Hacker News Reader

Aaron_Putnamon Ethiopia has launched its first satellite into space

GDP per capita is still at $767, which is representative of the majority of the population earning a subsistence living.

Ethiopia has a population of 105 million, yet it has the gross scientific output of Latvia, a country of only 1.92 million:

https://www.natureindex.com/country-outputs/generate/All/glo...

What is growing is CO2 emissions, at 14.9 million tonnes. By contrast, Latvia emits only 8 million tonnes.

On a per-CO2 basis, Latvia is twice as efficient as Ethiopia in producing science. On a per-capita basis, Latvia is 55x as efficient.

The situation is the same across the world when you compare countries populated by Europeans or East-Asians against everyone else.

Aaron_Putnamon Ethiopia has launched its first satellite into space

GDP per capita change for 2018 was negative for sub-saharan Africa:

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.KD.ZG?locat...

Be careful what you wish for: economic growth in Africa is going to come directly at the expense of the local and international environment, in the form of land clearance and coal and oil emissions.

Africa desperately needs to stabilise its population, so that it can focus on infrastructure and capital deepening. The West can help by redirecting all food aid instead towards education, contraception and abortion for women.

Aaron_Putnamon The human brain evolved when CO2 levels were lower

I'd highly recommend everyone buy a CO2 monitor. You can get an all-in-one monitor on AliExpress for about $80.

Aaron_Putnamon Boeing Starliner updates: Spacecraft flies into wrong orbit, jeopardizing test

Interesting it doesn't mention the test dummy was modeled after Rosie the Riveter, and they are all feminist power for the flight, going so far as to pose for this photo:

https://twitter.com/BoeingSpace/status/1207977494277738496?r...

Aaron_Putnamon Depression and suicide linked to air pollution in new global study

You'll be getting a headache from the excess CO2 buildup with the windows closed. If you want to effectively control and monitor indoor pollutants, you also need to buy a CO2+PM2.5 portable monitor. They cost about $80 on Aliexpress.

Aaron_Putnamon Logitech MX Master 3 vs. 2S Teardown

The problem I have with the 2S is that the button clicks are really noisy - I had to swap out to another mouse in my office, since the noise was just too great.

Aaron_Putnamon Biopharma has abandoned antibiotic development

Including use in urban poverty: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/07/health/antibiotic-resista...

Where antibiotics are handed out without prescription and people live in squalid conditions.

"70 percent of salmonella infections in Kenya had stopped responding to the most widely available antibiotics, up from 45 percent in the early 2000s."

"Even when the drugs are authentic, many poor Kenyans try to save money by buying just a few tablets instead of the full course — not enough to vanquish an infection but enough to allow bacteria to mutate and gain resistance."

The current population of Kenya is 50m, forecast to increase to 95m by 2050, and 156m by 2100.

Kenya also currently has the scientific output of Serbia, a country 14% the size. Its likely that Kenya will continue to import drugs developed in advanced nations, and internally produce only antibiotic resistance.

https://www.natureindex.com/country-outputs/generate/All/glo...

Aaron_Putnamon Battery Pack Prices Fall As Market Ramps Up

This still relies on bureaucratic changes - in many jurisdictions, connecting to the grid is mandatory.

That's the current situation in Australia, for example: https://reneweconomy.com.au/the-40-australian-towns-that-cou...

Aaron_Putnamon Apple will reportedly release an iPhone without any ports in 2021

I was gearing up to buy an iPhone 12 with USB-C (and replace my iPhone 6S), but going completely portless is totally idiotic.

1. I can't use my phone whilst charging.

2. I can't use ANY headphones. Bluetooth is not a solution because it adds considerable latency.

Aaron_Putnamon We ran the numbers, and there really is a pipeline problem in engineering hiring

The main driver is the H1B: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/Re...

73.9% of H1B visas are given to Indians, 79.2% of those Indians are males.

The solution is to require at least 50% of all H1B recipients, from all countries, to be female.

High levels of Indian and Chinese migration also produce secondary effects, as families from those communities still carry out sex-selective abortion even into the 2nd and 3rd generations: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6133054/

Aaron_Putnamon Tesla Model 3 Invaded My Neighborhood – But It’s Bigger Than That (GM Take Note)

A Tesla Model 3 is a huge car in Europe. In many older cities, it simply won't fit.

We need small electric runabouts. It seems like they only exist in China though.

Aaron_Putnamon In Amish village, a rural doctor sees the rarest diseases on Earth

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/children/11723308/Fi...

While British Pakistanis are responsible for 3% of all births, they account for 30% of British children born with a genetic illness.

Cousin marriages in the UK are 1/200 for White couples, but 2/3 for Pakistani couples.

The solution is to ban cousin marriages. It is unfair on the rest of society to have to shoulder the burden of excess healthcare costs, caused by the outdated and harmful cultural practices of immigrants.