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rossenberg79

37 karma · joined April 17, 2019

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rossenberg79··on Senior Developers Are Getting Rejected for Jobs
My main problem with programming interviews is that I can’t use external references to do them, which is totally not how I work. Even if I know how to solve something off the top of my head, I generally do a search to make sure there aren’t better ways of doing something that I don’t know about, and also to build confidence in my chosen solution. This is how I have discovered most best practices over my career.

If I’m given a task to solve some weird algorithmic CS problem, the first step would be to go to google and research the problem. If it’s solved, I implement that solution.

When there is no solution, I will put pen to paper and work it out myself. But that could take an unpredictable amount of time, and doesn’t help if someone is constantly watching me work or forcing me to explain what I’m thinking, because I think much faster than I can explain, and some lines of thoughts lead to dead ends, which can make people grow impatient with pointless explanations of things that will never work.

Of course, in an interview you can’t just use Google to solve everything, because interviewers will snigger and say “tHiS gUy DoEsN’t KnOw sHiT”, never mind that this is probably how 99% of developers work given the amount of questions and code reuse that is out there. It’s just not realistic.

rossenberg79··on What Happened with Supermicro?
I know a cybersecurity professional who was contracted by a hedgefund to investigate the claims by reverse engineering and present a report so it’s not entirely unlikely.
rossenberg79··on CO2 in the atmosphere just exceeded 415ppm for the first time in human history
Because if you live in the first world, like most of these companies, you will feel the effects of climate change the least. Climate change is a bigger problem for developing nations with birth rates way too high and limited resources.
rossenberg79··on During Cold War, CIA Plucked Soviet Submarine from Ocean Floor Using Giant Claw
> Better times than ours.

Not sure why it’s necessary to make a slight against our times? Even Osama Bin Laden was given a proper burial at sea, and he wasn’t even a soldier, he was a damn criminal. We didn’t even use photos of his remains for propaganda.

rossenberg79··on The AI That's Too Dangerous to Release
For those who do not see the danger of advanced AI generated text being rolled out everywhere, imagine a web where you have to carefully read everything you see in order to determine if it’s written by a human before you can start to take the text seriously.

That means no more skimming threads to get the gist of what people are saying, no more skimming through answers on stackoverflow, no more skimming through articles.

An article that looks reasonable on a cursory glance only begins to fall apart when you spend (waste) time reading it carefully.

It also means anyone posting content must spend extra effort proving they are a human for their readers.

rossenberg79··on For many young South Koreans, dating is too expensive, or too dangerous
So what?
rossenberg79··on For many young South Koreans, dating is too expensive, or too dangerous
No, civilization is not becoming inhospitable to humans, this is literally the best time in history to be alive, civilization has never been more hospitable than it is today.

We really do not need more humans, we are not an endangered species. The only reason we think we do is because many societies have essentially created Ponzi schemes where the welfare of the elderly generation relies on ever increasing numbers of younger generations, which will inevitably become unsustainable.

rossenberg79··on How Old Are Successful Tech Entrepreneurs? (2018)
No, it isn’t. And I’ve said this before, a 45 year old has a grip on life that an early 20 something can’t even conceive of, especially if they’ve just lived a fairly easy life sailing through school and college thus far.

A 45 year old has a better idea of how life can be improved in ways that matter, and has the connections and skills to capitalize on it. Sorry kids, the big dogs will eat your lunch.

rossenberg79··on Diabetes complications soar in US, but not Canada, as teens become young adults
Research in pharma is expensive, you can easily spend billions and have nothing to show for it. Where else do you think all that money comes from?
rossenberg79··on Diabetes complications soar in US, but not Canada, as teens become young adults
Logically maybe we shouldn’t, but humans aren’t known for doing everything logically. If you know someone is in trouble and you have the ability to rescue them it is human nature to do it, no matter the cost.
rossenberg79··on Diabetes complications soar in US, but not Canada, as teens become young adults
> The US public has been subsidizing pharmaceutical research for the entire world with these inflated prices and hopefully that changes soon.

This is what some people refuse to acknowledge when they mock the US for having such high prices. If US prices drop over night to match RoW pharma companies are not just going to go quietly into that good night, there will be consequences. Most likely, a lowering of US prices will result in a rise everywhere else, so enjoy your low prices while they last. It’s time for Americans to put America first.

rossenberg79··on Fasting Affects the Brain
12% is not that low, but hardly weeks worth of energy needs.
rossenberg79··on Fasting Affects the Brain
What if you are low on fat stores?
rossenberg79··on Fasting Affects the Brain
I stopped doing fasts because even though I did notice a boost to my productivity, most of it was due to not having to stop in the middle of the day to eat or waste time thinking about eating. In terms of cognitive benefits, going for a run for 30 minutes in the morning still seemed far superior.
rossenberg79··on Basic Income as Common Dividends: Piloting a Transformative Policy
Indeed, as housing becomes prohibitively expensive everywhere that people want to live in the US, I doubt someone living off basic income will even be able to afford any kind of home.

If however, we had government built apartment buildings that could be partitioned out and made available for free only to those who need it, that would actually help solve real problems, and wouldn’t even disrupt those who depend on their property values rising. Imagine such buildings right here in San Francisco.

rossenberg79··on Basic Income as Common Dividends: Piloting a Transformative Policy
> I believe people know and should have control of how they spend a basic income.

Why? If it’s not being spent on those things anyway isn’t the person just making a financial mistake?

rossenberg79··on Basic Income as Common Dividends: Piloting a Transformative Policy
Not really, all property is still owned by the individuals exclusively.
rossenberg79··on Basic Income as Common Dividends: Piloting a Transformative Policy
Have any proponents of Basic Income policies ever proposed instead of handing out money, we hand out tangible assets instead? A basic house, clothing, food, access to education and healthcare (and maybe some transportation in less walkable areas) seems like it would cover everything a person needs to live without any other source of income, and through economies of scale these things could all become cheaper to provide as opposed to having to depend on sources of money to fund dividends.
rossenberg79··on A Psychedelic Renaissance
It may not always pass. Sometimes you get DPDR and you’re trapped in an endless hell from which few escape. Be careful out there.
rossenberg79··on Amazon Is Gobbling Up Failed Malls [video]
Why should we care if they go out of business? If they shutdown and bow out won’t newer, useful businesses pop up in their place? I see no reason to treat a small shop like an endangered species that must be preserved. Preserved for what? Most people won’t go there anymore.

Example: There was a fairly large Mom and a Pop retail store here that shutdown once Walmart moved in. What opened in its place? A massive rock climbing facility with 40 foot walls. It has enriched the community and given people something to do other than just roaming aisles looking for crap to buy and not talk to each other.

rossenberg79··on Ask HN: When have you taken a decision in code outside your domain of expertise?
Trust goes both ways, if you are going to reprimand me in the future for implementing a needed feature but then go ahead and use it anyway and even take credit for it then I will gaslight you next time the same problem comes up.
rossenberg79··on Ask HN: When have you taken a decision in code outside your domain of expertise?
On small things like this it’s easy to just gaslight people into thinking they told you it was ok. You can just explain it was such a small detail they probably don’t remember you brought it up and they said it was ok. If they say no, just double down and keep insisting and as long as there are no records of your conversations you will win.
rossenberg79··on 82% of vehicles sold this year came with a touch screen
Super easy, the buttons are big and easy to touch and provide haptic feedback.
rossenberg79··on My Husband Became a Poster Child of the Post-Antibiotic Era
Not scary at all. This is just life, and we must endure it.

Keep in mind at the same time this is happening we also have to deal with climate change and not blowing ourselves up in all out Nuclear War. And even if we avoid all that you could still step outside and be shot or stabbed by a ruffian who leaves you dead all the same.

rossenberg79··on 82% of vehicles sold this year came with a touch screen
Have you tried the new Audi A7’s interface? Pretty great, especially with CarPlay.
rossenberg79··on Proteins central to the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease act as prions – study
The worst part is that while articles about a disease like this are a mere annoyance to us, for people with loved ones with the disease or suffering from the disease itself it becomes a cruel joke.

These are people who scour the internet looking for any information they can find and carefully read articles like this looking for a bit of hope that there may be a solution. But it’s bullshit. Don’t share these articles, for their sake.

rossenberg79··on WeWork Files for IPO
There’s lots of reasons to hate WeWork, but not giving a tour isn’t one of them. If they did that for you and a few others then word would get around that you don’t really need appointments for tours and that would cause other problems. Nothing personal.
rossenberg79··on Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide
There’s a good reason why these sort of products are marketed as meatless and not vegetarian, and it’s not because they still contain some animal products.

When a true vegetarian is hungry, the first thing that comes to their minds are plant based foods. If the first though is of juicy burgers or bacon or chicken then that person is not a real vegetarian. To be vegetarian is to be vegetarian in mind and identity.

Meatless options are things you offer to omnivores. If you do not identify as a vegetarian, many people will likely not even consider vegetarian options unless you think they offer some benefit for you to reach a goal.

rossenberg79··on Ask HN: Are you put off building something because it already exists?
I always tell people there is no point in worrying about whether or not someone has already started building your idea first, what you should worry about is the person who will come after you with your same idea, but better.
rossenberg79··on My Billion Dollar Mistake
No, that would be stupid and lazy. The cumulative effort of pushing the button is far more than the initial overhead and they just can’t realize that because they are too stupid.
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