MinimalAction

> My thinking systems have atrophied, and I can feel it.

I do understand where the author is coming from. Most of the times, it is easy to read an answer---regardless of whether it is right/wrong, relevant or not---than think of an answer. So AI does take that friction of thinking away.

But, I am still disappointed of all this doom because of AI. I am inclined to throw my hands and say "just don't use it then". The process of thinking is where the fun lies, not in showing the world I am better or always right than so and so.

Hi Peter - why are international students on F-1 visa (not on OPT) being strongly recommended to not travel outside the US now? Is there a possible denial at the port of entry when returning? I for one am a F-1 student looking to travel to an academic conference abroad, but being advised to reconsider and stay back in the US by my DSO. I'm in the middle of my program, and my I-20 and visa are valid for another 3 years.

Amazing article! His writing style is unique and made me go down a rabbit hole of discovering his other works.

I was unaware of this demagogue of a bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans. It survives levels of radiation that is designed to kill all lifeforms. Wikipedia [0] lists this as a bacteria that supports panspermia -- that life originated elsewhere but spread through cosmic dust and was seeded on Earth eventually.

Fun fact: Thermococcus gammatolerans is known to be the one that tolerates the most toxic radiation.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinococcus_radiodurans

I identify myself with this problem too. Namely, accumulating a lot of browser windows to sit and read plethora of interesting articles and follow them back to HN comments section to gain insights. These windows stay open for days and rot in my double-digit open tabs on mobile or Mac.

However, I completely disagree that the solution should be a push-based notification system (through Telegram). As is notifications are annoying, especially when you're in the middle of deep work. Many a times, random email notifications from irrelevant entities push me off the concentration ladder. What's more, I often put my phone in DND mode, so these kind of notifications are thus useless.

What's probably helpful is to be mindful of how much time can I legitimately spend on reading interesting things across internet. All so that I can produce interesting content some day.

You're right. I didn't consider the funding angle at all, but only the accusation of "enshittification" which usually comes from a VC or an entity that wants to generate more profits by expanding. On the other hand, I do think Simons Foundations would not let arXiv die. Also, I don't agree that arXiv's media presence has ulterior motives after all. It might just be that it's getting its share of fame.

Headline makes it seem as if all the budget was spent on curing chronic disease. Also implicit is the assumption that one should throw more money to solve a problem. It's not always the money, but unable to procure the right insight by the right folks.

arXiv has nothing to gain by a PR blitz. Any academic knows what is arXiv exactly for, and there is no intention to grow user base or whatever. It's not a social media.

These are important questions, but your skepticism has no roots in firmer grounds. How are you arriving at a ratio of 10:1? Bad faith actor.

That does make me feel better. It is also the barrier of entry into the field that is low in being an influencer, perhaps. But, I am suspicious that an average writer earns better than an average influencer.

The whole point of subsidizing was that authors can make a living, perhaps. I am not sure I follow you. But also, if subsidies are a thing, wouldn't you agree that it is better spent on issues like these, however?

"Good enough" by what metric? I mean all art is subjective.

I agree your argument based on supply and demand. But, my point was that the creative adventures are not rewarded well enough in our system, and somehow things that are terribly meaningless like ad-optimization attracts so much revenue that companies don't know what to do with. This imbalance is upsetting.

This post evoked a sense of sadness within me, though I can’t quite pinpoint the reason behind it. In the era where influencers without much depth to their content get to reap the monetary benefits, while those who genuinely showcase their creativity in rather holistic ways are left unrewarded. This trend has been around perhaps for longer than I imagine, but to put it in words made me realize this intensely.

I will do my part and ask my library too.

These comments where they somehow suggest more of creativity is not necessary is rather upsetting. Should they then just be doing what the world handsomely rewards, which currently seems to be optimizing ads at a big tech company.

It is not that they didn't know the calculus. You seem to suggest that writing altogether is economically unviable, so the author should not have chosen to do that at all.

The issue is that certain talents are not recognized at all, and if you like reading, then buy the books outright, pre-order it, ask your library to get it. Basically, an effort to reward those who show up and contribute to a profession as noble as writing.

I completely understand the sentiments of the author. It's easy to fall into the trap of "it's too easy to be true; let me try out a 'clever' way", and fall into the cycle of figuring out things that have 100 different parameters and thus hard to model realistically.

On the other hand though, which are the best noise-cancelling earphones or headphones? I've gone down this route, and haven't been satisfied with what was suggested. Airpods Pro 2 seems great at canceling noise, but sounds flat. Soundcore products have a phenomenal sound quality, but can't cancel noise as effectively.

I have been using Brave and that has in-built adblocker, I suppose. I have not faced any huge problem yet, and the browsing has been super smooth.

Other institutions are also following the lead: MIT [0], Stanford [1], North Carolina State [2], UCSD [3], and perhaps there will be many others.

[0]: https://hr.mit.edu/jobs

[1]: https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/02/staff-hiring

[2]: https://www.wral.com/news/education/nc-state-hiring-freeze-f...

[3]: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/02/20/uc-san-diego...

While I agree that HN usually gathers much interesting content, I don't understand why getting more karma on HN matters anyway. Chasing points anywhere isn't healthy by the way. Say something interesting because it is interesting and sparks a conversation and not for the sake of saying something.

This resonated with me so many of my thoughts recently. This inherent lack of skills that could never make up to the best of the best, even with garangutan amount of efforts, is a depressing thought.

On the other hand, one can be sufficiently ahead of the competition if they find that one resource and master it well. How does one go about finding them?

I often resort to asking real folks via email, recommendations on HN or Tildes, or sometimes even on Reddit, all aimed at collecting opinions from people who have experience and developed a good taste. However, this sometimes yields bad or even no results. I wonder how some of you folks here on HN find meaningful and helpful resources on anything of interest.