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mighty_atomic_c

131 karma · joined August 18, 2016

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mighty_atomic_c··on The Anti-Helicopter Parent’s Plea: Let Kids Play
Very interesting article.

I'm an example by-product of the opposite extreme. My parents kept me from my neighbors, other kids in school and other people in church (I can count on one hand the number of guests that came over to hang out with me throughout my childhood). I also had no access to TV, the internet, the library, etc. I was isolated to such an extreme that the only thing I think I really developed was an active imagination. I guess my parents were a little more extreme than typical "helicopter" parents, but also unable to afford any structured activities for me, so I was closely watched and kept indoors all the time.

By my teenage years, the home-schooling program my parents were putting me through was so isolating and so obviously worthless on its own that I started to spiral into depression and contemplated suicide. By that point, I was convinced that I was wasting away mentally and physically such that when I would attempt to enter the adult world, that I would fall on my face and simply never be able to "catch up" with my peers who had two decades of normal development.

Things did get orders of magnitude better when I was in college the next year and working multiple jobs. I managed to move out somewhere after I turned 18 with nice roommates and cheap rent. I think I managed to close most of the mental/social/physical gap that I had perceived in my teenage years, but I would be lying if I said that I was a completely normal 25-year old. I have the strangest deficiencies that crop up now and again in my life, and I have a strong suspicion that kids who come from "helicopter" households will share these problems (such as difficulty reading people's emotions, difficulty in executive function, strange worries, low self-esteem).

So when I consider the possibility of having kids, I really like the idea of letting them socialize with other people, explore, and solve problems on their own without my constant interference. That's much better than my experience of growing up, with only fantasies of being outside and doing stuff. But if that's culturally unacceptable, then there will be a generation or two of people like me, who struggle daily with the little things I never had a chance to deal with growing up.

mighty_atomic_c··on Ask HN: What does an electrical engineer actually do at work?
I'm just a beginner. I write in hardware description languages for test benches, simulations, checkers and constrained random tests. I've also done PCB layout (hobbyist to RF microstrip), GUI programming (I don't enjoy that), and using IC design software for.simulation and layout. I also spend a lot of time working with hardware. The debugging process is very challenging, and certain aspects of it can be tedious. Overall I find it to be satisfying, challging work. I also get to apply my Linux knowledge most of the time when working on things, which is great.
mighty_atomic_c··on Ask HN: What does an electrical engineer actually do at work?
Oh God! Not the automotive requirements!
mighty_atomic_c··on DEA will ban chemicals contained in kratom, a popular herbal supplement
Woah. You're right! Let's ban getting sick!
mighty_atomic_c··on DEA will ban chemicals contained in kratom, a popular herbal supplement
It's interesting since a number of other drugs banned are as old as, if not possible older than, tobacco and alcohol.
mighty_atomic_c··on DEA will ban chemicals contained in kratom, a popular herbal supplement
I guess you could always take a trip to Thailand...
mighty_atomic_c··on DEA will ban chemicals contained in kratom, a popular herbal supplement
Thank goodness for MAPS.

They're working to get MDMA therapy out to those veterans suffering from PTSD.

mighty_atomic_c··on DEA will ban chemicals contained in kratom, a popular herbal supplement
What makes me angry about all this is the way the DEA can interfere with the scientific method. The DEA can strangle research because of a lack of research; cannabis has been stuck in this idiot cycle now for upwards of half a century. It is supremely unproductive, wasteful in both a financial and human sense, and ultimately fails because plants dont care if they're illegal; they'll continue to grow somewhere (with Kratom, this is SE Asia where it's use is as common as coffee, even when countries like Thailand attempted to ban and destroy it) If Kratom becomes inaccessible in the US, the current opiod epidemic will become worse. And not only that, but people will go to prison and have their lives ruined by possessing Kratom. I wonder what the minimum sentencing will be for possessing the plant. Can growing it be considered a felony? What if I think the plant makes a nice hedge?

I've heard too many anecdotes from well-adjusted ex-opiate users regarding the value of Kratom. Also, I fundamentally do not trust any research the DEA produces, since their continued existence is owed to their ability to pervert the scientific method using political power and vestigial "tough on drugs" thinking.

mighty_atomic_c··on DEA will ban chemicals contained in kratom, a popular herbal supplement
Done forget beta-carbolines and a handful of tryptamines that are always present in the human body, and also Schedule I.
mighty_atomic_c··on Google shelves plan for phone with interchangeable parts
Agreed. I'm surprised they thrashed for so long. My current smartphone is glued together, and there are all kinds of cabling gymnastics behind the screen that make repair tricky.

A modular cellphone would be bulky, likely power hungry, and despite its modularity, it would not be easy to upgrade whatsoever.

Ara was DOA.

mighty_atomic_c··on Brave Browser Adds Bitcoin Payments
Or, rather, the business model changes to paying more and paying in more circumstances to avoid ads.

To encourage revenue, the ads might get more and more obnoxious.

mighty_atomic_c··on Canadian surgeons urge people to throw out bristle BBQ brushes
Nice idea! I'll keep it in mind!
mighty_atomic_c··on France: Open Access Law Adopted
Agreed! Although it may take a long time to get there...
mighty_atomic_c··on Grateful Dead Fan Timothy Tyler Has Been Granted Clemency
Call me cynical, but I don't think it is dumb. I think it is intentional.
mighty_atomic_c··on Movfuscator – A single-instruction C compiler
Seems like it would give a large performance penalty. I don't get it.
mighty_atomic_c··on G.E., the 124-Year-Old Software Start-Up
Ha! When you out it that way, it is very funny, but makes me a bit nervous.
mighty_atomic_c··on World Wide Web (1991)
My first thought was: "I'm as old as the internet"
mighty_atomic_c··on Why Do We Judge Parents for Putting Kids at Perceived But Unreal Risk?
Your view is in line with developmental psychologists. Children who are never given a chance to think and act independently will grow up stunted and incomplete. By overprotecting, you weaken the child.
mighty_atomic_c··on Why Do We Judge Parents for Putting Kids at Perceived But Unreal Risk?
This is a strong reason why I don't want to raise children in the U.S. I grew up in a very controlled environment with very controlling, paranoid parents and I am still dealing with the many consequences of that.

To think that I would be forced to raise children to be deficient per social rules is unsettling at best, and disturbing when considering that this is happening everywhere in the US.

What could the future hold in store? How much more extreme can this get?

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