philipps

10 ms·

61.
by philipps 8y ago
I didn’t make the claim that population is the biggest problem. I responded to the incorrect suggestion that population size is not a problem (which you repeat without offering any evidence that we could sustain ourselves). Growth is by no
62.
by philipps 8y ago
It’s neither hysteria nor something you can “move on” from. Please either provide facts or other evidence for your opinion or don’t comment. There is no basis for the suggestion that we can sustain a growing population on this planet, even
63.
by philipps 8y ago
There is no scientific basis for the claim that the earth could sustain 100+ billion people. These types of unsubstantiated claims are not just false but dangerous, as they suggest there is no need for significant action and change.
64.
by philipps 8y ago
I’m not sure if you are suggesting FB should face similar consequences as VW or that FB’s conduct is excusable because others do similar things. Some differences are that VW plead guilty and paid a 2.8B $ fine, the CEO resigned, executives
65.
by philipps 8y ago
Thank you for sharing this. I’ve donated (small amounts of) money to Mozilla and Wikipedia in the past. Your post makes me consider donating to archive.org this year. Edit: typo
66.
by philipps 8y ago
Both this and the previous discussion show that HN readers believe facts (or information) can and do change peoples’ minds. The way I understand the article (and the books it refers to) it suggests that social factors have a stronger effect
67.
by philipps 8y ago
Agree with almost everything you wrote. But given the track record of big philanthropy I doubt very much that this will be more efficient than government efforts.
68.
by philipps 8y ago
I can’t say enough good things about public libraries. At the MIT Media Lab we started an innovation exchange with US libraries to co-develop new STEAM education programs together (tinkering with electronics, building a “food computer”, usi
69.
by philipps 8y ago
This highlights how far the US is lagging behind in terms of Internet access and cost. Paying 60$/month or more for mediocre speeds is common even in major urban areas, due to the lack of competition. I live in the heart of Boston and
70.
by philipps 8y ago
Which is why a more exaggerated comparison would be this: a person who walks home after finishing work to cook dinner with the family using vegetables grown in the backyard vs a person who eats out in a bar, drives home drunk, gets into an
71.
by philipps 8y ago
I remember google having vastly more useful results than its competitors at that time. The uncluttered design was a bonus.
72.
by philipps 8y ago
This is not correct (or at least strongly disputed) as Cambridge University economist Ha Joon Chang explains in his book “Kicking Away the Ladder”. In essence, there is historical evidence that development through protectionism (and appropr
73.
by philipps 8y ago
Two points: It is not useful to generalize “African states” because different African countries have different systems and qualities of governance. The current US system of governance has some characteristics that citizens of other countrie
74.
by philipps 8y ago
Cambridge economist Ha-Joon Chang’s book “Kicking Away the Ladder” describes how loose IP regulation has been at the center of the economic development of many countries. Sadly, once countries have developed to a certain level they tend to
75.
by philipps 8y ago
German speaking countries went through an effort to reduce the most obvious spelling exceptions in 1996. It introduced new spelling for many existing words but also allowed the use of the previous spelling to continue (in effect creating th
76.
by philipps 8y ago
Could it be because “a norange” and “an orange” sound very similar?
77.
by philipps 8y ago
I would absolutely recommend visiting. Barcelona is one of the most incredible cities in the world. Do a little research on the different areas. Don’t carry around 10k of valuables! And don’t leave your stuff lying around on the beach. Have
78.
by philipps 8y ago
I agree that the police and justice system in the US feels slow, ineffective, and biased, but I think that trying to fix it so that everyone can depend on it is the opposite of helplessness.
79.
by philipps 8y ago
I’m not a very active contributor here, but the only points I occasionally find myself paying attention to are the ones on HN. It actually means something to get a few replies.
80.
by philipps 8y ago
Great news. Happy to become a paying Flickr customer again. There still isn’t a good place to store and share photos where it doesn’t feel like someone else owns them. Good integration with mobile and reasonably priced storage would be at t
81.
by philipps 8y ago
I grew up in Germany and 100 years does not sound like a long time for a house to last. Maybe that’s they main difference: expectation of longevity. Which is surprising because while my hometown Cologne is in fact more than 2000 years old,
82.
by philipps 8y ago
In light of recent revelations about the way social media companies treat their users’ data and privacy, strong regulation is not “overreach” but “overdue”.
83.
by philipps 9y ago
I don’t think ownership structure is the key factor. More important is robustness of institutions that protect freedom of expression and freedom of the press. The Nazi government had little patience for critical private media either.
84.
by philipps 9y ago
It would be helpful if you would cite the studies that allegedly support your statements about the poor results of learning-by-doing. As previous poster points out “committing things to long-term memory” is memorization, a small part of lea
85.
by philipps 9y ago
This is exciting and worrying in equal parts - can’t wait for the Black Mirror episode.
86.
by philipps 9y ago
I agree that tying one’s convictions to identity and arguing on the basis of identity makes cooperation among individuals with different identities harder. However, I find the suggestion to reduce one’s identity problematic. First, identity
87.
by philipps 9y ago
I agree that it’s encouraging to see engineers and scientists focus their efforts on important societal issues. However, we need to find more thoughtful ways to use this technology. A good place to start is trying to deeply understand a con
88.
by philipps 9y ago
Another argument for globally similar rates could be that cost of living is also to some degree a reflection of additional value (high quality education and healthcare, safety, etc...) which individuals in low income locations may lack. G
89.
by philipps 9y ago
> the only thing markets have been shown not to do well is make sacrifices for moral reasons. Even reading this claim in the narrow context of the article it seems too broad. John Cassidy has written an insightful book “How markets fail“
90.
by philipps 9y ago
The NewYorker article mentioned above explains some of the reasons, ranging from misleading marketing to more nefarious tactics. The article is worth reading.

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