HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

calvinv

54 karma · joined January 16, 2017

submissionscomments
calvinv··on Open guide to equity compensation
The main issue anyway is if the founders and investors own a controlling stake of the business they can just do whatever they want.

Startups were definitely much better in the past but in the mid 2020s they exist on the stories of 15 years ago to try and hire talent for bargain prices

calvinv··on Open guide to equity compensation
If you think about it the vast majority of startup options are worth $0 so you have to treat them as worthless or you’re not being rational.

The idea that they’re a lottery ticket is the only way they keep hiring and I’ve heard plenty of engineers refer to actual lottery tickets as idiot tax

calvinv··on Clean your codebase with basic information theory
I haven't worked on a project where we've know all our problems up front and most of the time the complexity is added to cater for "flexibility" but that rarely ends up being a useful implementation for what we actually needed. It's great to hide this from other areas but you will need to work on it and it will impact how the software is architected
calvinv··on Gemini AI
The thing with IQ tests is they're all based on similar concepts so it's possible to train for them which is what AI does. Most humans grow up learning to walk, speak, interact, read non verbal cues. I would argue a musicians wouldn't tend to be a higher IQ than an average person but an AI can't come close to writing a song and playing a guitar that reasonates with people. AI can assist with it but it's missing the human spark for now
calvinv··on Gemini AI
It's always like this isn't it. I was watching the demo and thought why ask it what duck is in multiple languages? Siri can do that right now and it's not an ai model. I really do think we're getting their with the ai revolution but these demos are so far from exciting, they're just mundane dummy tasks that don't have the nuance of everything we really interact and would need help from an ai with
calvinv··on Tell HN: You can't hire because you don't post salary ranges
My team has thoughtwork contractors in it and I'm not surprised by your comments. Their actual ability to get things done is pretty bad
calvinv··on Buy things, not experiences
You would be surprised with the kinds of people out there. I used to flat share in a large city with a friend and I had bought most of the kitchen wares since the flat was unfurnished and I had a preference to cook at home. He would constantly tell me how I only cared for things and I should be a minimalist like him. When I was packing to move out on my own he was complaining that I was taking everything and it would be unfair to not leave most of my things behind and I should by new things when I move into the new place. I would hesitate to generalise that people want experiences over things or actually understand what minimalism is
calvinv··on An unprecedented wave of online bank fraud is hitting Britain
Just an fyi, for at least the last 6 years it is very difficult for any kind of migrant to open an account
calvinv··on Vaccine hopes rise as Oxford jab prompts immune response among old and young
if we're back to normalish by spring next year I think that would be a great outcome, if the messaging to the public would be, buckle down until then I think lockdown complaince could go up
calvinv··on Ask HN: Former software engineers, what are you doing now?
There’s a lot to how you deal with this, I think developers are eager and they either burn out chasing missing requirements or settle into a slower more considered work flow. If you’re at a company where they shout at you for not delivering something they didn’t ask for or asked for yesterday then you’re at the wrong place
calvinv··on Forever 21, Which Helped Popularize Fast Fashion, to File for Bankruptcy
you can still buy quality products that last, you just have to pay more
calvinv··on The We Company S-1
any sane watch manufacturer would mention that people don't have a limit of owning one watch
calvinv··on The Horror of Microsoft Teams
have you tried using OneNote in dark mode, it actually feels dark, like you can't see anything
calvinv··on Inflammation might be the root of preventable disease
That's not entirely true, a lot of the research comes from passionate students trying to make the world a better place with no intention of keeping you sick.

Additionally almost every industry is profit motivated, we wouldn't have the brightest people going into medicine unless it paid well. Ironically it doesn't actually pay well enough

calvinv··on Post-surgical deaths in Scotland drop by a third, attributed to a checklist
You don't know what you can't remember
calvinv··on How slot machines are designed to be addictive
I used to work for a large online casino company and they were really proud of paying out the largest slots jackpot at the time because it attracts players. These companies make so much money they can afford their jackpots when they get the maths right.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-3267379/Soldier-...

calvinv··on TransferWise announces $280M investment
I've sent money with them a few times from UK to South Africa and had no problems.

The biggest issue with this remitters is they have hidden vetting processes and can't tell you why you don't meet their criteria because any smart fraudster would adapt accordingly. Unfortunately too many people get accidentally caught in those systems

calvinv··on Facebook Lies
just FYI, I never see ads on Messenger app
calvinv··on Living in 80 square feet (2010)
or millions living in big cities, in London 100 square feet is pretty common
calvinv··on Uber Posts $708M Loss as Finance Head Leaves
It doesn't work at all in Germany, Spain, Iceland, and in smaller towns in UK. Uber isn't very reliable in Europe
calvinv··on Why I Don't Prepare for Job Interviews
>technical hiring is broken

>this advice will not work for the majority of people

That sums it up, the advice is good but since technical hiring is broken it doesn't work. This is why having a good interviewer is pivotal for a company. Someone who knows the company well and is good at reading people quickly and accurately

calvinv··on In Bay Area, six-figure salaries are “low income”
Agreed that won't make you rich in London but you can very easily buy a house outside of London or a 1-bed in London. I have friends who are on less than that and are buying in decent zone 2/3 areas. Mortgages are actually pretty cheap if you can save up the 10% deposit and live with a 10/15 min walk to a station.