mellow

Probably not, but I've met some people with incredibly high innate intelligence and poor formal education. Really amazing/scary at the same time.

lol

Don't automatically laugh at or dismiss ideas you think are stupid. That's what stupid people do.

Hacker means many things. If someone submitted a story or tadpoles I would read it, because the intent may be the 'hack'.

What 'What...?'?

I think many students fantasize a future for themselves and for many it is a safe, steady, well paid job in business. So they think 'business studies'.

A lot of the most successful business men (and women) have come via unconventional routes. And these people often have their own company.

Conclusion? A successful business may be all down to luck.

The first rule for smart people is intellectual honesty. The medium is not relevant.

What the feck has KFC got to do with it?

Really? So you have blinkers on when it comes to new ideas? Like, tell Edison to go somewhere else - somewhere they go to bed early and get up early 'cos that is what the sun does?

Actually, I like the 'tone' aspect of your argument. Can I steal it?

'Wealth', as in how many Yankee dollars you have is relative. I understand all the arguments about absolute wealth, and it is true that my parents (and I) are absolutely wealthier than 60 years ago.

Now, here this: millions of people are starving to death every year. Starving from lack off food, water, ideas and hope. And Obama isn't gonna change it one bit.

I just up-voted you. I know it is against the rules to say so, and it is a trivial statement to make, but I did laugh as I clicked the mouse button!

He has posted more comments than I have which could be considered Trollish.

To be fair, POTUS is one of the most important people in the World. His team should be reading news.ycombinator.com for many (I would have thought, obvious) reasons.

I thought the one about Aliens was prescient. Oh well.

Interesting. 'About 1/2 of the human population suffers from poverty.' Well, let them die so everyone can be wealthy. Can you see the flaw in my argument?

I don't think I have a ceiling on the price I would pay for an iPhone business/productivity app. I would pay hundreds of £/$/€ if the app made me that much in return.

Posted any interesting Submissions, yourself?

Wealth is relative. Since the Baby Boomers' DoB, many people have got wealthier, many more have got poorer. This is not coincidental.

"dramatic reductions in global poverty", lmfao. Quote me wrong.

'The Baby Boom Generation will never be mistaken for the Greatest Generation that survived the Great Depression and defeated evil in a World War that killed 72 million people', is one of the greatest opening sentences I have ever read.

Almost as good as 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way'

I realise they would have done this already if they could. I was thinking more in the medium term - the next 3-5 years?

If you are struggling with RoR, I would recommend doing a 1-5 day online tutorial on Ruby (the length depends on how quickly you can pick it up). I skipped pure Ruby and went straight to RoR. In retrospect this was a mistake as a grounding in Ruby would have saved me a lot of pain.

This is incredible. If astronomers analyse the spectra of the planets they can now image and find oxygen, methane and CO2 in certain proportions, the only conclusion will be life. Imagine if they find the spectral lines from chemicals produced by an industrial, polluting society!

Does anyone know if Porsche are well connected politically? I'm starting to suspect that the markets are being manipulated (well, opportunities are being taken at the very least) and given that governments are moving against private business (nationalising banks etc), this is a worry. Are Porsche privy to insider information they have used to their benefit? Before you scoff, consider that all European countries intercept communications within their borders. It's generally accepted that they do this for financial leverage, not to fight terrorism.

I see this coming to the West very soon. When the socially engineered 'everyone is a winner' generation AKA Generation-Y realises real life bears no relation to the one they are taught in school and increasingly college/university, we may be in for a shock. We may find we have a generation of young professionals who run a mile when presented with the prospect of management.

I would use a 3D printer to make another 3D printer.

I'd say now is a good time to hide yourself away, work like crazy then emerge into the sunlight when the storm clouds pass - as inevitably they must - with something amazing, shiny and new.

Hmmm... The Economist is a UK magazine, isn't it? There is a suggestion that another UK publication - The Guardian - helped win the election for GW four years ago when it asked its readers to write to American voters in swing states pleading with them not to re-elect Bush. If I recall correctly, many recipients were angry at this perceived interference in US affairs (from the former Colonial Masters, of all people!) and this may have persuaded them to vote Bush although initially they were wavering.