cconcepts

I had a several hundred day streak on duolingo, lost it and haven't opened the app since. Why would I, all my hard work is lost? I didn't actively think about it until I saw this.

Was thinking this recently. Saw the Netflix show. From my very limited understanding it seems the cost per litre of safe water could be prohibitive but I don't know that.

It surprises me that we haven't worked out a more efficient solar distillation process for desalination. Reverse Osmosis seems so energy intensive at a fundamental level when you consider that the sun naturally distils and desalinates water all day long.

The process described in this article ("Membrane Distillation") seems like a hybridisation of the two techniques and the researchers have found a way to improve efficiency by concentrating heat using lenses. Why can't this concentration of heat be used in straightforward distillation and why does distillation always seem to come in second best in terms of efficiency compared to the use of membranes? Is it because of the large surface area required?

I used to call myself a writer because I wrote blogs. Now I'm a writer because I write a bazillion emails everyday. If this article piqued your interest at all then you ought to read "On Writing Well" by William Zinser. Best written communication advice I have ever come across and entertaining reading to boot.

Wow, judging by the response this is a problem a lot of people think about. Am overwhelmed by the helpful info. Obviously have to start at the low hanging fruit as I am working with non-technical people and am relatively non-technical myself. I just tested LibraryThing and it seems very fast and accurate so will give it a whirl.

Again, thanks HN for the overwhelming response.

One full screen popup ad: annoying

Two full screen popup ads: tab closed, never visiting that domain again, back to HN to warn the others.

I feel like a whole new world has just opened up before me. I have a rasp pi, what is the route with least technical barriers for me to get into this and start tinkering?

My confirmation bias is telling me that this is definately true.

It does sound like it was a sham. However, what is really going to make a difference now that Facebook has critical mass is people voting with their feet. This doesn't just mean attempting to remove yourself from their system but also communicating broadly how the system actually works. Most of my non-tech friends still just see it as a way to keep up to date on what is happening in the world.

Babylonbee seem to be doing a good job of spreading FBs transgressions via satire: http://babylonbee.com/news/mark-zuckerberg-promises-to-do-be...

Agree with the premise of all that you say.

Perhaps I'm nitpicking but its worth noting that Haast Pass was opened in '65 and Dunedin to Queenstown takes 3.5 hrs without breaking the speed limit.

But yeah, flying cars would be a boon for many parts of Nuw Zulund

> It appears that there are enormous differences of opinion as to the probability of a failure with loss of vehicle and of human life. The estimates range from roughly 1 in 100 to 1 in 100,000. The higher figures come from the working engineers, and the very low figures from management.

Am in business with someone many years older than me. It has always struck me how little tolerance he has for risks to my safety. The natural reaction is to have more lenience for situations that wont directly impact your personal safety. Wheras this guy will do potentially dangerous tasks that would otherwise be my responsibility. His kids are grown up, mine are young.

It is the kind of attitude that would be near impossible to enshrine in a larger organisation (like NASA) but refreshing to see all the same.

I was cutting wood with my kids the other day and showing them how you have to pick the wood up as little as possible so you could get more done with less effort.

No talk about molecules necessary - just don't do stuff you don't need to do. Sure it takes a lot of planning to achieve but its been a standard concept around getting the job done for, I would say, millennia...

I think about that a lot and what an encouragement it is that having an idea that many think crazy is actually an opportunity to be a catalyst for change...or broke.

Either way, its often worth a good shot, hence the need to try radically worthwhile stuff like space travel and transitioning to sustainable energy.

If I were betting it all on disrupting the nail polish industry I doubt I would have the commitment to see it through. Being committed to something that will change the outcomes for my children's children will naturally gather a lot more effort from me.

Genuine replacement screen: $450 2 hours labour from highly trained apple certified screen replacement technician: $180.

"....but I shouldn't have to pay these exorbitant fees - I didnt drop it in water...."

"Yes you did"

Me: "My phone broke randomly"

Them: "You dropped it in water didn't you?"

Me: "No, I didn't"

Them: "Yes, you did"

Me: "Nope"

Them: "Yep"

Me: "Nope" .......

This comment is a great example of why one should triple check anything they intend to post to HN.

>> They could also manipulate the mechanical arm to hit the vehicle or spew water continuously, making it difficult for a trapped occupant to exit the car

They've simply extrapolated on this capability to make the headline more clickable

>> Swift moves, behind the scenes

Translation: we developed better compression algos for uploading your personal data to our servers

This concept of not having a "self" is an interesting one and possibly a capacity that only humans have.

If AI never has a concept of "self" does it decrease the likelihood of it becoming self-protective?

What does perception of self even mean to us as humans and how could we be sure that a machine couldn't attain it?

As I understand it, saying the vacuum cleaner won't kill you because we haven't given it a means to do so is akin to saying, "putting this banking server online is safe and no one will mess with it because we haven't given out the password."

Just because we can't see a means doesn't mean there isn't one.

Or am I missing your point?

If I understand you correctly, this answer requires ring-fencing AI into a purely advisory role.

Seems hopeful considering we can't ring fence internet users into the places we hope they'll stay without them breaking into systems that they shouldn't - and they dont have the computational power, sheer logic or persistence of an AI...

How do you design this "love lock"?

Regarding "losing control", what if we built a real big EMP device with a switch we could flip to fry every electrical device on the planet? We'd be plunged back into the dark ages but at least humanity would survive.

Competition for resources seems to make us a pretty formiddable competitor and therefore a primary threat to the AIs existence...

Upvote for holding my attention for 5+ paragraphs

As a foreigner who lived in India for many years I wholeheartedly agree. I often felt embarassed by the way other foreigners acted in India, dressing inappropriately, being know-it-alls....I probably fell into this category at times. Indians are generally such hospitable people that they don't say much but I can't imagine the response if a foreigner went to a western country and started telling everyone what was wrong with their country and dressing in ways deemed inappropriate for that country...

Reading the bible and seeking answers to the difficult questions that presented (rather than tossing it out at the first seeming inconsistencies) is what began my journey from atheism to being a follower of Jesus.

Further reading that helped along that journey: 1) Mere Christianity by CS Lewis 2) The Reason For God by Tim Keller 3) Anything by John Lennox 4) Many discussions by Ravi Zacharias

Regardless, this is not me attempting to invalidate all the points already made to the contrary, but an attempt to point out that belief in the bible isnt the most rediculous thing concievable and there are thoughtful, scientific people who identify as Christian, are not republican, trump-supporting or homophobic. Example: Francis Collins, leader of the Human Genome Project

Personally, because a thorough understanding of the Bible shows that its teaching is quite different to what is often portrayed in media and in the assumptions of people like myself who had not previously read it.

You can take many individual parts of the Bible out of context and make it sound like madness but reading the whole in its entirety has a narrative that many miss.

For those raised on the internet and faster gratification (like me), try The Jesus Storybook Bible which I personally think is a great effort at paraphrasing the original.

EDIT: clarity

It annoys me how much I want to leave Facebook (if only to stop them gathering MORE data on me - I can't erase what they have) but don't because of the convenience of getting in touch with or finding out more about whoever I meet in meatspace.

The fact that they try to force me to install their messenger app by making messaging through a mobile browser difficult is particularly infuriating and reveals how much they have their intentions at centre and not the benefit of their users/products/suckers (whatever you want to call us) now that they have the critical mass that people like me don't leave because everyone else is on it.

Pointing out someone's mistake and not taking the opportunity to belittle them; Good ol' HN

As a Kiwi, what catches my attention about this discussion is that "raising the standard of living" in pure economic terms is still a primary political campaigning tool in NZ.

How do you measure the great things we already have and value that aren't so easily shown on a balance sheet and can't be shown on an emotive graph that trends up towards the right hand side?

The voter supported political agenda (whichever party it comes from) seems to often involve economic activities that don't hold to the long term values of the average Kiwi or the things that the rest of the world love our country for but we're temporarily blinded by the prospect of a shiny new car so make concessions in the short term.

I love the fact that so many people want to come and enjoy our home, but please understand that NZ is this way at least in part because we haven't focussed on growth at all costs. It may not always be this way.