Hacker News Reader

mythealiason The NSA: An Inside View

I think that giving credit to the terrorist, and saying that they have won, is wrong. The kind of paranoia that defense forces have operated under has always been there since WWII. The only thing different now it that people are a lot aware of what could be/is happening.

mythealiason Qian Xuesen dies at 98; Co-Founder of JPL and China's space program (2009)

In his [autobiography][1] von Karman has a whole chapter (or two) dedicated to justifying why deporting Tsien just based on suspicion was a bad decision.

[1]: http://www.amazon.com/The-Wind-Beyond-Theodore-Pathfinder/dp...

mythealiason Renault will remotely lock down electric cars

Renting means that isn't your problems anymore.

I wonder when did the companies became so generous to pick the tab for all their customers. Maybe if you are in the market for short duration it might work but I don't see it begin cheaper for the customer in long run.

mythealiason List of Countries by Incarceration Rate

Actual number of prisoners and other details about each country: http://www.prisonstudies.org/info/worldbrief/wpb_stats.php?a...

Although I think it would be more interesting to look at re-incarceration rate.

mythealiason MathGifs

That was the same with me. I guess it is because the dots are already colored, thus leading one's focus towards the translation. However if you ignore the colors and imagine a 3-petal flower, then you can see the flowers rotate counter-clockwise. Try following the outer edges where the density of dots is sparse and less confusing to form a mental image of the petal.

mythealiason Noam Chomsky: The Singularity is Science Fiction [video]

but the point he is often trying to make is to think critically ...

mythealiason Noam Chomsky: The Singularity is Science Fiction [video]

I believe the difference is same as fitting a curve to a data and then predicting the result versus figuring out the physics behind the data and using that to predict the result. I would consider the latter as the AI. The former is just deriving possible result from a set of rules and how to combine them, which might be smart but is still lacks AI in strictest sense.

mythealiason Robot solving a rubik's cube in 1 second

It does not look so cheap when compared to blindfolded solving.

mythealiason Security researchers rewarded $12.50 voucher to buy Yahoo T-shirt

I wonder if not paying would be better than paying a small amount.

mythealiason How American Homeschoolers Measure Up

It could also be that they are from low income family group.

mythealiason Ubuntu Edge price dropped to $695

From the webpage: This campaign will only receive funds if at least $32,000,000 is raised by its deadline. Funding duration: July 22, 2013 - August 21, 2013 (11:59pm PT)

mythealiason The Sun's Magnetic Field is about to Flip

probably.

last time it flipped was in 2001 [1].

[1] http://science1.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/a...

mythealiason Observations from a Tipless Restaurant

not sure if you are trying to be sarcastic or just lack experience. while you can always shout or call out politely, you can also waive at the passing server (it doesn't have to be the one that served you). and if you find shouting too crude you can just excuse yourself from the table and walk to the waiter. at most restaurants the servers are on standby if their guests need any attention, but that does not require them to show up at the table to check if you enjoying your meal.

mythealiason Russia won’t extradite Snowden to US – Kremlin

Better yet: Would you trust your life to them is US government wants you "dead"?

mythealiason Dropbox is not a tool for developers

it is not just problem for developers. users like me who edit simple text file in vim or write a document in latex usually get a notification of syncing the temporary files. yes i can turn of the notifications, but that is like saying don't look at the issue and it is not there.

the problem is not just that dropbox has not addressed the issue, it is also that they have turned a blind eye to it. there is not indication whether they plan to work on it or not. what's the use of votebox if they do not plan to use it.

btw those are not 22k people, rather 22k votes. there are many people like me who have voted 10-100 times.

mythealiason Drone crashes mount at civilian airports

And yet that is the fact. The worth of human life is decided but what's in the pocket. The sooner you accept it the easier it will be.

mythealiason Flying at No Mechanical Energy Cost: The Secret of Wandering Albatrosses

Flight is general term for "unassisted" motion through air. By unassisted I mean no support structure from surface.

So even a ball through up in air is technically in flight.

While gliding implies flight with no thrust and is the primary mode for Albatross flight, they still produce trust by flapping their wings.

mythealiason Fictional peer reviews rejecting famous papers (2005)

Not sure if reviewer was having a bad day or just lacks the understanding to comprehend ideas beyond what is the norm. Also quite often professors delegate the review work to their students who may lack the understanding in broader perspective.

mythealiason Learn To Hustle - a hustle tip every morning.

having access to older hustle tips will be useful.

mythealiason BBC Olympics streaming stats

on the side note whoever is plotting those graphs needs to do a better job.

mythealiason India's street children bank on the future

In India it is common to discipline kids by beating. This is practised not only by parents but also in schools. It is getting rarer in middle and upper class but predominant among poorer families.

It is very difficult to keep your composure when you are living on a day-to-day wage basis. While you can argue that beating kids is no way to behave. I believe that thinking stems from one's upbringing and social standing.

I think one isolated incident is not a good ground to call someone an abuser.

mythealiason Gene Sharp: A dictator's worst nightmare

True, but it is not the important focus of the article. Most of these people would not care as to whether they are being called the Father-of-whatever. Instead of focusing on who gets the credit for the idea, it should be more on implementation and outcome of the idea.

mythealiason Gene Sharp: A dictator's worst nightmare

Nonviolence is a simple idea. It works when majority of people stop working, enough to cause loss to a company or the ruling party. It requires that the ruling party gains it power from the working class, which was the case in British ruled India and similarly in Iran.

It will fail if one nation is attacking another. It would have worked against Hitler if the German people had revolted (I guess they did not because they believed in Hitler's ideas, few minority that did not could be got rid off). Nonviolence would not have worked if British people used it against Hitler.

Being shameable is not necessary (but is helpful). For example, the occupy movement in America, even though nonviolent is not successful because the companies (or the top 1%) are not losing anything. There is not enough critical mass to the movement to affect the profits (enough that they take notice).