your answer. Apple being Apple either have no lower-res screens to test on, or once again have decided to force the industry forward.
147.
by b3kart 6y ago
Because PDFs in Preview are blurry on external screens ever since Sierra. Acrobat works fine. I hate most third-party PDF viewers, but here we are.
148.
by b3kart 6y ago
Of course. A language isn't just syntax, it prescribes how and at what level you're solving problems. System programing languages typically expose a lot of the underlying memory management, so you can optimize it. Scripting langua
149.
by b3kart 6y ago
Same with Google. It's naive to think that if you are "logged out" in "private mode" they aren't saving your queries. It's not difficult to know who's searching if you have access to an IP address and
150.
by b3kart 6y ago
“Well-established and widely reported”: is it actually? Yes, I’ve also seen the anecdotes on HN, but I am conscious of the survivorship bias, never mind HNs overall bias towards the US/Bay Area. You might never hear from developers in

More ›