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zach417

48 karma · joined February 29, 2016

CEO at Slate Robotics
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zach417··on New Zealand to ban foreigners from buying existing houses
This debate is simply that of liberalizing or controlling a nation's capital account. There are benefits to both.

The benefit of liberalization (i.e. no limits on foreign investment) is that it can provide "a higher rate of return on people’s savings in industrial countries by increasing growth, employment opportunities, and living standards in developing countries." [1]

The benefit of controlling (i.e. limit foreign investment) is that it can reduce market volatility and risk. "International investors are willing to lend to them in good times but tend to pull back in bad times, thereby amplifying swings in the domestic macroeconomy." [1]

[1] - http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/basics/capital.htm

zach417··on Why I’m Remaking OpenAI Universe
I echo all of your issues with running Universe. I have a decrepit Macbook, and it was actually not possible for me to use it at all.
zach417··on Ask HN: Cheaply deploying CNNs on embedded devices
Found it: NVIDIA Jetson TK1 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L7AWOEC/ref=olp_product_details...)
zach417··on Is Free Market Good for Public?
A free market is one where two or more parties are free to exchange goods and services voluntarily, thereby determining prices through the forces of supply and demand. The nature of these transactions must be voluntary in order for it to be considered free market exchange.

So, in my view, your question the following: is there a time when two or more parties wish to voluntarily exchange goods or services, but given the circumstances of the exchange, government has a duty to forcibly intervene, thereby preventing the exchange?

Many are tempted to point to fraud, pollution, or other unjust conduct as evidence that the free market does not work. However, each of the examples that one could give would involve an exchange where one or more parties did not voluntarily engage in that exchange, and therefore, the injured party would have a right to seek damages from the offending party. In a free market, I am no more justified in destroying your garden or selling you snake oil as a cure for cancer than I am in any other market system.

Therefore, I maintain that there exists no exchange that warrants government intervention given that all parties involved engage in the exchange voluntarily. We should conclude that the free market is good for the public and that it is the only market system that equally and evenly respects the rights and autonomy of all members of society. To that point, I conjecture that it is immoral to forcibly intervene in such an exchange since doing so would obstruct the autonomy of two or more moral agents, which I believe to be supported by Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative.

zach417··on Ask HN: Rejects Unite?
I'm in. Keep us posted on details.
zach417··on Ask HN: YC 17 Summer – 0 views on our 1 min video
Forgive me if this seems brash, but in my opinion, you've got to treat this like courting a love interest. It's a bad idea to constantly check your texts to see if they have read the latest unanswered one. It shows insecurity and that you're willing to wait around for them to call the next shot.

You'll be a happier, more effective negotiator if you treat it like, "I'm going to go start this great company; if they want to be apart of it, I'd love to join YC, but I'm going to make it happen with or without them."

zach417··on Yamaha YZ250 Dirt Bike sound effects library
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHhy2Gk_xik
zach417··on Ask HN: Tell us about your S2017 startup
Corinthian Robotics - robots that do housework

I'm building an inexpensive, autonomous robot that take cares of your laundry. While you're at work, it will wash your clothes, fold them, and put them away.

zach417··on MBAs as CEOs
When you lack vision, you ask yourself, "How do I do great business?", which is a question that never leads to the actual answer. It does, however, lead you to hire people who are trained in the art of doing "great business": MBAs.
zach417··on Emoji.length == 2
Tom Scott did a nice YouTube video related to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTzp76JXsoY
zach417··on Snap Jumps in Debut After App Maker Raises $3.4B in IPO
Haha, that's exactly my point! I do question why the entertainment industry siphons so much capital away from other, more productive endeavors. Perhaps no one has any good ideas on how to create the future, so we might as well throw it all at beer and sports.
zach417··on Snap Jumps in Debut After App Maker Raises $3.4B in IPO
Furthermore, your comment is no defense of Snap Inc's valuation, either. In my humble opinion, "integrating ads and rich content into their core UX" and "an interesting perspective on live events" are not strong arguments for why a company should be worth $30B.
zach417··on Snap Jumps in Debut After App Maker Raises $3.4B in IPO
I had removed the last part from the comment as to seem less trollish, so please forgive me for coming across as such. Anyway, since you asked, here is my formalized argument: (1) [falsifiable axiom] You cannot have meaningful economic growth without technological innovation. Technological innovation is improving the efficiency of existing resources or increasing the availability of resources as compared to previous eras (colloquially, "doing more with less"). (2) [falsifiable axiom] Historically, only the most valuable companies of a given era are technologically innovative. (3) [falsifiable axiom] Under the current valuation, Snap Inc. is currently one of the most valuable companies. (4) [falsifiable axiom] Snap Inc. is not technologically innovative. (5) [logical conclusion given axioms] Snap Inc. should not be valued as one of the most valuable companies of this era.
zach417··on Snap Jumps in Debut After App Maker Raises $3.4B in IPO
I don't understand how the existence of Snap adds over $30B of utility to the economy.
zach417··on Pilot of drone that struck woman at Pride Parade gets 30 days in jail
I assume it's easier to think this kind of sentence is okay when you don't own a drone nor want to own one; it's why taxing cigarettes is the go-to funding tool for increases in education spending. I don't smoke, so who cares? So, I'm assuming this is why the judge and attorney were so aggressive with the sentencing, but 30 days in jail is beyond the realm of reasonableness. I'm all for having the defendant pay restitution, but jail does no one any amount of good.
zach417··on Churchetto – Free, open-source church management software
I found the issue and have resolved it. Thank you for your feedback.
zach417··on Churchetto – Free, open-source church management software
Just a poor choice of words! Changed it to "expertly". Thanks for the feedback.
zach417··on Churchetto – Free, open-source church management software
Whoops! Rookie mistake. I've removed it and changed the secrets. Thank you very much!
zach417··on Churchetto – Free, open-source church management software
Very weird. Thanks for letting me know!
zach417··on Churchetto – Free, open-source church management software
1. I haven't bothered with that yet. Started the project 10 days ago, so I just assumed I'd find time to get to it later. 2. https://github.com/Zach417/churchetto-web 3. See #1 lol. Thanks for the advice, though! I'll add that to my list of things to do.
zach417··on Churchetto – Free, open-source church management software
Fair enough!
zach417··on Churchetto – Free, open-source church management software
Didn't know about that. Thanks for the info! Churchetto is different, though, as it doesn't require you to install on digital ocean or an ec2.