Hacker News Reader

ekm2on Peter Thiel: Competition is for losers

Imagine if Mark Zuckerberg would have heard this advice and been convinced that there was no point in competing with MySpace..

ekm2on Intro to Computer Science overtakes Econ as Harvard’s most popular class

Dropping out seems to work if one had significant programming experience before getting to college.

ekm2on Ask HN: Why is that 10+ years experience folks struggle to find work

Can you recommend some good beginner books on Clojure?

ekm2on Combinatorial Mathematics

As an ancient field, the history of combinatorial mathematics could be traced back over 4000 years to the age of the Great Yu in ancient China.

Interesting perspective.I will sign up though I know zero chinese.

ekm2on The Man Who Will Build Google’s Quantum Computer

The article talks a lot more about the computer than the man,who I thought is supposed to be the subject.

ekm2on The frustrating journey of learning C++ in 2014

C++ Primer followed by Effective C++

ekm2on The frustrating journey of learning C++ in 2014

For C++,I would prefer to just read good textbooks and stay away from tutorials.

ekm2on Quantum Gravity Expert Says "Philosophical Superficiality" Has Harmed Physics

This reminds me of a quote by Richard Feynman:

Philosophy of science is about as useful to scientists as ornithology is to birds

ekm2on The Surveillance Engine: How the NSA Built Its Own Secret Google

I am guessing they get them young.Who sponsors MATHCOUNTS,AMC and other contests for highly gifted kids?Raytheon,Northrop Grumman.

ekm2on 2014 Fields Medals announced

'Manjul Bhargava completed all of his high school math and computer courses by age 14.[..] Princeton hired him at the rank of tenured full professor within only two years of finishing graduate school, which is considered a record in the Ivy League.'

Fascinating. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manjul_Bhargava

ekm2on Chesscademy – Learn How to Play Chess

I wish there was a similar site for Go(weiqi)

ekm2on The Happy Demise of the 10X Engineer

Mathematically,is he saying that because the limit of a function tends to zero,it will actually be equal to zero?

ekm2on Poll: Do you believe intelligence is fixed?

It looks more like a prophecy.

ekm2on Poll: Do you believe intelligence is fixed?

You cannot draw a conclusion to an experiment you are yet to perform.At the very least, it does not count as scientific.

ekm2on Poll: Do you believe intelligence is fixed?

I used to believe the same thing too:that what is genetic is somehow fixed.But then i noticed how human action can alter genes.

ekm2on Bitcoin security guarantee shattered by anonymous miner with 51% network power

I do not understand why kolev is being downvoted.Is it so hard for techies to get that there are people with motives other than money?Think different.

ekm2on The Lack of Major Wars May Be Hurting Economic Growth

Again,locally,not globally

ekm2on 2+2=What? Parents rail against Common Core math

>Their Math1a uses Apostol as its textbook.

Try Harvard's Math 55b.They hit you with Rudin freshman year.

ekm2on China will become the world's largest economy by the end of the year

The larger population might also mean more smart people to make even more money.

ekm2on Math topics useful for computer science/programming

I found it easier to handle Analysis by following the sequence:Spivak ->Apostol->Rudin.

ekm2on Don't Double Major

>The question is: By fulfilling the requirements for a double major, what does one gain above and beyond what one would have gained by majoring in Math, but taking a lot of CS classes? Or majoring in CS, but taking a lot of math classes?

The beauty about double majoring is that the sequence for math and CS are harmonized for you.I do not have to worry about class conflicts or jumping into a course with no prerequisites.And hey,the degree says double!Not everyone has the time to check your transcripts to confirm what you did.

ekm2on Don't Double Major

As someone who double majored in Math and CS, I have to disagree.It has given me more choice.I can program,but also have the choice of going to graduate school in either Economics,Physics,Math,CS or basically anything requiring a mathematics background.

ekm2on DIY Computer Science Degree

Not even a mention of Data structures and Algorithms

ekm2on Brazilian Billionaire Creates Plan to Beat Death

>You should read the Quantum Physics sequence I mentioned above. There is no Royal Road, and the whys and hows just cannot be explained in a few lines.

Life is short.Just read Volume III of Feynman Lectures here

http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/III_toc.html

ekm2on The Founder Visa (again)

Is there such a thing as too much job creation?

ekm2on The C++ and programming books I recommend

I was asked this question,but could not come up with a good answer:Assuming someone has never programmed before,but has the (mis)fortune of using C++(e.g that is what the school he/she is enrolled in uses) what would be the best book to start with?

ekm2on How to Get a Job at Google

"The No. 1 thing we look for is general cognitive ability, and it’s not I.Q. It’s learning ability. It’s the ability to process on the fly."

I do not understand.

ekm2on Big Breakthroughs Come in Your Late 30s

For immigrants from relatively underdeveloped nations,add another 10 years.

ekm2on Ask HN: What is Malcolm Gladwell's best book?

Outliers

ekm2on Antimatter experiment produces first beam of antihydrogen

>High-energy physics research seems to have no immediate or even long-term application beyond satisfying "How does this stuff hold together?"

Of what practical use is a newborn baby? -Benjamin Franklin