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fractallyteon Ask HN: How to deal with shipping AI-written code you don't understand?

You should be using two (or even three) different LLMs. For example: Claude to do the coding, and Codex to do an adversarial review. This can go back and forth for several iterations before converging on an acceptably "correct" version of the code...

Occasionally, Claude may not be able to fix the issue – and it may turn out that Codex can, because it has a different approach.

Either way, at least two LLMs is the only way to get (mostly) reliable code.

fractallyteon Fruits and Vegetables 50% Less Nutritious Than in the 1960s

Nutritionist Adelle Davis warned about this way back in the 1950s, in her book Let's Eat Right To Keep Fit. Along with a proper diet, she championed soil health, regenerative farming, and sensible food preparation.

Sad to see how little progress the world has made in the last 70 years.

fractallyteon The mystery animal on an ancient god's head

I don't understand why this should be such a mystery.

Show it to a biologist or naturalist (and without the horrendous dark blue background behind the black head – didn't anyone look at the article before it was published?!), and the first response would probably be: "aardvark!" (or possibly "anteater!").

The aardvark's range covers much of the African continent; conceivably, it could have extended to Egypt, several thousand years ago.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aardvark

fractallyteon We shall dwell amidst wonder and glory for ever: On weird fiction

Also: the classic essay by H P Lovecraft: https://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/essays/shil.aspx

(The last line is especially memorable!)

fractallyteon ReFrame – The EPaper Camera

This dithering could also be an interesting variation: https://dead.garden/blog/how-my-images-are-dithered.html

(Featured few days ago on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49006096)

fractallyteon Hunter-gatherers introduced fish to a mountain lake 7000 years ago

An alternative vector: "cloud seeding" (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/sep/09/science.rese...)

Charles Fort collected numerous data for his famous "The Book of the Damned" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_the_Damned

fractallyteon Third Drone Shot Down in Three Days in Romanian Territory

On the contrary, the video gives an excellent analysis of Putin's options, and it's definitely worth watching.

You're right that Putin believes he's infallible, and the Nielsen makes the point that Putin often picks the most stupid option. But it also emphasizes that Europe needs to be ready to act if Putin decides to escalate, and if the US chooses to abandon NATO.

fractallyteon Third Drone Shot Down in Three Days in Romanian Territory

russia's invasion of Ukraine is absolutely solvable. It's just a disgrace that Ukraine is left to do it alone, with huge casualties (civilian as well as military), and inconceivable destruction.

fractallyteon Alien World Chemistry Found Inside Meteorite That Struck New Jersey Home

Color Out of Space (2019) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5073642/)

Evolution (2001) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0251075/)

Both fun movies, in completely different ways!

fractallyteon Alien World Chemistry Found Inside Meteorite That Struck New Jersey Home

"Our cameras in Northford, Connecticut, and Douglassville, Pennsylvania, as well as a doorbell camera in Wayne, New Jersey, captured the meteor, and from that we measured its trajectory... The path traced back to low in the asteroid belt."

I don't doubt it, but that's an astounding trajectory estimation...

fractallyteon Atomic Physics in Pure Anglo-Saxon

And here's the original, in the mid-Dec 1989 issue of Analog Science Fact & Fiction magazine (at the bottom of the page) on the unparalleled Luminist Archives website:

https://readitfree.org/SF/AN_2.htm

(Luminist is one of the jewels of the internet, right up there with Archive and Wikipedia. Support them!)

fractallyteon The bottleneck might be the air in the room

Aranet detectors are superb, and – best of all! – made in Latvia.

Support European!

https://aranet.com/en/home

fractallyteon Gun Mistakes in Fiction Writing: Handgun Edition

Precedent: A 1944 science fiction story accurately described an atomic bomb – so much so that it prompted a visit from the FBI to the NY office of Astounding Science Fiction. Definitely a point of pride for editor John W Campbell.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadline_(science_fiction_stor...

fractallyteon Underwater suit-wearing cyborg insect capable of diving and terra-aqua travel

This is a studied and documented propaganda tactic: flood the information space with conflicting accounts, in order to muddy the issue.

This statement summarizes it nicely:

"The purpose of propaganda is not to make you believe something. It is to make you believe nothing.

Then you will do nothing."

https://x.com/DarthPutinKGB/status/1909932857948004738

fractallyteon The Defeat of Nuclear Deterrence

If Ukraine stops defending, it will cease to exist. russia can stop its invasion any time it wants to.

Big difference.

fractallyteon The Defeat of Nuclear Deterrence

In the early stages of the invasion, the russians had plans for an amphibious assault on Odesa[1]. These were scrapped when they realized they'd be obliterated before even touching shore. Nevertheless, the orcs still talk frequently of "returning" "Odessa" to mother russia.

[1] https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260610-has-russia-given...

fractallyteon The Defeat of Nuclear Deterrence

Since when has Ukraine's defense against the russian invasion been a "proxy war"? Your very first sentence destroyed any credibility the rest of your comment had (not that there was much worth reading anyway).

fractallyteon The Defeat of Nuclear Deterrence

Correction: russia was stopped.

Odesa is still on the cards: one of the most important ports on the Black Sea, and a long-time cultural and historic prize.

And Putin wants control of the entire Black Sea coast, and Moldova. Furthermore there are clear signs of aggression toward the Baltics, which may be interpreted as preparation for a similar invasion.

fractallyteon How to Earn a Billion Dollars

You don't have to advertise that you're a billionaire. You can live quite normally while quietly changing the world as a "side job".

fractallyteon How to Earn a Billion Dollars

Only up to a certain threshold – after which you can afford "creative" accounting which reduces the tax burden and restores the compounding effect ;-)

fractallyteon Trophic memory, deer, and a unique scientific object (2024)

I'm surprised this hasn't received more attention. Pattern memory, morphogenesis, collective intelligence of cells? This is HUGE!

This could be biology's "quantum physics" moment... Direct physical evidence that supports Rupert Sheldrake's "morphic resonance".

fractallyteon Ryanair dark UX patterns summer 2026 refresher

I always use a screenshot – reliable, no internet connection needed. Never had a problem so far...

fractallyteon Slightly reducing the sloppiness of AI generated front end

llmzengarden?

fractallyteon Reading for pleasure is sharply down among schoolkids, report shows

Projectors and electronic whiteboards elevated lessons for me. Ever see a science teacher try to draw a galaxy or nebula on a blackboard, and try to describe the awesomeness of it using just words?

Math concepts, especially visualizations, become so much more accessible.

One math teacher in my school used an analog overhead projector as part of his workflow: he would write math on a long transparency roll, sitting at his desk, facing the class, so every student could see exactly how their work should be reasoned-about and laid out properly. He could rewind (literally) to any previous point in the lesson.

As always, it comes down to one's ability to use the tools effectively.

fractallyteon Switzerland wil have a referendum to cap population at 10M

And precisely how is that relevant to soil science?

You're ridiculing subjects you clearly don't understand.

fractallyteon Switzerland wil have a referendum to cap population at 10M

You're basically reluctant to accept the fact that such a calculation is possible. That says more about you than the competence of mathematicians and ecologists...

fractallyteon Switzerland wil have a referendum to cap population at 10M

This is covered in the linked article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrying_capacity#Mathematics

Other variables to factor in would include cultural/esthetic ones: how much would a population tolerate a reduction in the idyllic/scenic nature of their landscape, merely to accommodate crops for a rising population?

(This is what I referred to as "quality of life" in another post.)

fractallyteon Switzerland wil have a referendum to cap population at 10M

I counter you with soil degradation, which is gradual (over decades, even centuries), and extremely difficult to reverse (millennia).

We may yet discover that Malthus was right.

Then what??

https://eu.boell.org/en/SoilAtlas-soil-degradation

https://earth.org/95-of-the-earths-soil-on-course-to-be-degr...

https://www.fao.org/about/meetings/soil-erosion-symposium/ke...

fractallyteon Switzerland wil have a referendum to cap population at 10M

Why would you assume the population cap is arbitrary? There's a calculable limit to the population an area of land can sustain. (Yes, some agricultural practices can mitigate that, but that should also be weighed against culture and history, and how much change is acceptable.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrying_capacity

fractallyteon Switzerland wil have a referendum to cap population at 10M

It's being proposed in order to maintain quality of life. No one wants to be overcrowded. This is a sane solution: collectively agree on the maximum tolerable population. Then it's down to individual responsibility to obey the norms of one's society.

Edit: unless you're Swiss, your opinion is irrelevant. Swiss voters have a right to decide how they want to live. They're not beholden to EU laws; they can make their own sovereign decisions, and everyone must respect that.