Hacker News Reader

Evenjoson Schools Are Slow to Learn That Sleep Deprivation Hits Teenagers Hardest

I think that the vast majority of people get tired and go to bed between 10 pm and 2 am. Outliers are rare.

Schools operate as if the majority get tired and go to bed between 7 pm and 10 pm. This is just wrong, in world with TV and internet and electricity.

Evenjoson Schools Are Slow to Learn That Sleep Deprivation Hits Teenagers Hardest

My parents were night owls, and so was I. Waking up before dawn was a nightmarish hell for me, all through junior high and high school.

Evenjoson Indian Women Seeking Jobs Confront Taboos and Threats

I assume this article is reporting the truth about the culture and hardships these women face. If it's true, then it's not a stereotype or a false narrative. It's an honest look at what's going on in that region of India.

Evenjoson Genomics and me: DNA testing may not reveal as much about yourself as you'd hope

I had it done around 2013 or 2014, and yes, that was in the report.

Evenjoson Genomics and me: DNA testing may not reveal as much about yourself as you'd hope

The FDA started out with the best of intentions--to stop snake oil peddlers or food vendors who sold fatal concoctions as "delicious" or "miracle cures."

23andMe is not selling any drug. The FDA is now in the business of regulating information that goes to the consumer. And the FDA has increasing power with no oversight. Potentially life-saving medicines have to jump through decades of clinical trials before they can be used to save lives.

Evenjoson Genomics and me: DNA testing may not reveal as much about yourself as you'd hope

The FDA implied that the tests are inaccurate. Where's their evidence?

They have no oversight--they are the oversight. That is a problem. They can claim anything, and use it as an excuse to add arbitrary regulations and rules that have an end result of pleasing lobbyists or voters or the latest celebrity-politician.

Evenjoson E-Book Sales Slip, and Print Is Far from Dead

Indie authors usually charge less.

Evenjoson E-Book Sales Slip, and Print Is Far from Dead

Although any moron can self-publish a book, the serious ones stand apart with professional book covers and blurbs, marketing, and multiple novels.

The ones who "trend" well often get picked up by traditional publishers or movie studios (as was the case with Andy Weir's "The Martian.")

The traditional publishing industry consists of trend-chasers, not trend-setters.

So yes, the self-publishing world is full of raw sewage, but there are some diamonds and gems in that sewage--and they usually look shiny, with endorsements and professional covers.

Evenjoson Diamonds Are Bullshit

I'd rather him buy me a house, a vacation, or a Ferrari. Rings are just annoying.

Evenjoson The Impact of the Megaupload Shutdown on Movie Sales

You assume the entertainment industry is smart.

Evenjoson EA Employee Chastises Company Over SimCity in Public Letter

I have a friend who works as a QA tester on this Sim City EA game. He's demoralized about his job. I can see other employees getting pissed off enough to post on Reddit.

Evenjoson The hypocrisy in Silicon Valley's big talk on innovation

The problem, or the balance that must be struck, is that it's hard to innovate without being surrounded by other innovative people. You need a city with a critical mass of innovative, talented people and a low cost-of-living.

I agree. Come to Austin, TX!

Evenjoson What happened to Orson Scott Card?

Interesting. The author of that article sees Ender as very empathetic, and marvels that someone like Card could have written him. I disagree. 1) I don't think Ender was a particularly empathetic character, and 2) authors are not their characters. A little piece of me lives inside each of my main characters, but I don't necessarily see the world the same way my characters do. Card was an adult when he wrote about Ender Wiggin. He might have drawn from his childhood experiences, but he was not Ender.

Evenjoson On being a girl in computer science - a confession

Defensive much? You might want to actually read the article before you write a post.

Evenjoson On being a girl in computer science - a confession

I was saddened when LEGO started branding their toy blocks for girls (big, dumb pink blocks) and for boys (all the cool blocks and kits). The gender division is introduced to kids very young.

Evenjoson On being a girl in computer science - a confession

I agree with everything she had to say.

Evenjoson Show HN: Make your iPhone app look beautiful

I'd like to see a site that matches designers and artists up with mobile developers.

Evenjoson The Tyranny of the Queen Bee

The article points out that bad male bosses don't specifically target men for their bullying. They're more equal-opportunity when they belittle their employees or take credit for their work. A bad female boss will (according to the article) aim her bullying at a female employee 90% of the time.

Evenjoson Game Consoles Are Already Dead — And Developers Know It

Only a very successful PC game ("World of Warcraft" level of success) could earn enough profit to pay for a big budget console game.

I don't think the average person understands how much labor goes into console games. They're on the level of Hollywood films, with teams of hundreds of people working over periods of years, in perpetual crunch time.

Evenjoson Game Consoles Are Already Dead — And Developers Know It

Yup. The $50 price-tag for console games isn't enough to pay for their bloated $200 million budgets. At best, the big studios make a very small margin of profit. Most of those big budget games put the studio in debt (or transfer the debt to the third party developers who actually create the game). This is why they're bankrupt and dissolving.

I'm glad to see the game industry stretching to accommodate more indie developers. It's about time.

Evenjoson The Tyranny of the Queen Bee

Hmm, it might be a sausage-fest in here, since this article didn't garner a single comment in 9 hours.

It's not stating anything new or startling. But it hits home for me, since I've experienced a queen bee boss.

Evenjoson Silicon Valley is high on innovation. And pot

I doubt people are presuming that you smoked because you've been to college. That's not a common assumption, at least in my circles.

Regular pot smokers have a certain vibe. Not necessarily red eyes, but a way of being very casual and slightly disconnected. If you disagree with me, then think about how you 'just know' when someone is a pot smoker. There are subtle but telling mannerisms.

Which tells me that long-term pot use has an effect on personality.

Evenjoson Silicon Valley is high on innovation. And pot

In my experience, very few productive people are regular pot smokers.

Evenjoson The Jobs Are Never Coming Back

Certain local infrastructure jobs will always exist. These are the basic jobs that exist in every country on Earth: Food workers (farmers, waiters, cooks), medical people, and personal assistants (beauty salons, clerks, holy priests, etc).

When a country exports a product or service that other countries want, such as cars or silicon chips, that country gains a robust economy and that industry thrives.

When a country ceases to export the desirable product/service, or is out-competed, then the industry weakens and jobs are lost. The U.S. built its robust economy on innovations in many industries. Now many of those industries have waned, and the computer industry is what's propping us up. The other tent poles have collapsed or weakened.

The only thing that can revitalize our economy (and job market) is more innovation from within. We need to export superior products and services, and/or create new industries.

Evenjoson Programming Is Not for Everybody

Right on. Most of what he said also applies to the visual effects industry. Most people have a misapprehension that creating and animating a 3D character can be picked up over a few months of learning. In reality, it takes decades of dedicated practice to get to a professionally competent level.

Evenjoson The Saddest Map In America

Next, we should see a map with the worst traffic. Who funds these studies? Are they really necessary? Especially with the bias towards craigslist users?