HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

steven_noble

44 karma · joined April 18, 2011

http://snoble.net
submissionscomments
steven_noble··on A road could change West Africa's urban future
Genuine question: is NPR always that sloppy? Because the first screen in that visual article claimed that a particular region is experiencing unprecedented growth. Which is a massive claim, given all of history, but also impossible to fact check if the authors don't even say whether they mean population growth or economic growth or something else. The second screen was even dumber. I gave up after that.
steven_noble··on Marx's Theory of Alienation of Labor
true - let's see if i can edit the post
steven_noble··on Marx's Theory of Alienation of Labor
Seems more relevant than ever given half the things we discuss on here...
steven_noble··on Qatar helium shutdown puts chip supply chain on a two-week clock
"Helium production"? I'm assuming they're not running a fusion reactor...
steven_noble··on Should facial analysis help determine whom companies hire?
Meanwhile, even The Economist's subeditor does not understand the difference between "who" and "whom".
steven_noble··on Ask HN: How many of you are working in tech without a STEM degree?
Arts Degree -> Tech Journalist -> Self-Employed Self-Taught Consultant -> Professional Software Developer
steven_noble··on Ask HN: Should your life partner be less/more educated than yourself?
Your life partner should be someone you trust and admire and who feels that way about you. Any other criterion is a recipe for disappointment.
steven_noble··on Ask HN: What's the Most Effective Habit You've Adopted?
Mechanical pencil and a day planner
steven_noble··on DoubleClickjacking: A New type of web hacking technique
The article’s headline says it’s a new technique. The article’s body does not really say this.
steven_noble··on Ask HN: What books taught you the most about human nature?
Also, "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl
steven_noble··on Ask HN: What books taught you the most about human nature?
"What You Can Change and What You Can't" by Martin Seligman
steven_noble··on Ask HN: What did you read recently? Preferably long form, non-tech
"Radio Birdman: Retaliate First", by Murray Engleheart. First full history of the pioneering Australian proto-punk outfit.
steven_noble··on Ask HN: Chrome's CLI is undocumented and unstable. Why have it? Whom is it for?
BTW, "whom" is an object, "who" is a subject.
steven_noble··on Ask HN: Chrome's CLI is undocumented and unstable. Why have it? Whom is it for?
The main reason I know for using those switches is when running Chrome headlessly for automated browser tests. I'm sure they have other uses I haven't come across. The fact that the flags are specific to the version of Chrome you are running is not a big deal when you typically specify the version in your test harness anyway.
steven_noble··on Why doesn't Economic Marxism get as much attention as Cultural Marxism?
Because "economic Marxism" is Marxism, and "cultural Marxism" is not Marxism
steven_noble··on Ask HN: What music blogs do you like?
https://i94bar.com/

Mostly focused on the sound that was retrospectively called 'proto-punk' when it emerged in the US (MC5, Stooges, Patti Smith, etc) and Australia (especially Radio Birdman) and elsewhere just before punk.

But it's a sound that you can still hear in many bands today that were born long after that era. Especially in bands like The Hellacopters, etc.

steven_noble··on Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?
Most of mine are listed here already. Four are worth adding: fusion, for audio, pixelmator, for images, Kitty, the terminal, and Alfred, which is like raycast.
steven_noble··on Ask HN: What was your most humbling learning moment?
Mostly politics, where I have learned to stop predicting anything that can't be directly seen -- especially the future. For example: 1. Trump wins. I firmly predicted the opposite. To be fair, most polls predicted the same. But the lesson is to be less certain about the future. 2. No chemical weapon found in Iraq. I firmly predicted the opposite. To be fair, when that event unfolded, it was not that long since the world had last seen Iraq actually use chemical weapons against Kurdish insurgents. But the lesson is to be less certain about anything that can't be directly seen.
steven_noble··on Ask HN: Looking for a simple note taking tool
and/or Zotero
steven_noble··on Ask HN: Looking for a simple note taking tool
Personally, I find it hard to beat Vim.

But if you are looking for a free and flexible GUI alternative, maybe give Joplin a go?

steven_noble··on Study found every 1.2 hours of leisure time on computer tripled likelihood of ED
1.2 hours per day? Week? Lifetime?
steven_noble··on [dead]
Was this article written by AI?

(The grammatical flaw in the headline is the only thing making me believe it might have been written by a human.)

steven_noble··on I'm an engineer that needs to sell my services. Any good books on sales?
"The Trusted Advisor" by David Maister. (It's more about what makes you sellable than sales. And it's more than being a great engineer that makes you sellable.)
steven_noble··on Ask HN: Books you read in 2023 and recommend for 2024?
"Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World" by Emma Marris.

Can't recommend it enough.

Also:

- "The Battle of Midway", by Craig Symonds

- "Asperger's Children: The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna" by Edith Sheffer

steven_noble··on Metric Time
The film Metropolis is the first thing this brings to mind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q030WNZvXrA

steven_noble··on Ask HN: Can we please ban Political Conversations on HN?
I'm pretty sure that advocating censorship, as you are doing, is starting a political conversation on HN
steven_noble··on Ask HN: Have you ever gained any deep insight from books outside your field?
"The Language Instinct", by language psychologist Steven Pinker, gave me a new way of thinking about the old nature/nurture issue.

The easy solution has always been to say "Nature? Nurture? It's a bit of both". But really, that invites the response: "Both nature and nurture? Sure. Of course. But both of them in what way?"

In the case of language it's really interesting. It seems that biologically, we are very very strongly primed to learn language ("nature"). And to learn it in certain ways and at certain life stages.

But of course, at the same, the language or languages that we learn are incredibly diverse, and these differences do not map in any way to the physical differences between our bodies ("nurture").

So, in the case of human language, that's "the how" for how nature and nurture come together. Maybe it applies to other areas too where the nature/nurture debate still rages.

steven_noble··on Ask HN: Mac Apps You Pay For?
Pixelmator; Rogue Amoeba's Fusion; Alfred; DevUtils; Dash; Taio; Hook; GoodLinks
steven_noble··on Is anyone genuinely happy at work?
I have been at various times in the past. But that beautiful state has only ever lasted a year or two before capitalism, managerial incompetence or some other factor tore it all down again.
steven_noble··on Elizabeth Holmes bought one-way ticket to Mexico after convicted of fraud
I read the whole article and most of the comments and I could not see any mention of whose bail money she was presumably willing to set on fire. I’m picturing mummy and daddy being turfed out of a palatial home by the sherif, all while stoically defending their daughter, but some actual facts would be nice.
Page 1 of 2Next →