Hacker News Reader

cik2eon Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge

I would expect them to use their brains and understand that this is a word in a foreign language that has a completely different meaning than the offensive word in their own. Is that too much to ask for?

cik2eon Traffic Prediction with Advanced Graph Neural Networks

In some cases that’s exactly how it works. There’s a four way stop on a major commuter route where I live. Most of the traffic passes through it in a straight line and there is a major build up, like 20-30 min long during rush hour. In one direction there is a side road that loops around off the main road for about 2 miles in a big U and joins back up again at that 4-way stop. Before Waze became popular you could shoot around this bypass and be the only car on that side of the stop sign. Now there is a pretty significant amount of traffic there every rush hour thanks to the GPS apps. Lowell road and Barnes Hill road in Concord, MA for anyone curious.

cik2eon Why Doctors Hate Their Computers (2018)

> In many situations there are perverse incentives to operate inefficiently.

Would you mind taking the time elaborate on this? Inefficiency in the US healthcare system is something everyone talks about but concrete examples are few and far in between. I would love to get an insiders perspective on this!

cik2eon The “menu engineers” who optimize restaurant revenue

I am loving the QR menus, especially ones that offer check out. For one thing, I almost always feel compelled to go wash my hands after ordering, since menus are known to be some of the most germ ridden things out there. Besides that though, restaurants could do some many cool things with this. For example, it would be trivial to offer photos of every dish. The next level could be item-item recommendations (people who order X, also like Y).

cik2eon AI Assistants Have Poor Usability: Study of Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri (2018)

I use mine all the time to send texts, make phone calls, set alarms and timers, and add calendar events.

cik2eon American Academy of Sleep Medicine calls for elimination of daylight saving time

My sleep history has been all over the map and at times I've also gone for the sleep aids. I've tried all of the meds you've listed and none have been particularly effective when I've really needed them.

You may want to look into Suvorexant (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suvorexant). It's the one drug that I've found to be extremely effective without causing any sort of hangover in the morning. It really felt like a miracle drug as compared to things like zolpidem and antihistamines. YMMV but I'd say it's worth looking into if you're really struggling.

I should also mention that I've found a combination of exercise, time in the sun, and proper sleep hygiene to be the only viable long-term solution. But I do believe that sleep aids can be a useful bridge towards developing a consistent sleep schedule.

cik2eon UberEats could be underpaying delivery drivers on 21% of trips

This is false. It’s like 2 clicks to stop incoming requests, same with Lyft.

cik2eon What harm do minimum wages do?

There's a lot of very understandable confusion in this thread about the directionality of the unemployment-inflation tradeoff. It's not that increased employment causes inflation, but rather the idea is that inflation will increase if central banks try to get there by printing money. So the frequently used statement of "increased employment will cause inflation" should only be considered in the context of monetary policy. But the phrasing is unfortunate because it implies the wrong causality.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_employment#The_NAIRU

cik2eon Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

I find the topic of introverts vs extraverts to be extremely fascinating. My wife and I are pretty big introverts, but she is somewhat shy whereas I am not. She loved group exercise due to the external motivation factor but has actively avoided getting into conversations in that setting. I am also not one for striking up conversations with strangers but have been known to get quite chatty with people who initiate.

On the whole, both of us loved the lockdown for the 2-3 months but after that, not being able to see our close friends really started wearing on us. We were some of the first in our group to start expanding our quarantine units. Sometimes I need to remind myself of this, but the right amount of social interaction is a very rewarding and enriching part of the human experience.

cik2eon Secret gyms and the economics of prohibition

> People need specific indoor gym equipment if they lift, which is a very valid form of exercise. Or, you know, if it's raining or thunderstorming or a humid 100°F outside.

I've been lifting for 15 years, mostly in the gym. The last couple of years though, I've realized how much you can do with bands. You can't beat them on cost and convenience in the realm of home gym equipment. The only thing you can't reasonably do with them are squats. Deadlifts can be substituted with pull-throughs which are a better posterior chain movement anyway. Yea, you might have to do more reps. That's infinitely better than nothing.

Unless you're a competitive strength athlete, or trying to be one, not having access to a gym is frankly an excuse. In my younger days I used to have a very rigid mentality when it came to strength training which eventually led to burnout and extended vacations from the gym. Having mental flexibility instead of striving for some notion of perfection is what's kept me in this game long-term.

EDIT: typo

cik2eon Ask HN: Why is Reddit on mobile so obsessed with making me use their app?

I learned from working in marketing is you have to let go of your biases and assumptions about user behavior. In the beginning I found myself constantly thinking "why would anyone in their right mind click on this ad", but we know people click on ads. Most of us in tech are very different from your typical internet user at large.

We have to assume that smart people are working at Reddit, that they have tested the living crap out of this model, and have found it to be optimal.

cik2eon Toddlers who use touchscreens show attention differences

This made me think of studies that correlate growing up playing fast-paced video games, shooters specifically if I recall, with better driving down the road (drumroll).

This correlates with my own experience, especially as I transitioned to defensive driving in my mid 20s. I am always keenly aware of what nearby cars are doing, especially on the highway, and have become great at anticipating driver stupidity. Things like a slight steering wiggle before trying to cut across multiple lanes to make an exist. I've averted countless accidents with this heightened awareness.

And on the other hand, there were multiple kids in high school who would ended up having 2-3 accidents in their first year of driving. Obviously there are tons of factors involved but I like to think that my devotion to CS and TFC weren't a complete waste of time.

cik2eon Modeling a Wealth Tax

Who are these proposals coming from and what kind of traction do they have with voters? My answer to that is they are coming from politicians rallying their base for primary elections, knowing full well that the proposals are extremely unlikely to come into fruition.

I am suggesting something that might actually get the middle class, or those aspiring to join the middle class, to support and vote for the idea. I think it's pointless to talk about more radical concepts like a wealth tax or UBI without considering how such a thing could be made appealing to a majority of voters.

cik2eon Modeling a Wealth Tax

Is this some kind of straw man? If not, please enlighten me because I have no idea how this relates to anything that I said.

cik2eon Modeling a Wealth Tax

How's it disingenuous to propose that the government could do something with a wealth tax besides spending it on social programs? If we're talking about what leftist politicians would want to do with the money, then we shouldn't be talking about a wealth tax at all, because it's likely never going to ever pass a national scale.

cik2eon Modeling a Wealth Tax

Musk, Bezos, and Gates would have access to all of the funding in the world for any future ventures. What the government could do is lower taxes on everyone else.

cik2eon Modeling a Wealth Tax

I'd also like to point out that we already have a wealth tax for everyone who would otherwise put their income taxes into savings. The lower the savings rate, the higher the effective wealth tax rate on the middle class.

Assuming an absurdly high 25% savings rate on your pre-tax income and a 25% tax rate on that income, boom, there's your 50% wealth tax. So the 45% wealth loss over 60 years in PG's toy example that ignores asset growth sounds totally fair to me in this light.

And with this "absurd" wealth tax on the middle class, why do we still have educated people from all over the world pounding at the door to get into the US? I would posit that it's for the same reasons that a wealth tax wouldn't suppress startups in this country.

cik2eon Accused spy Alexander Yuk Ching Ma evidently beat the polygraph

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_serum

TL;DR No, there aren’t.

cik2eon A guide to learning algorithms through LeetCode

Your profile must have been pretty solid to get those interviews though. In my experience, just having some proof of knowing Python scripting is not enough. Would you mind discussing the other pieces of your background that you think may have helped in attracting recruits?

I almost wonder if throwing “leetcode” in your skills section would get you interviews at these companies...

cik2eon A guide to learning algorithms through LeetCode

Why do you suppose these hires aren’t good at learning engineering best practices? I see comments like yours here all the time. Is it some kind of arrogance, perhaps amplified by a false signal sent by getting hired off leet code questions in the first place?

cik2eon Using machine learning to recreate photorealistic portraits of Roman Emperors

You mention black and white colorization and that was my first thought upon seeing this. The statues are already super “photo-realistic” so I’m guessing this was a pretty similar process.

On a completely different note, I am not sure what you’re getting at with the racial stuff. Like what are you suggesting? That perhaps some of the emperors weren’t totally Caucasian but rendering them as such from the best available evidence is somehow racist? In my humble opinion, trying to find racial undertones in every tangential thing is a distraction from the real conversations that we should be having. And there’s a real possibility of alienating people that are otherwise sympathetic to the cause.

cik2eon What it’s like to go into lockdown for the second time

Out of curiosity, why can’t you go hiking? That seems like one of the few activities where you can just about guarantee social distancing by going to more remote areas. Is it explicitly prohibited? If so, I have to question the logic behind that.

cik2eon Adding a metre between meals boosts vegetarian appeal – study

I referred to not being willing to replace meat in general, not beef specifically, due to the difficulty in getting a similar mix of nutrients, not to mention things that you can't get from vegetables, period. Here's a small list [https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-nutrients-you-cant-ge...] but there are plenty more. Sure, some of them are non-essential but those are pretty damn useful for general health, cognitive performance, and athletics.

Moreover, some of us respond poorly to carbs in terms of weight management and general well-being. I have ADHD and and a carb-heavy diet really messes with my symptoms. There aren't really any plants that provide enough protein without including a significantly greater amount of carbs so getting all of my calories from plants is a non-starter.

I forgot to elaborate on the emissions/calorie issue in my comment (there's that ADHD). The link in the parent shows that many animal-based foods compare favorably with popular vegetables using the emissions/calorie metric. Direct link to the chart: https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_1024w/2010-2019/Wash...

It feels good to see some vindication on the animal farming emissions issue. It's a huge positive that we can lower our emissions footprint without resorting to a fully plant-based diet.

cik2eon Adding a metre between meals boosts vegetarian appeal – study

The energy per calorie is a very good insight that I hadn’t considered. I do agree that beef is a significant culprit and I tend to eat it rarely. But the environmental concern isn’t a consideration in my diet because it’s not something I’m willing to compromise on. Not only because I like meat, but for the fact that it’s a nutritional powerhouse that would take too much effort to emulate with a vegetarian diet. I try to do my share with respect to carbon by driving a hybrid, and plan on using the most energy efficient options when I own a house.

Back to beef. My main reason for avoiding it is the cost. Especially with the more flavorful cuts being extra pricy. Perhaps the best way to lower consumption is a tax like what we have with cigarettes. But I can’t see any political will for this anytime soon in the US. It would be nice to see the more progressive countries in Europe lead the way, like they’ve done with other aspects of emissions control.

Edit: typo

cik2eon Adding a metre between meals boosts vegetarian appeal – study

Did you have any trouble with a longer fast on your first attempt? I do intermittent fasting and have gotten to 24 bracketed by evening meals. I can’t seem to fall asleep when I am hungry but find it very easy to skip breakfast and lunch. It’s true for me that after like 12 hours the hunger goes away and it becomes easy to go past the 16 hours that’s prescribed for IF. But the problem is that I start to get jittery from the adrenaline which is what ultimately gets me to eat in the evening even if I’ve done for 20 hours leading into that and don’t actually feel hungry.

Any tips from others who have the same issue around hunger impeding sleep would be appreciated.

cik2eon My best SEO tactic so far

I wouldn’t call that rule skirting at all. Just good networking!

cik2eon Statement on Google’s conduct by founder of CelebrityNetWorth.com (2019) [pdf]

You’ve totally glossed over the fact that there was an additional slide in the rankings after the site owner went public with this story. And what about the app being banned from the App Store?

Why would someone go through the trouble of compiling extensive research for free? Ads pay for things that people want but are unwilling to actually spend dollars on. That’s the state of things, whether we like it or not. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

cik2eon CEO of Uber: Gig Workers Deserve Better

It’s not a myth. The article says that 2/3 of drivers highly value the flexibility arrangement. I’ve driven Uber for that exact reason myself. I’ve also spoken to many drivers and almost every single one has said something about “being your own boss” as being the key benefit. Sure, there maybe plenty of people who would love to be Uber employees but they aren’t the majority of those driving for Uber today. What Uber drivers really want is more money, and the continued flexibility to earn and spend it when and how they want to.

cik2eon The Most Counterintuitive Recession Ever

The chart in the article shows the median price of homes sold. Nothing about total real estate transaction volume which is what you’d need to look at to say that the market is “red hot”. Common sense would dictate that the only people spending money on real estate right now have excess wealth and are playing around with more expensive properties.

cik2eon The Most Counterintuitive Recession Ever

Inflation is an increase in (printed) money chasing the same amount of goods and services. But consumer spending has dropped despite the stimulus. The lockdown has eliminated many options for discretionary spending and people have been dropping their extra unemployment money into paying down credit cards instead of trying to buy more stuff on Amazon. Basically, the economy is down despite the stimulus. To have inflation, we would need to see a rise in demand from free money and that’s not what’s happening.