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paulbaumgart

1,954 karma · joined October 2, 2008

https://twitter.com/improbapaul firstname@lastname.us
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paulbaumgart··on PFAS in fertilisers blamed for killing livestock in Texas and wreaking havoc
This doesn't address the underlying problem, but if this is something you'd like to avoid as a consumer, it's worth noting that sewage sludge is not permitted for use in growing organic produce:

> A very important part of the process-based regulatory framework is the prohibition of certain methods in organic production and handling. Methods like irradiation, sewage sludge, and genetic engineering are all expressly prohibited from being used when growing or processing organic foods.

https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/blog/organic-101-what-o...

paulbaumgart··on The Collapse Is Coming. Will Humanity Adapt?
I don’t think anyone is arguing that it is a viable alternative to eventual decarbonization of the economy. Or if people are, they aren’t doing so in good faith.

But it does very effectively prevent anything even approaching a “collapse.” Relatively cheaply, even.

paulbaumgart··on The Collapse Is Coming. Will Humanity Adapt?
Do you have any evidence to support this claim?

The availability of economically competitive alternatives to fossil fuels (like cheap solar + batteries) is a very recent development.

paulbaumgart··on The Collapse Is Coming. Will Humanity Adapt?
To anyone feeling anxious about the future after reading this article:

We have the technology to pause the worst effects of climate change indefinitely for a few billion dollars a year: https://news.uchicago.edu/radical-solution-address-climate-c...

It’s far from a complete solution, but it works well enough that the future described in the article is much more a dark fantasy than a likely reality.

paulbaumgart··on Research reveals ways lead and cadmium in chocolate may be reduced
Some brands source their cacao from less contaminated areas: https://www.consumerlab.com/news/best-dark-chocolate-and-coc...
paulbaumgart··on Is Carvana going out of business? The 'Amazon' of cars tumbles
Back in April of this year, they bought my 5-year-old car for $600 more than I had paid for it new. Anecdotal, sure, but somehow I’m not surprised their business is struggling.

Edit: another anecdote: https://twitter.com/willmanidis/status/1569763363357396994

paulbaumgart··on Winter Is Here: Slowing Down to Fight SAD
I came across this a while back, and it seems like it might be worth a try:

“LED lighting is improving rapidly. You can install very bright lights for treating seasonal affective disorder (SAD) easily and inexpensively. Common sense says that will be more effective than commercial SAD lights that are much less bright. My experience confirms this.”

https://meaningness.com/sad-light-led-lux

paulbaumgart··on AI reduces a 100k-equation quantum physics problem to only four equations
Arxiv link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2202.13268
paulbaumgart··on Greenland ice sheet climate disequilibrium and committed (274mm) sea-level rise
How much wiggle room is there in the conclusion that this is level of sea level rise is going to happen “regardless of twenty-first-century climate pathways”?

For example, and setting aside feasibility, if carbon dioxide levels were reduced back down to pre-industrial levels, would that amount of sea level rise still be locked in? Or would the ice stop melting and even gradually re-freeze?

paulbaumgart··on In Utah, researchers are trying to make geothermal energy a reality
It’s renewable by human timescale standards, just like solar energy.
paulbaumgart··on Programming in the Apocalypse
This is probably true at the level of corporations, but not clearly the case at the level of countries. An interesting paper on the economics of geoengineering, if you’re curious: https://www.nber.org/papers/w18622
paulbaumgart··on Programming in the Apocalypse
Yep. For anyone curious to learn more, here’s a good summary of this energy technology transition: https://www.tsungxu.com/clean-energy-transition-guide/
paulbaumgart··on Programming in the Apocalypse
For a more balanced view, I highly recommend this talk from one of the leading minds in the field: https://hmnh.harvard.edu/file/1039929
paulbaumgart··on Is there a functional reason for wizards to live in towers so often?
This article makes a pretty convincing argument that this connection, while a fun story, isn’t supported by the historical record: https://braciatrix.com/2017/10/27/nope-medieval-alewives-are...
paulbaumgart··on Accidentally exponential behavior in Spark
Is there an alternative you’d recommend?
paulbaumgart··on Launch HN: Remora (YC W21) – Carbon capture for semi trucks
Makes sense, thanks! It would probably have to become part of the municipal garbage collection service.
paulbaumgart··on Launch HN: Remora (YC W21) – Carbon capture for semi trucks
This is great. I’m curious if this approach would work for residential fireplace chimneys, as well. Is that something you’ve explored?
paulbaumgart··on The Michael Scott Theory of Social Class
You may enjoy this. I certainly did when I first came across it: https://vividness.live/charnel-ground
paulbaumgart··on I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35
> If tired after an intercontinental flight, go to the gym for some exertion instead of resting.

Personally, I think I’d rather take a 20 minute nap and then go to the gym.

paulbaumgart··on I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35
The handful of (tech) billionaires I’ve met all seemed to genuinely enjoy the work that made them rich. People have different utility functions (which is a good thing!)
paulbaumgart··on COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator
Looks like the work is underway:

“At least ten clinical trials are testing chloroquine, approved as an antimalarial and autoimmune disease drug. In vitro, the endosomal acidification fusion inhibitor blocked infection of a clinical isolate of SARS-CoV-2.” https://www.nature.com/articles/d41587-020-00003-1

paulbaumgart··on It's too late to collect sand
Whenever I hear this saying, even though I know it’s sort of pedantic, I can’t help but wonder: but what about 19 years and 364 days ago?
paulbaumgart··on It’s the End of California as We Know It
Storrs, CT, according to Slate: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2005/09/where-to-hide-fr...
paulbaumgart··on Ask HN: What are problems that enterprising college students could solve?
I recommend interviewing people in your community. If you’re ok with working on a non-profit idea: the world is filled with local institutions that could use better digital technology.
paulbaumgart··on Marissa Mayer on career growth and how a revenue guarantee almost killed Google
This is a good book on the subject: "Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of the Objective" https://www.amazon.com/Why-Greatness-Cannot-Planned-Objectiv...
paulbaumgart··on Rebuilding Deepdrive on Unreal Engine
Awesome work, Craig!
paulbaumgart··on Ask HN: Any affordable deep learning cloud service for practicing/experimenting?
Colab from Google is worth a look: https://www.kdnuggets.com/2018/02/fast-ai-lesson-1-google-co...
paulbaumgart··on Ask HN: How do you avoid the 9 to 5 life?
Now in my late 20s, I've come to appreciate this advice:

"Be regular and orderly in your life like a bourgeois, so that you may be violent and original in your work." -Gustave Flaubert

paulbaumgart··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (March 2018)
I've been working at Dishcraft for almost a year (as a member of the computer vision team), and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for a 99th percentile early-stage startup experience.
paulbaumgart··on Ask HN: With nothing but an open-source portfolio, how to start job-hunting?
Did you contribute to any larger-scale open source projects? There might be someone on that team who can give you a leg up.
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