xenocyon

23 ms·

211.
Can we design sociotechnical systems that don’t suck? (2016)(ethanzuckerman.com)
1 points by xenocyon 7y ago|0 comments
212.
by xenocyon 7y ago
Why do you care whether HN thinks your comp is impressive? Money is a tool. Once basic material needs are met, tying personal self-worth to a numeric value is not a recipe for happiness, and chasing other people's expectations of wha
213.
Fingerprint/RFID Lock Defeated with a Paperclip(youtube.com)
1 points by xenocyon 7y ago|0 comments
214.
by xenocyon 7y ago
Your argument establishes that a free lunch is desirable, not that a free lunch is feasible. There is a very good essay I came across relating a discussion between a physicist and an economist on the question of neverending economic growth:
215.
by xenocyon 7y ago
The danger for consumers is assuming this is a zero-sum and that the converse economic goal applies to you (i.e. assuming that the consumer benefits by eating a lot or focusing on meat). I conjecture that after factoring in the economics of
216.
by xenocyon 7y ago
It's not that we can't model gravity at planetary-orbit scales; that's been done. The issue is that relativity (which addresses gravity) is a good model at large scales and the quantum "Standard Model" (which addres
217.
by xenocyon 7y ago
It's good to see a company openly sharing concrete numbers on diversity even when it doesn't necessarily paint them in a flattering light. This speaks better (to me, at least) than companies which make fluffy noises on diversity b
218.
by xenocyon 7y ago
I think we're unfortunately fixated on a very literal reading of the famous Turing test (i.e. cleverly emulating humans = intelligence). Consider language, for instance. Dolphin communication is intelligent, but does not emulate humans
219.
Tesla will protect bicyclists from “dooring” in future update, notes Elon Musk(teslarati.com)
4 points by xenocyon 7y ago|0 comments
220.
by xenocyon 7y ago
Perhaps, but trespassing and getting complained about is something that can happen fairly easily to a homeless person. As a young (housed) person I once called the cops on a person sleeping soundly in the exterior stairwell of my apartment
221.
by xenocyon 7y ago
> I have almost never made money investing in founders who do not respond quickly to important emails. My nightmare is a boss who expects synchronous responses to emails.
222.
by xenocyon 7y ago
> The artist would clearly win his case in court ... so I'm not worried. Laws have chilling effects though, so the fact that one defendant who happens to be well-resourced and legally savvy is able to fight this battle does not mean
223.
Internet Shutdowns in India(internetshutdowns.in)
1 points by xenocyon 7y ago|0 comments
224.
by xenocyon 7y ago
Not exactly... 'Burma' is a British colonial mispronunciation stemming from the same root source as 'Myanmar', though the latter tends to be associated with the military junta since they formalized it.
225.
by xenocyon 7y ago
His statement should be considered in the context of the fact that WA has the most regressive tax system in this country (source: https://itep.org/washington/ ).
226.
Chesterton’s Shell Script(petewarden.com)
2 points by xenocyon 7y ago|0 comments
227.
by xenocyon 7y ago
Interestingly, if Amazon did have a union, it would be obvious that being openly critical of the company wouldn't be grounds for firing (else no union leader could ever retain their job). The only reason we're debating the emplo
228.
by xenocyon 7y ago
I would recommend the Economist for well-written world news. It's not free, but well worth paying for. https://www.economist.com/
229.
by xenocyon 7y ago
As a frugal person, I'm as concerned with durability as performance. Anecdotally, after trying cheaper membranes that disintegrated or lost their waterproof-ness after frequent use (daily bike commuting, being stuffed in a bag), I have
230.
by xenocyon 7y ago
It's interesting that he has apparently faced no consequences within the Silicon Valley community for creating a toxic corporate culture rife with sexual harassment and threatening behavior. (Just one example of many: https:/&#x2
231.
by xenocyon 7y ago
The terms are not mutually exclusive: * You can be both a democracy and a constitutional republic (India, USA) * You can be a democracy but not a republic (UK) * You can be a constitutional republic but not a democracy (China) * You can be
232.
by xenocyon 7y ago
EE academics have no choice, pragmatically speaking.
233.
by xenocyon 7y ago
Former IEEE member here. I don't understand the distinction you are making. IEEE is also a closed-access publisher, and furthermore is essentially a monopoly if you are an EE researcher (unlike CS where there are well-regarded open-acc
234.
by xenocyon 7y ago
It's not just about 'power users', and you can see this easily by looking at car dashboard controls for standard consumer cars over the last couple of decades. Old controls had the property that you could in most cases feel a
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by xenocyon 7y ago
I grew up in India and cherish where I came from, but the recent hard lurches towards a fascist ethnostate - often with the enthusiastic support of India's majority (including my family members) - sadden me deeply and make me wonder wh
236.
by xenocyon 7y ago
> all the jobs are, ironically, in places that really don't want to grow That's a little misleading. True, SF and Seattle have zoning laws which are a significant part of the reason for housing unaffordability (e.g. 75% of Seat
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by xenocyon 7y ago
It has a lot more to do with pain management than jobs.
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by xenocyon 7y ago
Opioid abuse is not a "symptom" created by lack of jobs. Where did you get that from?
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by xenocyon 7y ago
You're conflating brutalism and soulless/inhuman/ugly concrete-heavy design; this is a common misunderstanding. Brutalism when done thoughtfully and well is beautiful, uplifting, and provides a sense of calm and space. The Si
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Prisoners charged for Project Gutenberg e-books(bookriot.com)
20 points by xenocyon 7y ago|0 comments

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