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lacero

54 karma · joined April 3, 2012

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lacero··on Why Walking Helps Us Think
The connection between movement and the brain has recently been scientifically established . A good breakdown can be found in the book "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain Paperback – January 1, 2013 by John J. Ratey"

Basically movement, especially aerobic (walk, run, etc.) but also complex movement (sports, music playing , martial arts) as explained in the book

1 causes neurogenesis (release of brain stem cells ) 2 increases the size of your hippocampus and and improves memory 3 creates new brain circuits for the movement but these circuits are able to be recruited by different tasks 4 increases the production and balance of neurotransmitters and other hormones 5 increases and regulates executive function And a lot more complex processes in the brain. This occurs immediately but increases with more exercise . It's interesting stuff and ratey explains well.

lacero··on The UN thinks we could hit peak births in 2014
I have not studied economics but I have casually heard that larger populations are important for developing countries to build larger economies/GDP and the political power necessary for growth before these countries become efficient enough to rely on other methods for growth and wealth. What does this mean for poorer countries who might be under pressure to reduce their population/births? There seems to be a correlation between population and GDP and also population and GDP/capita.
lacero··on 21st century paradox of the economy
"This paradox between our affluence as consumers and our precariousness as workers poses economic, political, and moral conundrums. If we can produce more with less, and workers become redundant, who will buy the goods? A robot can make a mobile phone but it cannot purchase one. Workers are also consumers. Fire your workers, your profits will rise until the day no one can afford to buy your product. Henry Ford was a visionary for paying his workers enough so they could buy his cars."

It's an interesting question. Thoughts?

lacero··on Dear Marc Andreessen
I think he was referring to the negative effects of technology such as global warming, pollution from fertilizers, chemicals and plastics, poor farm conditions, tainted food supplies, weapons, citizen spy technology, etc.

That was beside the point though because your point is still valid that the "good" technology, which is hopefully the point of most technology, should not be held back for such superficial reasons. As someone smart once said, why should we build single man operated bulldozers when we can hire 10,000 men with spoons to do the digging?

lacero··on The ROI on being an entrepreneur vs. an employee
This article is basically the conclusion of the book the millionaire next door. The authors comb through statistics of the rich and interviews with wealthy people.

Building a business is probably the best way to make a large lump sum of money. Unfortunately the business is more likely than not to fail before bearing fruit and even after successfully running the business for large profits over time competition, laws, and factors out of your control usually kill the business. Due to the inherent risks and stress involved the book states that most successful people would not advise their children to start businesses but to get professional degrees, especially the kind that can work for themselves or consult such as law, medicine and accounting. Not so much the non-professional jobs such as business management.

lacero··on Ask HN: What non-Tech sites do you read daily?
sports (espnfc.com, reddit /soccer, /nba) news sites (cnn, wsj, etc.) personal development (ted, physcologytoday, etc.)
lacero··on Rare 'goat-sheep' born on Irish farm
I wonder what it tastes like. I love the taste of lamb but cannot stand the taste (and smell!) of goat meat even though it's a delicacy where I'm from.
lacero··on Why Facebook should worry about Tencent
I'm not Chinese and I'm not American. I have seen countless Tencent WeChat ads while watching tv and especially during Champions League football. I have never seen a Facebook ad on tv.
lacero··on Apple exploring cars, medical devices to reignite growth
They missed the chance to get a good deal on Tesla. It's too late Apple. Move on.
lacero··on Ask PG: what websites do you reccomend to learn to build web based software?
1. http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ruby-on-rails-tutorial-book

2. 1 month

3. Python/Ruby

4. See 1.

5. No. You just need time and persistence. Unless you want to build the next Google/Microsoft. Then yes it is hard.

6. This is because they are not interested in building web based software and are not taught to build web based software. IT/CS is not about building web based software. Just as Mechanical Engineering is not about building cars.

lacero··on Snapchat For Business? It's Called Confide, And It Exists
The real problems with apps like this is the fact that users have no personal data or content on the apps! Therefore there is no reason for them to stay on the app if another similar app comes along with a better ui and quirky feature.

No barriers to entry. I can imagine these kind of apps facing so much competition that they become free apps.

lacero··on Bitcoin and positive vs. normative economics
The only way you can make money off something like a currency is if demand > supply. What determines the supply? Solving problems with machines and energy only the 1% can afford. What determines the demand? The early bitcoin adopters hyping the "currency" so that they can later offload their bitcoins to bigger fools once they have made a good investment return.
lacero··on The Most Astounding Thing in the Universe
I like the article but I don't think the conclusion is as profound as the argument builds up to.

> "If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is there, does it make a sound?"

If one reads the arguments in the article they may conclude that, because sound is produced in the brain and the brain only, our reality is created by our minds. I do not think that conclusion is straightforward. What we perceive as reality is nothing more than a "signal" that our brain interprets in a unique way. Just because a sound is a brain specific interpretation of a signal does not mean that the signal does not exist independent of the brain. The signal is there regardless of the observer. The only uniqueness is what the brain describes the signal as. To conclude that the tree does not make a "sound" I believe is just playing with words.

lacero··on What if successful startups are just lucky?
High growth start-ups are nothing but luck. How does a company built in a garage with practically no marketing budget get such high growth numbers in the initial stages (facebook, twitter, snapchat, instagram,etc)? They manage to go viral. Pure herd mentality.
lacero··on Ask HN: How can a college student quickly launch a mobile startup?
I have a website built with ruby on rails which I was hoping could be converted to a webservice. I would really like to use Ruby on Rails so that the website can be used as an html front end and webserive simultaneously (if this is good practice).

I'll take a look a phonegap. That name seems to be popping up a lot in google searches.

lacero··on Ask HN: What are the obstacles to learning on your own?
Hint: It's something to do with the ability to focus on what is important at the right moment in time.
lacero··on The Student Loan Bubble is Starting To Burst
There is a fixed number of existing jobs. Mooc, for-profit and state schools all produce people who have to compete for the same jobs. The only solution to debt and employment is to make certain processes/jobs more efficient so that the extra time can be used to create new and better products/services/companies.
lacero··on Ask HN: How to best acquire theoretical computer science knowledge?
Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold

You will learn everything from logic gates/transistors to software.

lacero··on Moore's Law Dead by 2022, Expert Says
The five performance bottlenecks: algorithms, programming language or compiler, operating system, processor, I/O system and devices.

One almost down I'm sure the I/O system will reach a wall soon as well. Only thing left is to optimize the software.

lacero··on Giant Robotic Mining Trucks in the Australian Desert
This reminds me of programming the lego nxt robot to move foam blocks for a college robotics class. Amazing what algorithms can do with the right hardware!
lacero··on Send payouts with Stripe
Interac.ca email money transfer
lacero··on Ask HN: What is C++ for you?
I hear it's hard to learn but very powerful when mastered. It looks like its used extensively in embedded systems and high performance computing domains such as in the financial markets. I would learn it but it seems like java is the more marketable standard language.