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contextualon Letter From A Psychopath

Pathological lying and manipulativeness are hallmarks of a psychopath [1]. It would be like befriending a spider - when you're the fly.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare_Psychopathy_Checklist

contextualon Jolla phones now available for sale in Europe

Fascinating insight. Reminds me of the Pepsi Challenge. In the famous Pepsi vs Coke taste tests[1], people picked Pepsi due to it's favorable first impression - it had a sweeter taste. In reality, most people prefer a less sweet beverage over the course of an entire can.

Maybe BlackBerry should attack the problem the same way Coke did, by conducting a (longer-term) OS interface challenge.

[1]http://www.slate.com/articles/business/rivalries/2013/08/pep...

contextualon Jolla phones now available for sale in Europe

The Jolla UI looks and behaves similar to the Blackberry 10 OS, which is a good thing, and an improvement on Android and iOS.

I have a Blackberry Z30[1] and I don't think I could go back to the "old way" of using a smartphone. BB 10 feels like a true smartphone experience, as subjective as that is.

[1] http://ca.blackberry.com/smartphones/blackberry-z30.html

contextualon 'Pardon Snowden,' one tech exec tells Obama, report says

It's hard to know if a statement like that is serious or satirical, especially considering the many broken promises and human rights violations Obama is responsible for.

For example, didn't Obama promise to close Guantanamo Prison? http://www.npr.org/2013/01/23/169922171/obamas-promise-to-cl...

contextualon 'Pardon Snowden,' one tech exec tells Obama, report says

Edward Snowden is the Martin Luther King Jr. of my generation. History will vindicate this man and hail him as a hero. It's great to see at least one tech exec with the courage to speak up for him.

contextualon Lab Mice Are Being Kept Too Cold, Apparently

Submitting and publishing dodgy, fraudulent or sloppy studies isn't trying, it undermines all of science. And when animals are subjected to pain and death for fame or career advancement, it's morally corrupt, even criminal.

contextualon Lab Mice Are Being Kept Too Cold, Apparently

What makes you think that they aren't trying to get it right?

There's countless examples of fraud, complacency and bias in scientific research, but I'll just quote the wise (albeit fictional) Jedi Master Yoda: "Do, or do not. There is no try." Especially when the fate of sentient life hangs in the balance.

contextualon Lab Mice Are Being Kept Too Cold, Apparently

If humans were tested, many of these badly designed and fraudulent experiments would have never been done in the first place.

contextualon Lab Mice Are Being Kept Too Cold, Apparently

Even putting aside the moral and ethic issues, how can animal testing be allowed to continue when the studies are rife with bias and error? Officials at America's National Institutes of Health (NIH) state over three quarters of all published biomedical findings are irreproducible due to fraud and incompetence.

Moreso, the number of retractions has grown over tenfold in the past decade - but it's only 0.2% of the 1.4 million papers published in academic journals. The studies that were retracted were only done so when fundamental flaws were exposed by others. Many more false studies go on unnoticed and continue to be referenced.

Worse of all, 90 percent of drugs that were "successfully" tested on animals then failed in human trials.

EDIT: It should be a criminal offence for researchers to subject animals to harm and death and produce fraudulent papers.

Sources: http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21588057-scientists-t...

http://www.popsci.com/article/science/how-get-rid-animal-tes...

contextualon How Sleep Clears the Brain

In one of Michel Jouvet's[1] experiments for developing the drug modifinil, he deprived cats of sleep until they drowned in a vat of water. On average, the cats managed to survive 35 days with only micro-sleep[2].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Jouvet

[2] http://psychology4a.com/sleep8.htm

contextualon Ask HN: Am I sane? Is it a phase of a programmer's life?

I created the game out of necessity. As mentioned earlier, I had isolated myself for almost a year, working obsessively on my new business. It became fertile ground for social anxiety. Rejection Therapy was a personal challenge to overcome my hyper-sensitivity and meet new people.

If you need/want the cards, email me. I'll send them to you free.

contextualon Ask HN: Am I sane? Is it a phase of a programmer's life?

I was in a similar situation as you, isolated from everyone. You need to get out and socialize. Try Rejection Therapy. It's a serendipity generator. It will get you out of your comfort zone.

Also consider the possibility you are entering a midlife crisis. Don't laugh. It can really mess with your head.

contextualon Google Acquires Boston Dynamics

Welcome to The GOOG. You will be assimilated. ~Raymond Kurzweil

contextualon Back of a napkin

Similar and incredibly handy. Free too: https://openforbusinessplans.herokuapp.com/

contextualon The Best Books I Read in 2013

The BS on HN is much worse than anything I've read from Gladwell. Where's your FAQ for that?

contextualon Ask HN: What project (not launched yet) are you working on at the moment?

Death Throe, the first 'game lab' for Self Experiments: http://selfexperiments.com

contextualon Ask HN: What was the best book you read in 2013?

A book I actually finished? I'd say One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com by Richard Brandt. It's not the whole story though. Bezos is portrayed in a favorable light throughout.

contextualon The Best Books I Read in 2013

Currently reading Malcolm Gladwell's David and Goliath and it's easily one of my favorites of 2013. The introduction - Gladwell explains what actually happened in the epic biblical battle of the same name - is revelatory and an unforgettable piece of literature.

Malcolm Gladwell may be too popular to be 'cool', but he's a master storyteller. Haters gonna hate.

contextualon The Price We Pay for Cheap Meat

Theravada isn't what Buddha taught. It's an 'innovation' of what Buddha taught. It's a different school of thought and has a different monastic code.

Why don't you read a real book instead of learning from YouTube celebrities? Learn the truth.

contextualon The Price We Pay for Cheap Meat

Psychology Today: A Universal Declaration on Animal Sentience http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201306/u...

contextualon The Price We Pay for Cheap Meat

Shame on you for trying to distort the precepts of Buddha. Stop embarrassing yourself!

contextualon The Price We Pay for Cheap Meat

Some people, no matter what harm their actions may cause others, will only change if it's convenient. Congratulations, you are one of them.

contextualon The Price We Pay for Cheap Meat

Recent research is showing animals are much more intelligent then previously assumed. Parrots reason like three year old children[1], mice feel empathy and grimace in agony[2,3], elephants grieve[4] and birds hold funerals for their dead[5].

When we harm or show an incorrect appreciation for other sentient beings, it shows not only disrespect and lack of understanding and compassion, but it diminishes human dignity.

[1] http://m.livescience.com/22178-parrots-reason-three-year-old...

[2] http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/researchers-say-mice-feel...

[3] http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-07/squint-if-it-h...

[4] http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/06/when-doves-cry-scientific-a...

[5] http://news.discovery.com/animals/birds-hold-avian-funerals-...

contextualon The Price We Pay for Cheap Meat

By abstaining and choosing plant-based alternatives to meat, we stop factory farming, and we support the humane treatment and dignity of animals.

contextualon The Price We Pay for Cheap Meat

If the suffering of animals matters, then eating meat is morally wrong. Animals are non-human persons who are aware of their own existence and who feel a wide range of emotions, just like we do.

Killing animals may still be acceptable in western society, but it's wrong. It's wrong just as slavery in the United States in the 18th and 19th century was once acceptable but wrong. Just as hanging, drawing and quartering to an audience of thousands in Europe was acceptable but wrong.

To disregard the pain and suffering of animal persons without regard for their interests - just because they're not human, is a form of racism. Peter Singer[1] calls it 'speciesism'.

We don't need technological advances in this society as much as we need advances in morality.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Singer

contextualon Invisible Child: Dasani’s Homeless Life

Acknowledge them. Start by saying hi and follow your heart after that. Many people don't even acknowledge homeless people as human beings.

contextualon Ask HN: What are shitty markets?

Flagged for being a potty mouth.

contextualon NSA surveillance: tech companies demand sweeping changes to US laws

Don't be fooled. This is damage control by cowards. Nothing more.

contextualon Reform Government Surveillance

This is damage control by cowards Paul.

contextualon Best Practices For Making Things Happen

That's your opinion. I took away at least one solid tip and that more than justifies reading it.