matthewmarkus

9 ms·

1. 61.▲
   by matthewmarkus 10y ago

   I'm not going to deny the existence of comparative advantage. At the same time, I'm not going to claim we live in a passionless universe either. If a hedge fund manager desires to beat the market, she is going to study the financi
2. 62.▲
   by matthewmarkus 10y ago

   Oh boy! I'm going to say some unpopular things here, so please remember you asked for feedback. I immediately click on Funds->Animal Welfare since my company, Pembient, deals in wildlife and I've had a lot of (negative) interac
3. 63.▲
   by matthewmarkus 10y ago

   Thank you for your positive thoughts. Despite this awful incident in France, there has been some good news on the rhino front. In the five years before our announcement in 2015, rhino poaching was growing an average of 49% or so year-over-y
4. 64.▲
   by matthewmarkus 10y ago

   Honestly, my view is that demand reduction [1] is a monoculture that has taken over conservation and produced very little positive results. In fact, it could be argued that demand reduction has even increased wildlife consumption via boomer
5. 65.▲
   by matthewmarkus 10y ago

   I'm the CEO of Pembient, one of the companies working on this problem [1]. I would be happy to answer questions on what we're doing. Additionally, it is worth pointing out that a lot of the initial research done on rhino horn usag
6. 66.▲
   by matthewmarkus 10y ago

   An expert with a 50% error rate is a coin. A scientist with a 50% error rate is still a scientist, and perhaps an eminent one at that. When tens of "expert" climatologists with an error rate of say 5% in their field testify in sup
7. 67.▲
   by matthewmarkus 10y ago

   If a racing driver loses too many races, she'll eventually have to leave the field. If a casino security person presides over too many unexpected losses, he'll eventually have to exit his area of endeavor. Their expertise is under
8. 68.▲
   by matthewmarkus 10y ago

   You might want to take a look at Hopes & Concerns: http://www.hopesandconcerns.org/ I'm not super excited about "expert" opinion. An expert, to quote Niels Bohr, "Is a man who has made all the mistak
9. 69.▲
   by matthewmarkus 10y ago

   DB: So, control theory is model-based and concerned with worst case. Machine learning is data based and concerned with average case. Is there a middle ground? BR: I think there is! And I think there's an exciting opportunity here to un
10. 70.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    Yes, and? Smoking has never been outlawed; although, many have tried. I applaud demand reduction in lieu of prohibition. Once prohibition is in place, look out!
11. 71.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    Thanks for the mention! We're mainly focused on horn at present, but I do mention ivory here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13288580
12. 72.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    Burn tests, as yyhhsj0521 points out, are done. If the object is made of keratin, it will smell like burning hair. I've never burned ivory, but I imagine it would also give off a unique smell (e.g., think drilling in a dentist office).
13. 73.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    For ivory, you would essentially have to grow a tooth in vitro for less than $1500, retail. Technologically, we're not there yet.
14. 74.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    International trade in rhino horn has been banned (via CITES) since 1977. China banned the domestic trade of rhino horn in 1993. A similar ban is in place in Vietnam. You literally cannot ban it any further. If you want to ban the "ker
15. 75.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    Not to besmirch SRT and IRF. They're good organizations that know a lot about rhinos and ecology. However, I have my doubts about their grasp of markets, psychology, history, and statistics among other things. For instance, from 2008 t
16. 76.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    Calling public awareness campaigns "extremely effective" is a vast simplification of the matter. Public awareness campaigns are good at pushing a substance towards being banned. Once a substance is prohibited, it is subject to the
17. 77.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    I feel somewhat qualified to speak on this since my startup, Pembient, biofabricates rhino horn. Basically, rhino horn has been banned in China since 1993. Despite that prohibition, much rhino horn still ends up in China, where it is used p
18. 78.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    I might go with something like this: "We, corporation X, hereby declare as a matter of public record that our counsel of choice in any criminal proceeding pertaining to a NSL is the EFF. This notice constitutes prior informed consent
19. 79.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    Well, I guess at some level, I think NSLs violate the spirit of the law. Thus, it is worth examining the issue. I particularly like the above structure because it separates the hiring of the firm from the disclosure of the NSL to the firm.
20. 80.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    I have no idea if it would work. As you state, it isn't very well-defined. I imagine it would eventually depend on a clarification of the phrase "your choice."
21. 81.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    That seems like a "disclosure" as defined by the NSL.
22. 82.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    How about company Y declares they may hire law firm X if they receive a NSL and law firm X subsequently releases a press release stating that they've been hired by company Y?
23. 83.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    Nice! That's very simple and elegant.
24. 84.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    I don't necessarily agree with your reasoning; however, it looks like one's right to counsel is restricted if one is not charged with a crime: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/352/330
25. 85.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    Well, if the counsel of your choice was predefined as the one that bid the lowest in an open auction, then why would you lose that right? Could the court further restrict that right down to the specific lawyer they want representing you? I
26. 86.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    Well, I know if you're charged, you have a right to be represented by counsel of your choice under the 6th Amendment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistance_of_Counsel_Clause#C... I wonder if that extends to wit
27. 87.▲
    by matthewmarkus 10y ago

    I've always wondered if there is a side-channel that could be used instead of a warrant canary. More specifically, my understanding is that witnesses have Miranda Rights. Therefore, couldn't a company promulgate a process whereby
28. 88.▲
    by matthewmarkus 11y ago

    Google Alerts has brought this conversation to my attention. If you haven't read our recent thoughts on the issue, I invite you to do so. You can find them here: https://sosv.com/why-pembient-is-confident-in-synthetic-r
29. 89.▲
    by matthewmarkus 12y ago

    Thanks! Tusks are similar to teeth, so there is a nerve root, etc. https://www.thedodo.com/community/Elegirl/the-truth-about-tu... Taking just the tip of a tusk might be the best option for evading a DNA test.
30. 90.▲
    by matthewmarkus 12y ago

    You can get DNA from Ivory. http://www.pnas.org/content/104/10/4228.full Bioengineering wildlife products is something my start-up, Pembient, has been working on for a while now.