moh_maya

apparently on the darkweb, etc [1], among other leaks [2,3]. To be fair, the issue doesn't appear to be with the aadhaar database itself but the many agencies that use / store the data but do not protect it properly. Poor to non-existent data handling practices, limited understanding of privacy risks at the end user level..

Aadhaar has been transformational; but I hope we don't go down the path of the US SSN: one of the simplest vectors for massive identity theft in the US. I don't think we will, but it does appear that there are significant teething issues that could be better addressed if the powers that be were more willing to acknowledge shortcomings instead of saying the data is protected by 13 feet walls. [4]

[1] https://www.moneylife.in/article/aadhaar-data-breach-largest...

[2] https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/major-aadhaar-d...

[3] https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/31/aadhaar-data-leak/

[4] https://www.news18.com/news/india/aadhaar-data-protected-by-...

Fair point; I think we both probably agree that there was a lot of needless hysteria. However, the ability to decompile / reverse engineer the app itself was explicitly disallowed in the app ToS [1]:

“...You agree that you will not tamper with, reverse-engineer or otherwise use the App for any purpose for which it was not intended including, but not limited to, accessing information about registered users stored in the App, identifying or attempting to identify other registered users or gaining or attempting to gain access to the cloud database of the Service.”

exposing the software engineer / group that did it & published the analysis to significant harassment & risk.

One could argue that this was for data protection, but it reeks of security through obscurity, especially the way the clause is worded (including but not restricted to). Whatever the intentions, the initial roll-out was a disaster from the transparency / info-sec PoV IMO.

[1] https://sflc.in/our-concerns-aarogya-setu-app

edit: added link to the Software Freedom Law Center India site with details on the clause prohibiting reverse engineering

How does one do proper "technical analysis" without access to the code, or knowing the architecture? None of those were available when the app was released. Was the shrill noise over the top? IMO, perhaps; but that does not detract from the fact that the application was just announced, with mandatory use if you had to travel (now diluted to encouraged), without any transparency..

National herald is not an unbiased source; it's clearly anti-current incumbent govt, but the argument that people were criticizing without "technical analysis" when no data was provided nor were they (initially) open to even sharing the code for scrutiny, makes me wonder how one could have assumed the app did what it said on the tin, except by blindly trusting the govt.

Which, personally, I'm not a fan of. There is a reason the US federal govt is constrained by the 1st amendment, and not private corps. Govts are unique entities in our societies, with a monopoly on multiple forms of power, and their oversight should be held to a higher standard (again, IMO)

No, what would have put all the legitimate concerns to rest would have been:

a) transparency into who the developers are, and what the terms of engagement are

b) even if they didn't / couldn't open source the code from the get go, a clear date and target of when they would do so

c) even before the app was launched, a single one page document of the architecture, the regulations governing data retention, etc (all were released post facto, after the "fake news" and "privacy noise").

Concerns about the govt collecting massive, potentially identifiable data on an individual level for an application that they originally mandated everyone had to use to travel, is not "fake news". Perhaps one may feel such concern was unwarranted (and I disagree there), but how is that "fake news"?

We may have differences of opinion on the level of trust one can have on govts, but I'm sure we can agree that transparency and visibility into such critical decisions is reasonable to demand and expect.

Some of Stephen Baxter's [1] books in the xeelee sequence explore a sci-fi version of this [2]; it's a fascinating ride, if you are interested in thinking of how sci-fi has dealt with this..

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Baxter_(author)

[2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_(Baxter_novel)

Agreed. I do the same circuit (AMD/BOM/BLR) on a regular (read almost monthly) basis, and the ability to stick with ola or uber is a blessing that eliminates so much friction when I'm travelling!

India has one of the lowest police officers to population ratio in the world, with 144 policemen to 100,000 citizens [1].Significanty, large majority of the policemen do not even carry guns or even tasers. The public trust of the police is also fairly low.

People are staying in and following the curfew because thanks to a robust media ecosystem and insane connectivity facilitated by cheap data plans and accessible smart phones, most folks are aware of the severity of the challenge confronting the country.

There are significant issues, especially with testing and the plight of the unorganised migrant labour, with how this is playing out, many due to simply the massive scale and relatively poor Indian state capacity, as well as some political football from all players involved.

Nonetheless, a large reason why people are "complying" with the lockdown is (IMO) because of a lot of awareness and a high degree of social responsibility.

It is difficult to imagine how the microscopic "blue line", or khakhi line, in India, as it were, could "force compliance" in this situation if the society at large did not accept that it was required.

This argument that the large majority of the population is complying due to fear of the police or authorities is (IMO) a disservice to the maturity demonstrated by the Indian society.

I can only hope the Indian govt and political class can step up to the plate and manage the exit and restart of the economy with the same maturity and sagacity.

[1] https://www.livemint.com/news/india/india-s-police-force-amo...

Edit: added link and clarified 2 sentences to improve readability

Snowcrash and Thief of Time! What an amazing juxtaposition :)

I guess, for me, context matters (and reasonable people can disagree here! :) )

We are in the middle of a pandemic that may take years to resolve. One way (and the way I am interpreting this post, in the absence of any note from the OP) is that they believe the current events fit a pattern that's predicted / described in the Bible.

That worries me, because it implies a series of beliefs that don't have a basis in reality yet continue to drive poor decision making across multiple domains affecting millions. Faith has its place, but that place is not in driving discussions or decision-making during a pandemic, except for individual / personal succour...

Granted this goes against the house rules to make the most positive interpretation of intent, but., given the extant political climate, strongman leaders (globally) who challenge, abuse and distrust erudition, often hand in glove with antediluvian revisionist, communal groups, it is a challenging thing to do. :)

Should we also share / discuss the 2012 Mayan end of the calendar articles? Or some of the many prophecies of Nostradamus, or many other seers and beliefs that portend an end to civilization and the world?

I guess I am not sure what the point of sharing this link on HN is, except to discuss mythology.

Rather like that book of fiction by Dean Koontz in 1981 describing the "corona virus" [1]

To quote from the article, "A speculative anticipation of a possibility is very different than a 'prediction".

Confirmation bias comes to mind too.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dean-koontz-predicted-coro...

Edit: clarified a sentence

"The implications of superdeterminism, if it is true, would bring into question the value of science itself by destroying falsifiability, as Anton Zeilinger has commented" [1]

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdeterminism

An LA Times article [1] on the solar power plant suggests it can supply 6-7% of LA's annual electricity needs and deliver upto 4 hours of power each night.

I don't read that as 100% of LA's night time power requirements each night for 4 hours though; rather, that it can continue supplying at a steady rate 4 hours after Sun down. It's not nearly a replacement for base load power.

[1] https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2019-09-10/ladwp-v...

I don't know if fossil fuels, especially natural gas, will be substantially replaced from the energy mix till we figure out massive high density power storage mechanisms at scale.

Fossil fuels provide base load power that, without storage, we simply cannot rely on most renewables to directly substitute. The only alternative has been, and likely will continue to be, nuclear power, which has its own set of challenges.

If you accept this contention, then the big driver / trigger / marker for the "end of fossil fuels as bulk power sources" is the development and at scale deployment of power storage. And I don't see compelling evidence that is happening anytime soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7zk4as9kzA : for those interested. I think it is one of the all time classics.

Isn't Pareto a power law distribution?

So, interesting as the article is, there are two layers of caution one must exercise in interpreting the results.

#1. The experiments were conducted in mouse models. Mouse models are remarkably useful, but are NOT human equivalents. It's dangerous to draw a straight line between human behaviour and behaviour in mice. [1]

#2. Gut microbiome is the latest in the hype train. It may be important, but again, drawing such a straight (even speculative) line between gut microbiomes and behaviour is.. a reach [2,3,4].

Basically, I am, in general, very wary of any reports or articles that attempt to map results in mice to human behaviour and reports of the gut microbiomes driving autism / Alzheimer's / fear / what have you. This report combines both, so it gets extra red flags, IMO.

Just my 2 cents.. not saying this isn't possible, but the bar for assuming this is true is very very high. And the results in the paper are a small first step in a very very long process required to substantiate this hypothesis.

[1] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325255.php#1

[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-019-0283-5

[3] https://www.nature.com/news/microbiology-microbiome-science-...

[4] https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/hyping-the-microbiom...

so, thinking fast and slow has received a fair amount of criticism, both here on HN and elsewhere. Some previous threads & links that may be of interest (and perhaps value!) to you. Start with this:

[0] https://retractionwatch.com/2017/02/20/placed-much-faith-und...

[1] https://www.wenglinskyreview.com/wenglinsky-review-a-journal...

[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/8lnlmt/is_t...

[3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12030791

Just to be clear, I think its a great book; but there are, apparently, as for all things human, limitations & errors here and there. :)

To quote just one interesting thing (for me):

"Hagfish slime is made of two different kinds of protein. One is a type of mucin, which acts much like the mucus that the human body uses to drown bacteria and viral intruders in antibodies and enzymes.

The other protein is in the form of tiny threads that are 100 times thinner than human hairs. These strong and stretchy threads act a lot like spider silk.

....

At any given time, a hagfish has about 20,000 km of fibers inside its body, ready to go"

Re reservatol:

The jury is out in terms of its efficacy, or lack thereof. [1,2]

[1] https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/resveratrol-the-hype-con...

[2] https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/diet-rich-resveratrol-of...

Re. David Sinclair [3]:

"Despite his enthusiasm, published scientific research has not yet demonstrated the molecule works in humans as it does in mice. Sinclair, however, has a considerable financial stake in his claims being proven correct, and has lent his scientific prowess to commercializing possible life extension products such as molecules known as “NAD boosters.”

His financial interests include being listed as an inventor on a patent licensed to Elysium Health, a supplement company that sells a NAD booster in pills for $60 a bottle. He’s also an investor in InsideTracker, the company that he says measured his age."

[3] https://khn.org/news/a-fountain-of-youth-pill-sure-if-youre-...

[2016]

Has anyone tried Microsoft sculpt [1]? I use the 4000 series [2], and that's been amazing..

[1] https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en-us/products/keyboar...

[2] https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en-us/products/keyboar...

The article is from 2016. A lot has changed since then..

A medium article by the founder of Gumroad on the same topic [1]. Well written & articulated, IMO.

"It took years for me to realize my pursuit of growth was misguided from the start"

[1] https://medium.com/s/story/reflecting-on-my-failure-to-build...

Heart burn meds are often Mg Oxide or sulfate, which isn't that well absorbed. [1,2] for anxiety and depression, Mg Citrate works well, as does Mg Glycinate [3]

Just a heads up.

[1]http://www.kumc.edu/school-of-medicine/family-medicine/integ...

[2]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/2407766/

[3] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evolutionary-psychia...

I am not an astrophysicist (or a physicist even) but one piece of evidence that may be useful here:

Based on our understanding of the nuclear fusion reactions, starting from hydrogen, we expect to see, for a star of a given light / radiation spectrum (viz. Young stars, old, white dwarfs, super giants, etc ), emit spectra lines indicative of different elements such as H, He, O, C, etc. [1]. Young stars may not have all the "heavier elements", older stars do. Their relative abundance also changes with age.

Our models & predictions of stellar nuclear fusion (afaik) correspond very well with the specific emission spectra we detect for different star types. Which also corresponds very well to the size / lifetime of star, etc.

So, the data is very very consistent with nuclear fusion happening in stars.

Now, it may be possible that they are just the "other ends" of white holes. But if it were so, then the model becomes far mode complex, plus, where are all the black holes? While I do not know if the total number / mass of all extant blackholes is as much as the total stellar mass, I would suspect it's far far lesser. Probably wouldn't add up.

This is just the first explanation that came to my mind. I am certain there are others.

Again, this is a non-physicist's lay analysis. Take it FWIW. :)

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_spectroscopy

From Terry Pratchett's "Guards, Guards" [1]

"One of the Patrician’s greatest contributions to the reliable operation of Ankh-Morpork had been, very early in his administration, the legalising of the ancient Guild of Thieves. Crime was always with us, he reasoned, and therefore, if you were going to have crime, it at least should be organised crime.

And so the Guild had been encouraged to come out of the shadows and build a big Guildhouse, take their place at civic banquets, and set up their training college with day-release courses and City and Guilds certificates and everything. In exchange for the winding down of the Watch, they agreed, while trying to keep their faces straight, to keep crime levels to a level to be determined annually. That way, everyone could plan ahead, said Lord Vetinari, and part of the uncertainty had been removed from the chaos that is life.

And then, a little while later, the Patrician summoned the leading thieves again and said, oh, by the way, there was something else. What was it, now? Oh, yes…

I know who you are, he said. I know where you live. I know what kind of horse you ride. I know where your wife has her hair done. I know where your lovely children, how old are they now, my, doesn’t time fly, I know where they play. So you won’t forget about what we agreed, will you? And he smiled.

So did they, after a fashion."

[1] https://discworldquotes.tumblr.com/post/150983136815/one-of-...

Previous discussion on HN [1].

Re. the orbit, note that this was a test in LEO, at 300 km orbit; all the debris will, in relatively short order, be de-orbited. [2]

While I will not indulge in the whataboutism of CN & USA conducting these, one potential strategic reason for India to test was to ensure a their perspective was heard at the (then) upcoming discussions on the "Space Peace Treaty" [3]. It's tempting to say such symbols of act & intent do not matter, but they force others to take you seriously & engage with you. India was excluded from the NSG and many other such programs in the past.

FWIW, please do not trivialize the realities & complexities of geopolitics by simplistic moral grand-standing. While undesirable, there were real domestic & international reasons to conduct the test. To treat such a decision as mere posturing, or some sort of crude symbolism, ignores the context within which such decisions are taken, and presumes that the technocrats who took these decisions did so unmindful of the consequences.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19590936 [2] https://in.reuters.com/article/us-india-satellite/india-says... [3] https://phys.org/news/2019-03-space-peace-treaty-consensus.h...

The argument you appear to be making (as I interpret it) is equivalent to saying some members of the Freedom caucus support neo-Nazis / "alt-right", therefore all conservatives are now proponents of eugenics & "white nationalism" or some equivalently loaded term.

I mean, democrats are still white, by large majorities..so they "hate themselves"?

Such simplistic analysis of something so complicated seems.. trivialization to the point of no meaning. This just appears to be trolling for effect's sake..or venting. I know HN's guidelines suggest not attributing motive..but this appears to be such a rancorous post..

Damn. Thanks for the link. I was just speculating..

I don't think the authors are drawing a casual effect here; in effect, this is scientific anecdata: hey, we tried this and this happened. We think you should know.

I think it's great they published the result, even if the n=1.

Assuming this is due to the fecal transplant, it just goes to show, we are messing with a major functional system in the body. And we should tread very very carefully. Scary..

And you don't know what downsides fecal transplants may have. There's clear preliminary evidence that gut microbiomes can drive obesity. Imagine giving someone who is not obese / diabetic a fecal transplant to treat depression.

That doesn't work (the treating depression part), but suddenly, this person becomes more susceptible to obesity / develops diabetes.

These things must not be rushed into!