HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

Theory42

34 karma · joined June 14, 2015

submissionscomments
Theory42··on Japanese used bookstores see 5x sales surge as books are being bought by the ton
You'd think they could give the scans to archive.org or similar. Even if the books are in copyright, they won't be forever. We can't let our culture be destroyed like this.
Theory42··on ChatGPT Atlas
Detecting genuine human angst in the sea of AI posts
Theory42··on Federal workers ordered to return to offices without desks, Wi-Fi and lights
Say it ain't so
Theory42··on 38C3: Illegal Instructions
I really liked this talk as well. One part that I'm not sure I can fully agree with, though, is the idea of fully re-conceptualizing the self. It is possible to self-author, and partially change...but I have never heard of nor met anyone who just became a totally different person. I'm willing to concede that he may have been speaking hypothetically, or that maybe the idea of changing the self will be more accessible to AGI rather than for humanity.
Theory42··on The Albuquerque "Broken Arrow" Nuclear Accident
If the plutonium core was removed, as indicated in the blog, why was the impact crater radioactive?
Theory42··on Proton is taking its privacy-first apps to a nonprofit foundation model
Why aren't cooperative business models more common among software companies? Starting a software company typically doesn't require a large amount of capital, especially with open source projects where individual contributions can play a significant role. In these cases, a cooperative model could effectively distribute ownership among the contributors, essentially making them co-owners. This approach seems simpler than managing a hybrid of nonprofit and for-profit elements.
Theory42··on The Basque Country’s Mondragón Corporation is the largest industrial co-op
You say that like its a bad thing...
Theory42··on Star Trek: Borg – Remastered
This is great, thanks for making the effort!
Theory42··on Mark Zuckerberg’s new goal is creating artificial general intelligence
That's the thing about having lots of money: all your bad ideas can get a workforce behind them. Admittedly, the good ones as well.
Theory42··on OpenAI deletes ban on using ChatGPT for "military and warfare"
It seems you have it out for the US and Israel specifically, which is certainly a take, but not a very well rounded one. If you were, say, against the use of this particular technology for any military, that would be one thing, but you seem to only want the US DoD to not have it.
Theory42··on LK-99: The live online race for a room-temperature superconductor
All the cool swords seem to come from societies without access to good iron. Ever seen a 'Viking' sword?
Theory42··on A third of North America’s birds have vanished
There sure are a lot of comments that ultimately don't get at the root of it: there are too many human beings alive right now for the amount of resources we require (or our technological ability to use resources without destroying everything else). Results like the article all derive from this.
Theory42··on A third of North America’s birds have vanished
True, but we're talking about millions of years of possible desolation before that happens.
Theory42··on Google is already pushing WEI into Chromium
Great suggestion, I did so just now.
Theory42··on The office is a theatre for work (2019)
This is so incorrect I'm going to upvote it.
Theory42··on How to Use AI to Do Stuff: An Opinionated Guide
Get a VPN
Theory42··on Where can I see Hokusai's Great Wave today?
What does it mean to say you want to see the Great Wave when it was created on woodblock?
Theory42··on Ask HN: Has anyone worked at the US National Labs before?
Where's the fun in that?
Theory42··on Ask HN: What would you do if you didn't have to work?
https://aia.mit.edu/about/ has programs for volunteers from active duty.
Theory42··on No one wants to have kids anymore
I don't have kids; I really like this perspective, though. I don't happen to share it, but I can appreciate it.

It's obviously a necessary and good thing for people to have children if humanity is going to continue. However, one thing that isn't discussed much by Team Parents is the prospect of there being too much of a good thing. The population explosion over the last 150ish years is a clear trade between more people and less everything else in the natural world. At some point (now, anyone?), that trade is not worth making. It's an irresponsible trade. Does not promote the maturity of society, even if it matures the individual.

What say ye to this line of reasoning? I grant you that city-living and domestication is 'naturally' reigning things in as far as population growth, hence the article. I'm asserting that perhaps there is a kind of virtue in foregoing the wonderful self sacrificial experience known as being a parent, in that the childless are helping the general state of affairs.

Theory42··on Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?
The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski. Civilisation - Kenneth Clark Cosmos - Carl Sagan Cosmos - Not Carl Sagan

All pretty good.

Theory42··on Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?
This is a work of art--I must say though that I remember thinking of his subject as a bit of a mirror for his work: in the first episode he remember him talking about propaganda in its many forms, and then getting the impression that he was using those exact techniques on the viewer within the documentary itself.
Theory42··on 1 week of Stable Diffusion
All without AGI!
Theory42··on The Crime That Killed Shinzo Abe
One might reach the conclusion that this sort of thing is human nature. Not all natural inclinations are good...
Theory42··on Ask HN: What's the coolest website you know?
Yes, Wikipedia is great. But PSA: its only great if we keep it great.
Theory42··on A Trail Tale
This is very innovative. You should be be proud!
Theory42··on Find a good available .com domain
This was good for a laugh, thanks. :)
Theory42··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (June 2022)
Come work for the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Kirtland AFB, NM (Albuquerque):

SUPERVISORY IT SPECIALIST, GS-14 https://www.usajobs.gov/job/657438000

About AFOTEC: https://www.afotec.af.mil/

ONSITE

Theory42··on Show HN: Radiopaper – Troll-resistant public conversations
Smart. Tit for tat is often a winning strategy.
Theory42··on I put my whole life into a single database
Agreed--I'm really excited about all this hydrogen fueled or eVTOL business that's going on lately. The future could be awesome.
Page 1 of 2Next →