Hacker News Reader

The writings of Mircea Eliade need to make their way into the Muslim world. The need to separate the "sacred" from the "profane" will greatly benefit Muslims to experience transcendental views internally instead of imposing superficial ideals externally.

It is difficult to have a transcendental experience without an appreciation for the sacred, and these two things are not mutually exclusive or only reserved to those who follow a religion. I don't think anybody here can argue that witnessing the birth of a child is anything but a sacred moment; perhaps for some achieving some level of success in their profession may translate into a sacred moment; even something as mundane as sipping a fine brew of tea can be sacred. (These are things that don't require you believe in a "higher power" or even a religion - but it could mean something to you and to you alone; when it happens in the presence of somebody else and they feel it positively at the same time, you could call that "bonding", and that too is sacred.) It really doesn't matter what the worldly manifestation is, but rather how it may positively affect you internally on a purely human level. The point is that "sacred" is internally directed and brings peace to your being. For me, defining "profane" or that which is worldly is a bit easier to define: anything that is not sacred.

The mixture of technical problem solving and "religiosity" is a perversion of the highest degree because then there is no distinction between x and y and to simply delete one of these variables becomes a technicality without emotion, insight, or appreciation for one another or even oneself. In my experience, this is happening in the Muslim world because there are schools of thought (such as engineering or science) that solve problems wonderfully and in a methodical way to give excellent results in the real world; when combined with the uneducated view of treating every word in scripture as fact then these two things can be intermingled without distinction: religious views are explained through logic (sans sacred/transcendental experience) and wordly methodologies that otherwise benefit humanity enable actions to be carried out in the name of "religion".

If only this simple distinction of "sacred" and "profane" can find their ways into the hearts of all people from all walks of life, I think we will be a step closer to relating to one primarily as human beings. It is a universal and even human understanding that anybody from any belief system can appreciate. Anybody who mixes sacred with profane and proclaims that they understand the belief system they adhere to is either fooling themselves or is a flat out liar.

If you are Muslim and reading this, please reflect upon what I mean by this distinction and discuss it at your next Halaqa, if that's your thing.

fiazon [dead]

This is an important debate and the internet can play a vital role in preventing such laws from being passed. I applaud BBC for raising such a question and bringing awareness to such a barbaric notion.

Only problem is that this really doesn't belong on HN. Flagged.

fiazon Plurk’s official response to Microsoft’s apology

I agree with you.

For the sake of completeness, what would Microsoft do if the tables were turned?

fiazon Hands on with the JooJoo (nee CrunchPad)

Linguistically there is no reference in the parent comment to what the Apple engineers should be giggling at; also, the word giggling can be interpreted as ridicule. Based on my life experiences in seeing how "non-Indians" have dealt with off-shore development teams in India, I think my interpretation is perfectly reasonable. I know these are isolated cases and not the norm in the IT world, but the parent comment in itself is fairly non-representative of HN.

fiazon Hands on with the JooJoo (nee CrunchPad)

I won't downvote you either, but to answer your first question, it is group think because it is a vague one-liner that puts down a rather great accomplishment from an underdog in favor of a mainstream brand name. The added fact that "it's not the most intelligent" comment and it is indeed being upvoted reinforces the argument that groupthink is at play.

fiazon Hands on with the JooJoo (nee CrunchPad)

Which is why I doubt somebody at Apple would be giggling, regardless of what they have up their sleeve. Hence my initial comment and follow up question.

To be clear: the parent comment is vague enough to be interpreted as offensive.

fiazon Hands on with the JooJoo (nee CrunchPad)

I remember journalists loving the Kindle when it came out.

Exactly my point. Throw in the fact that Google is putting all of their effort into relying fully on the web/cloud, I would think that the journalists would love this device too.

fiazon Hands on with the JooJoo (nee CrunchPad)

The parent comment in itself was vague enough to be interpreted as such. I'd rather have an open discussion about such issues instead of covering them up as though they are not there.

I should also point out that the key word in your comment is might. I can just as easily say that somebody might be justified in being offended by the parent comment.

fiazon Hands on with the JooJoo (nee CrunchPad)

Yes, how dare a company run by an Indian CEO put out such a remarkable device...they should be giggling their heads off.

EDIT: Based on the immediate downvotes I've received I would like to know: why should Apple engineers be giggling? Honest question.

fiazon Hands on with the JooJoo (nee CrunchPad)

JooJoo is an interesting gadget only if you buy into the premise of a completely web-oriented lifestyle. That means using just the internet and what it offers. There’s no way to save documents locally or access .pdf files or create documents and presentations locally.

I'm getting bored of this and speculation by journalists that this device won't sell for the going price. Does anybody remember how many units of the first Kindle sold? It really feels as though the "journalistic" opinions about this device have more to do with siding with Arrington than actually talking about the merits of this accomplishment.

fiazon Google: A friend or the "new Evil Empire"?

What do consumers have to do with it?

fiazon Google takes on Zagat with disruptive decal technology

I kind of like the other-worldly aspect of the Zagat rating. The fact that it is exclusive makes me feel as though the rating carries more weight behind it.

fiazon Google to limit free news access

When the "Miracle on the Hudson" happened, where did it hit first? Twitter, by somebody on the plane. This was hours before any print media even knew what was happening. On all levels that first post showed just how obsolete traditional media is becoming because it satisfied the major requirements of news: speed and credibility. What is being posted on Twitter is information, and news is a special case of information that has a sense of urgency associated with it. As blogging becomes more mainstream, traditional media will disappear, and this latest development from Google is intended (I believe) to push things in that direction.

fiazon Google to limit free news access

Yes, this is an overt move by Google. Almost feels as though they are going to make Murdoch pay for his position on this whole issue.

fiazon Microsoft makes patent claim for sparklines

First of all, I would have expected better from Microsoft given all of the goodwill they've built up (with me at least). I actually use some of their better products (Xbox360 for example) and I really like them.

Secondly, sparklines are content that would fit into a cell - nothing unique here. So why go patent it other than to be predatory?

fiazon Chordoma Cancer Sucks (Feedback Please)

It's not spam, it's a cause, just don't know if it belongs here on HN. Regardless, I'm wishing you the best.

fiazon End of an Era: Pirate Bay Tracker Shuts Down

Good response...I was thinking more at the level of legal law versus technological capability, kind of like an input/output or action/reaction mechanism.

When it comes to the ethics of copyright law, it boils down to economics. The consumer will always seek to purchase at the lowest price possible, and the corporation will always seek to sell at the highest price possible. Each side is driven by the ethics of what they determine to be "fair" and getting each other to agree on this will be impossible.

Netflix really "gets" the consumer argument for movies. I absolutely think the $10/month fee that I pay (probably a bit less than that) is a bargain and would gladly pay twice as much, but in all likelihood this price is going to go down over time. If the RIAA/MPAA were to take that example and provide us with such a service, then it would make economics-driven ethical sense.

fiazon End of an Era: Pirate Bay Tracker Shuts Down

When will the RIAA and MPAA realize that trying to suppress technology is like trying to kick your way out of quicksand? This is indeed a win for them in the short term, but the way I see it, technology is evolving in response to whatever legal challenges are presented.

fiazon Decade in review: How the Internet ruined everything

Blaming the internet for the downfall of print media is like blaming low pressure for the evaporation of water.

fiazon [dead]

If the app helped him get laid with some random chick (not his girlfriend), then I think that would definitely be a killer app.

Still happy for the bugger!

fiazon Ask HN: What tool makes you most productitive?

Netbeans, JRuby/Java, and some music