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steveads

41 karma · joined May 9, 2019

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steveads··on First Impressions with GPT-4V(ision)
I use ChatGPT fairly frequently, but am frequently annoyed at how hesitant it is to answer any question that is somewhat subjective.

From it's Pulp Fiction response: "...However, whether you personally consider "Pulp Fiction" a good movie depends on your taste in film."

To avoid this noise I often add something like this to my queries "skip any preamble or qualifications about how x is subjective" and the results are much better.

steveads··on Harvard ethics professor allegedly fabricated multiple studies
The irony is strong. Her 2018 book title: "Rebel Talent: Why It Pays to Break the Rules at Work and in Life"
steveads··on Gail.com FAQ
Funny, I read the link as 'Gmail' and didn't realize it was 'Gail' until entering the site.
steveads··on Ask HN: What habits did you achieve this year?
I've read twice as much this year as previous years.

I joined a book club back in January that meets bi-weekly. I really enjoy it and met some friends that I now see occasionally outside of our meetings.

steveads··on Ask HN: What brand of laptop do you use?
Primary computer is a desktop (i7-10700k, 16GB RAM, 3070 Ti)

Work laptop, given to me by the company, is an HP EliteBook (i7-7700U, 16GB RAM)

steveads··on Robert Sapolsky on Depression (2009)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O61I0pNPg8&t=356
steveads··on Flanderization
good luck. I love Baudrillard's philosophy but had a hard time getting through Simulacra and Simulation.
steveads··on Simulacra and Simulation
I've watched both and really enjoyed them. Good recommendations.
steveads··on Simulacra and Simulation
Not an easy book to read, but very interesting ideas. I've put it down twice after trying to get through it, but do plan on eventually finishing it.

There is a Philosophize This! episode which is quite a good introduction to Baudrillard's ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCgoKIT0Ufc&t=109s

steveads··on Show HN: A basketball hoop to maximize shots that go in [video]
Really neat project! Loved watching the video. Do you have the code in a Github repo?
steveads··on Bulgaria is the world’s fastest-shrinking country
Could you expand a bit? I'm interested in what makes Bulgaria fun and free in a way that's different from Vancouver. Thanks in advance.
steveads··on Zuckerberg Hates Warren’s Plan to Break Up Facebook. She Doesn’t Care
Thanks for your feedback. You definitely make some good points that I understand, but probably just don't weight as heavily as you do.

1) Gaining critical mass is definitely a barrier to entry for competition. I'm just less sold that Facebook's current popularity is not due to it's foothold in the space vs it's utility.

2) Economy of scale is what allows these companies to offer their services to me as 'free'. I don't really mind that Facebook or Google have taken something that is useless to me (my personal browsing history, locations, likes, etc) and found a way to monetize it if I get to use their platform for free in return.

3) I'm not sure that breaking up big tech would significantly discourage their 'moat maintaining' behavior. If anything, with additional competition introduced, wouldn't there be even more incentive to put time and resource into maintaining what majority they have?

steveads··on Zuckerberg Hates Warren’s Plan to Break Up Facebook. She Doesn’t Care
I'm unpersuaded by Warren's arguments for breaking up big tech. If her strongest concerns are that the big tech companies are anti-competitive and loose wrt privacy I think Tyler Cowen makes some strong counter arguments.

1. The big tech companies are not true monopolies. They simply offer a better service than current competitors. It's hardly set in stone that Facebook, for instance, will continue to hold it's majority in social networking.

2. I'd trust a large company like Google who has stronger data protection policies in place than the smaller alternative also in the same space.

3. Breaking up or regulating more strongly distracts some of the most productive and innovative companies.

steveads··on Cosmic Crisp Apple Launch
"22 years from cross to launch". It will be interesting to see if the time to market will be cut in the near future which could lead to an explosion of new flavours and produce products.
steveads··on Cosmic Crisp Apple Launch
seconded. Taste just as good or better than HoneyCrisp and cost less :)
steveads··on Amazon workers launch protests on Prime Day
You're totally right. Just wanted a quick easy way to estimate the minimum hit he'd take in an admittedly fictitious world where net wealth isn't tied to the company's stock price.
steveads··on Amazon workers launch protests on Prime Day
Some back of the napkin math: 650,000 Amazon workers. Let's say 600,000 are min(ish) wage and get an increase from $11/hr to $22/hr. That's a 13.2B increase per year. Jeff Bezo's net worth is 165B. Jeff Bezo's Net Worth drops 8% after one year.