warbaker

8 ms·

61.
by warbaker 5y ago
We work hard because we make stuff people want. We can make more, better stuff by working hard. I do think 50-60 hour weeks are often counterproductive, but the money we make ultimately comes from providing value to someone. It isn't t
62.
by warbaker 5y ago
Gotta watch out for deep crows [1], of course. [1] https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/10/10/
63.
by warbaker 5y ago
I see the "graph" on page 104, which shows (if anything) a slightly negative effect for men ("high power" men took slightly fewer cookies on average). I didn't see a detailed methodology anywhere.
64.
by warbaker 5y ago
The cookie study hasn't been published anywhere. Descriptions of the methodology vary (sometimes it's 4 cookies, sometimes it's 5 cookies). Super suss, and I wouldn't be surprised if the results don't reproduce. ht
65.
by warbaker 6y ago
John Bardeen is one of the greatest physicists of all time. He is the only person to win two Nobel Prizes in physics. Shockley may have been a talented scientist, but he did not invent the transistor, and tried to steal (not share in, but s
66.
by warbaker 6y ago
This article attributes the transistor to Shockley, but this is incorrect. It was really invented by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. Shockley, their manager, tried to steal all the credit, and mostly succeeded. https://www.pbs.
67.
by warbaker 6y ago
To me, there can be almost a . . . cuteness to good simulation. It's a small, holdable version of something big, like a tiny stuffed giraffe.
68.
by warbaker 6y ago
I think he's trying to say that there's art in simulation, in taking complex real life phenomena, turning them into simple math, making a computer run that math, and giving a person a way to interact with it. Some games today do t
69.
by warbaker 6y ago
You're familiar with Bell's Theorem, yes? QM puts significant constraints on any physical theory that might underlie it.
70.
by warbaker 6y ago
On the other hand, Word never has compiler errors.
71.
by warbaker 6y ago
And YouTube, and of course DoubleClick.
72.
by warbaker 6y ago
You still need to explain why some whales live hundreds of years, and some trees live thousands. If you believe that telomere shortening is the issue, we should be investigating therapies to encourage telomere lengthening. We have access to
73.
by warbaker 6y ago
I think they would have, yes. Both effects are occurring at the same time - younger people are more liberal, but also older people are getting more liberal over their lifespans. And, in any case, if the price of longevity is slower social c
74.
by warbaker 6y ago
I think you can courageously follow your heart even if you know you won't die for thousands of years. Perhaps a world in which a 5000-year lifespan is common will be a world in which people are more socially courageous, more daring, as
75.
by warbaker 6y ago
We are failing to sufficiently fund longevity research, and the basic science and engineering needed to enable it. We are spending a ton of money on healthcare (analogous to the trains), and almost nothing on the root cause of most of these
76.
by warbaker 6y ago
Imagine if we, somehow, had the technology to make humans live for 5000 years (bristlecone pine trees somehow manage it). Would you then say that we should still commit suicide at 90, in order to make room for the young? My dad is in his 70
77.
by warbaker 6y ago
Perhaps we'd simply adapt, say via a global wealth tax or something similar.
78.
by warbaker 6y ago
CGP Grey's video adaptation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZYNADOHhVY
79.
The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant (2005)(nickbostrom.com)
61 points by warbaker 6y ago|91 comments
80.
by warbaker 6y ago
I still think we should make longevity research a priority.
81.
by warbaker 6y ago
Are you seriously equating the two govts? Consider that, because hackernews/YC is a US company, your post is read by everyone who cares to see it. Consider what would happen if you decried the powers of the CCP on a China-based platfor
82.
by warbaker 6y ago
So, it's ok for China to ban Google because Google refuses to help with censorship and propaganda, and because Google doesn't want the Chinese govt to be able to spy on its citizens. But it's not OK for the US to keep out spy
83.
by warbaker 6y ago
I feel like there's another angle here. Perhaps the attempts diversification that the author so decries were an attempt to keep Mozilla relevant even if its flagship sinks. Also, I don't totally understand why you can expect to ge
84.
by warbaker 6y ago
Imagine if, every quarter, a committee voted on whether you keep your job. Does this make you more or less willing to take risks? More or less focused? Does this decrease or increase the amount of attention you give to "optics" an
85.
by warbaker 6y ago
Gmail was developed internally.
86.
by warbaker 6y ago
Not sure how you can equate these two. Iraq invasion was driven by faulty intelligence gathered in secret by a spy organization. Here, we have millions of eye witnesses and tons of corroborating evidence.
87.
by warbaker 6y ago
Storing oil safely is hard: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-03/that-time...
88.
by warbaker 7y ago
No, Chesterton's Fence says for you to leave and think about why someone put it up originally, and figure out what was good about the fence. What you should instead do is look at the fence and the dangers on the other side and see if i
89.
by warbaker 7y ago
I hate Chesterton's Fence. We keep knocking down fences and it keeps being great, the most recent being the millenia-long prohibition on gay marriage. People put up fences for all sorts of dumb reasons. If you see a fence that seems to
90.
by warbaker 7y ago
Really tragic. RIP.

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