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troubleon Ask HN: Share Your Epiphanies

I was about 27 when I realised what = means. I'd always just kinda taken it to indicate something more like "and then". So 2 + 3 and then you have 5. It blew my mind to understand that = means that what's on each side of the equation is the same, just written differently. I had this epiphany after I finished an MSc. My childhood was somewhat math deficient.

troubleon Ask HN: Random upper back pain is ruining my life. At wits end. Anyone else?

Have you checked with your dentist to see whether your jaw joints (where your jaw meets your skull under your ear lobe) are equally strong?

My dentist found that one side wasn't working as well as the other and made me a custom splint (a mouthguard I wear at night) which trains the weaker side to work properly. It looks like the one on the right in this picture [0]. Since then, all of the pains on that side of my neck and upper back have disappeared.

The way you've described your pain seems similar to what I was experiencing, so maybe this information gives you something to go on.

One caveat though: my dentist said that the mouthguard approach doesn't work for everyone (about 30% of people get a result similar to mine) as it relies on fooling your brain in your sleep to train one jaw muscle to be stronger than the other.

[0] https://healthyheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/orthod...

troubleon A Man Must Do What He Must: Hammett's Pragmatism (2009)

Some context on this essay - I've been making my way through Bret Victor's collection of links [0] and started reading diSesssa's Knowledge in Pieces, which opens with this quote:

"Nobody thinks clearly, no matter what they pretend. Thinking's a dizzy business, a matter of catching as many of those foggy glimpses as you can and fitting them together the best you can. That's why people hang on so tight to their beliefs and opinions; because, compared to the haphazard way in which they arrived at, even the goofiest opinion seems wonderfully clear, sane, and self-evident. And if you let it get away from you, then you've got to dive back into that foggy muddle to wangle yourself out another to take its place.”

I didn't recognise the quote, but the author seemed familiar (Dashiell Hammett), so I looked it up and found this fascinating essay on the relationship between how Hammett's detectives thought, how Hammett himself thought, and what changed over the course of his career as his philosophical views shifted from pragmatism to Marxism.

[0] http://worrydream.com/refs/

troubleon The lost art of concentration: being distracted in a digital world

I've had a pretty similar experience. Get exercise, sleep, food and hydration under control, then (in my case) medication helps me make the most of that structure.

I actually just wrote a giant post [1] about what I've learned about managing ADHD so far. It focuses on the core stuff, but I want to follow it up with a breakdown of how books like Deep Work (e.g. Flow; Farsighted; Thinking, Fast and Slow; How Not to be Wrong) have made a difference for me.

[1] https://medium.com/@sashacollecutt/life-with-adhd-a61cae5a5b...

troubleon The lost art of concentration: being distracted in a digital world

I'm also a big fan of this book, for the same reasons (ADHD management). Understanding the value of setting aside big chunks of time to work deeply and prioritising that time has had an enormous positive impact on how I get things done.

troubleon Emperor Akihito of Japan is a published marine biologist

In 2015, I went to the International Union for Quaternary Research conference in Nagoya. The Emperor and Empress of Japan attended the opening ceremony. There was security screening, armed guards in suits sat throughout the audience and we were told we couldn't take photos during the ceremony.

This wasn't a large conference and the delegates were either the cargo pants wearing sort of scientists or students. Definitely not the sort of conference you'd expect elderly royalty to take part in. Most of us thought either the emperor or the empress must have had a personal interest in the topic area, but no one I talked to really knew why they were there. This article solves that little mystery for me!

troubleon The Real Problem with Facebook's Timeline

I would like something similar as well. Perhaps some way for friends to only view my history back to the date where I added them as a friend, that way my oldest and closest friends have access to all of our history together and my newest, less familiar friends only have access to the me they've only ever known.

troubleon The Pirate Bay's statement on PIPA/SOPA

"The word SOPA means "trash" in Swedish. The word PIPA means "a pipe" in Swedish. This is of course not a coincidence."

An interesting statement overall, but sentences like the one above have to make you wonder how seriously TPB is thinking about the issue.

troubleon Ask HN: What do you do to counteract procrastination?

Wait until the self-hate level is high enough to make me feel unbearably bad about not doing what I want to be doing. Not a very healthy approach.

I've also been trialling the habit of starting tasks so far ahead of time that the deadline feels irrelevant. It's quite liberating and something I would like to keep up.

troubleon Tell HN: Flooded area in Queensland now the size of Texas

It's nice to see that HN is thinking of us :)

My housemates and I had to evacuate our apartment building this morning. Our place is on the fourth story so our things should be ok, but we won't be able to get back until Saturday, if not later. After all the thunder, lightning, and rain over the last few days it was a bit surreal to be wading down our street (carrying my pack out of the water and trying not to let the cat drown) on a hot and sunny summer morning.

troubleon Ask HN: I'm an unknown indie developer. How can I promote my web app?

Well, I'm not an expert or anything so don't take my comments toooo seriously; but the first thing I noticed was that it doesn't look like there's anyway to use your app without signing in via Facebook or Twitter. I'm not likely to do that, especially for an unknown application. I understand it's a social app, so there are good reasons to link it with FB and Twitter, but it would be nice to bypass the signin part in order to see what it's like and whether I like it before committing to a connection with FB/Twitter. Maybe I missed that option, but if so, it wasn't an obvious one.

The point of my comment, I guess, is that if you want more feedback and awareness, maybe you need to make it more accessible?

troubleon Research Chef: You’re Not Allergic to MSG and More Culinary Secrets

Oh, thanks! Steak, fried 'chicken style'. Hah.

troubleon Research Chef: You’re Not Allergic to MSG and More Culinary Secrets

Fascinating, first the concept of deep fried steak and then chicken steak? ... American food never ceases to surprise me (a pescetarian from New Zealand). So different :)

troubleon Research Chef: You’re Not Allergic to MSG and More Culinary Secrets

The lack of textural variety is the main thing that puts me off frozen foods as well. Choosing a frozen meal over a restaurant meal is like choosing to eat at an old folks home instead of accepting a friend's home-cooked dinner invite.

Also, people deep fry steak? Mind blown. I didn't know people did that.

troubleon IPhone Alarms Still Not Working Despite Apple's Words

My recurring one works, but not the one-off alarm (in Australia).

troubleon Tell HN: check your Gmail Spam folder now and then

Gmail is normally so reliable for me that, up until a couple of weeks ago, I only checked my spam folder every month or so. For some reason, Gmail decided an email (forwarded from another address of mine that I linked to my account) from someone I regularly communicate with was a forgery and put it in the spam folder. All it contained was the sender's phone number and some instructions regarding meeting him at an airport before a flight we were going on. I didn't meet him where he asked me to because I never saw the email. Thanks Gmail; I check my spam more frequently now.

troubleon Take the Autism Quotient Test

Did anyone else find it disagreeable that Q.24 asks whether you'd rather go to the theater than the museum? I really like both - if I had to choose in a real life situation, I'd have to know what's showing at the theater and compare it to what exhibitions are on at the museum before making up my mind. Libraries and parties (Q.13) was also difficult for me; it all depends on which library we're talking about vs. who's throwing a party and who'll be there.

I ended up with a score of 34; same as last time I answered the questionnaire.

troubleon Today you, tomorrow me [from 1982]

This submission has the lowest comment to vote ratio I think I've ever seen on HN.

troubleon Is there room for another classified ads website?

Thank you kindly!

troubleon Is there room for another classified ads website?

Could you tell me the name of the site? I've been out of New Zealand for awhile, but it would be interesting to see what's available.

troubleon I deleted Julian Assange’s account.

I wonder why Markus made a blog post out of this? If he just wanted to make the point that POF deletes inactive profiles, why use Assange's as an example considering that it is an example clouded with political controversy?

troubleon Ask HN: Has your GMail been compromised?

I'll actually be an Australian resident (although not a citizen) returning from a visit to my home country, so maybe that changes the situation somewhat. Following your advice though, I'm guessing the main thing is to look as much as predictable as possible :)

troubleon Ask HN: Has your GMail been compromised?

Wow. I have to re-enter Australia in a month. How do you suggest avoiding this? Turning it off and putting it in my checked luggage (with a password) should work shouldn't it?

troubleon HN Office Hours

What about "myusername has not listed any skills."?

troubleon HN Office Hours

"myusername has not listed his skills."

should be:

"myusername has not listed her skills."

or, more neutrally:

"myusername has not listed their skills."

Edit: I wrote this comment because I'm a woman and it can be a bit jarring to see myusername referred to as 'he'. I wasn't commenting on grammar; just trying to express my thought that if a website is going to refer to someone by gender, then it should be done neutrally unless the option to select a gender is provided.

troubleon Ask HN: Any recommendations on disaster recovery?

What is the context? Do you mean disaster recovery for businesses, individuals, or countries? If you're referring to disaster recovery in the sense of mitigating, preparing for, managing, and recovering from things like natural disasters (e.g. tsunami, earthquakes), the Wikipedia page [1] on emergency management is probably a good start. If you have access to something like the ISI Web of Knowledge (via a university), some good journals include The International Journal of Emergency Management and Disasters. Look for review articles to start off with, as they're most likely to give you an overview of a particular aspect of the disaster field.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_management

troubleon My HN November app: Quick Brown Frog

http://imgur.com/v4vwY

Is the Facebook button meant to be displayed there?

troubleon Ask HN: How Did you hack your education?

I got a job tutoring first year students (I'm a masters student), which has really forced me to understand the course material thoroughly. Answering the same questions over and over about report and essay structure, referencing, and the importance of reading the assignment outline has made me a lot more aware of these when working on my own projects too. Also, it's not officially part of my job (i.e. I don't get paid for it), but I always offer to review drafts and critique students' structuring, language use, and grammar, which really reinforces good habits when I have to write something myself.

troubleon Ask HN: How Did you hack your education?

This depends on the school's plagiarism policy - at my university, you're not allowed to reuse your own work. Auto-plagiarism. It's acceptable to cite previous work if relevant, but not to submit the same paper twice.

troubleon Poll: What level of education have you reached

The question implies that the option you choose reflects your ultimate level of education, thus only one answer should be chosen. I picked three anyway, but I think your poll could be more carefully worded.