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namlem

1,760 karma · joined June 20, 2013

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namlem··on The Dunning-Kruger effect may just be a data artefact (2020)
Confirmation bias. You don't notice when people back down from their bad takes because that's normal and expected. Or possibly just selection bias if you are in situations where people are more likely to be arrogant.
namlem··on Malus – Clean Room as a Service
Right. People who only intermittently engage in such behaviors should be treated differently than people who consistently engage in them.
namlem··on OpenCode – Open source AI coding agent
How much of the development is being done by humans?
namlem··on Malus – Clean Room as a Service
There is an upside: oppressing people who consistently engage in antisocial behavior is good and necessary.
namlem··on Malus – Clean Room as a Service
Imperfect enforcement is a feature as often as it is a bug. You can't make "antisocial behavior" in general illegal but you can make certain behaviors (loitering, public intoxication) illegal and selectively enforce against only those who are behaving in an antisocial manner. Of course the other edge of this sword is using this discretion to blanket discriminate against racial or class groups.
namlem··on IDF killed Gaza aid workers at point blank range in 2025 massacre: Report
It's not that surprising. Ask the average Jordinian about their opinion of Palestinians some time. Ask an Egyptian or a Syrian if they think their countries should take in Palestinian refugees. The regional Muslim Arabs all hate them too.
namlem··on IDF killed Gaza aid workers at point blank range in 2025 massacre: Report
Israel wasn't bombing those neighborhoods for revenge, they were doing it because Hamas build militarized tunnels under dense civilian neighborhoods.
namlem··on IDF killed Gaza aid workers at point blank range in 2025 massacre: Report
People with historical trauma are far more likely to inflict further wrongs than people without historical trauma. This is the case for individual trauma too. It has always been this way.
namlem··on EU bans the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing, accessories and footwear
Typical Eurocrat meddling in people's affairs. The owners of those items should be free to do whatever they want. If the government is concerend about environmental damage, they should raise landfill fees or tax carbon, not limit what firms are allowed to do with their own things.
namlem··on Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?
That's a matter of opinion. The US has its faults, but overall it's quite easy to have a very high quality of life here, and to live a huge variety of different lifestyles if that suits you.
namlem··on New York’s budget bill would require “blocking technology” on all 3D printers
NJ and CA. You can't make guns at all in NJ, and you need a firearm permit to buy an airgun or bb gun.
namlem··on Over 36,500 killed in Iran's deadliest massacre, documents reveal
A lot of Iranians would probably love for us to send weapons. There are videos of Iranians celebrating the bombings of IRGC bases during the 12-day war.
namlem··on Over 36,500 killed in Iran's deadliest massacre, documents reveal
Ukraine didn't attack Russia. Hamas attacked Israel.
namlem··on Student arrested for eating AI art in UAF gallery protest
They should keep the chewed up pieces and make it part of the exhibit.
namlem··on Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales
There is a market for luxury electric pick-ups, and it's dominated by Rivian.
namlem··on Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales
Making it look too much like a regular F-150 was a mistake. You need the vehicle to look distinctive enough for it to market itself.
namlem··on New bill would revive single-room occupancy apartments in NYC
Yep. If eviction rules aren't loosened, these SROs will only be rented to people with >700 credit scores just like normal apartments. The people who need them most still won't get them.
namlem··on Microsoft doesn't understand the dislike for Windows' new direction
This makes no sense. Putting the AI issue aside, do Microsoft employees not get annoyed by file explorer frequently hanging or crashing?
namlem··on 'The French people want to save us': help pours in for glassmaker Duralex
There are many successful co-ops all over the world, including in the US. You just don't hear about them because they don't look much different from corporations from the perspective of the average person.
namlem··on Why top firms fire good workers
Unions often end up decreasing productivity due to added bureaucracy, leading to ultimately worse compensation in the long run.
namlem··on NASA chief suggests SpaceX may be booted from moon mission
We definitely cannot build a self sustaining civilization on the moon.
namlem··on NASA chief suggests SpaceX may be booted from moon mission
This would be such a dumb move on the government's part. "Lose the new space race" is ridiculous PR-brain. We are not racing to the same goal! China is trying to land on the moon, we are trying to establish a permanent presence. There is no value to merely returning to the moon to say we did it, and Starship is the only vehicle that can plausibly deliver huge quantities of cargo to the lunar surface.
namlem··on A competitor crippled a $23.5M bootcamp by becoming a Reddit moderator
Subject matter and UX. HN has to remain its 2005 era minimally functional self to keep people out.
namlem··on An LLM is a lossy encyclopedia
Encyclopedias are already lossy. Top LLMs seem to be less lossy than top encyclopedias tbh.
namlem··on Electric cars produce less brake dust pollution than combustion-engine cars
Less brake dust but more tire dust for cars of similar size due to the greater weight.
namlem··on I deleted my entire social media presence before visiting the US – I'm a citizen
This is just more nonsensical fear-mongering for clicks.
namlem··on Random selection is necessary to create stable meritocratic institutions
That's not evidence of jury bias on its own. You have to control for prosecution rates and rates of actual guilt.
namlem··on Random selection is necessary to create stable meritocratic institutions
Well we mostly know what positions these groups were pushing for. It's possible that some influence went unnoticed.

That said, the US used to have quite a lot of juror bribery in the late 1800s and managed to successfully crack down on it with harsh penalties, sting operations, and other strategies. Attempting to bribe a juror can get you 15 years in federal prison in the US, it's not taken lightly.

namlem··on Why random selection is necessary to create stable meritocratic institutions
Voters thought Donald Trump and Joe Biden had merit. Clearly the voters are not a trustworthy source of discernment.

That is not because voters are stupid. It is because they are rationally ignorant. Why spend hours researching the issues and candidates for a 1 in 10 million chance of having an impact? It makes no sense. However, if we instead convened "elector juries" of a couple hundred randomly selected citizens and gave them the resources to carefully research and vet the candidates before deliberating on who is best, I think they would do a pretty good job.

namlem··on Random selection is necessary to create stable meritocratic institutions
The French government and private interest groups alike attempted to manipulate the Citizens Convention for Climate back in 2019 and were not successful fwiw. When lobbyists tried to approach delegates outside the convention, they were quickly snitched on. Existing legal frameworks for preventing corruption among jurors and elected officials should suffice to protect assemblies from similar influence attempts.
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