Ergoemacs Keybindings - <AUTHOR> http://code.google.com/p/ergoemacs/

<comment><USER2> Some of the suggested bindings make sense to me. I especially like the inverted-T cursor motion keys on I/J/K/L. And as much as I might hate to admit it, the CUA-like cut/copy/paste bindings probably make more sense than the default for anyone but a hardened emacs veteran.

Other stuff seems borderline insane. Like this design principle:

 _cursor moving commands are placed all for the right hand, while text changing commands are all placed for the left hand. (similar to Dvorak having all vowels in one side)_

Dvorak does that because vowels are usually typed alone in a word, so the natural typing pattern is an alternation between hands, minimizing the chance that a single finger might have to type two keys in succession, or a hand might be left in a poor position for the new key. That's completely wrong for this situation! A motion key is likely to be followed by more motion, while if you're modifying text, you're likely to continue modifying text.

Or this one:

 _Alt is considered better than Ctrl. (Alt is a natural thumb curl, Ctrl is stretched pinky._

This might be true on some keyboards. It certainly isn't on typical laptops, where Alt almost _never_ lives in a consistent position across hardware. Relying on keys without fixed positions is just bizarre, and in direct contradiction to "ergonomics" to my mind. What's worse, this completely ignores the pervasive practice among emacs users of mapping Ctrl to CapsLock, a key which is extremely easy to type _and_ in the same location on all keyboards.

On the whole, I just can't see these bindings actually helping me that much, sorry. It's a good try, and I'm sure the author gets good use out of them. But to my fingers, they introduce as many problems as they solve.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> The first link in the description "Why Emacs's Keyboard Shortcuts Are Painful" is a pretty good read. I initially tried to submit it, but it was autokilled it seems.

Link: <http://xahlee.org/emacs/emacs_kb_shortcuts_pain.html>

<comment><USER3> I didn't realize I was clicking through to Xah's page, but I knew I was there after only a few paragraphs.

I think he uses emacs as if it were MS Word or Notepad, and customizes his emacs accordingly. That's fine for him, but there is value in the generally- accepted defaults to other people. Control is not hard to type on a good keyboard. C-n, C-p, C-b, and C-f are "unconventional", but very easy to type and get used to. I must hit each combination hundreds of times a day, and my fingers never hurt. (Because of that, anyway; the only time my fingers hurt is when I have to type a lot of keys on the right pinky, ()+|`~=;':"?/ on my keyboard. I have not found a good solution to this problem yet, but it is certainly not specific to emacs.)

<comment><AUTHOR> Regarding the symbols, I have been playing with Programmer Dvorak lately. It swaps the position of the symbols and numbers, such that you hit shift for the numbers and get the symbols without shift. It also moves commonly used programming symbols around so you use the first three fingers more, and avoid the pinky.

You could do something similar without using dvorak of course.

Link to layout: <http://www.kaufmann.no/roland/dvorak/>

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Anyone using emacs would be well served by the Kinesis Ergo keyboard -- Ctrl and Atl (and a bunch of others) are at your superstrong thumbs, not your wimpy pinky:

<http://kinesis-ergo.com/contoured.htm>

<comment><USER5> I remember reading about a study in the UK that found that the thumb had replaced the index finger as the most dexterous digit among teens. This could easily be attributed to mobile phones and video game controllers. It may not be my most dexterous digit, but it certainly can do a lot. Just look at texting speeds and almost any video game controller.

Why then is it relegated to only pushing the space bar? Is there some stigma that it is that ham-handed and awkward? I would rejoice if I could do more things with my thumbs, particularly modifiers, instead of making awkward pinky reaches. The pinky really shouldn't be asked to do so much work.

Sadly, there is so much momentum behind the QWERTY keyboard that it won't be going away any time soon, and alternate keyboards and layouts are limited to enthusiasts, and the transition is awkward at that.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> People always talk about making caps lock a ctrl key, but I've found making right alt a ctrl is more comfortable. My thumb is far more dexterous than my pinky. Unfortunately on many keyboards the right alt key is unusable due to awkward positioning.

</comment><comment><USER7> I think the big miss here is any reference to the sexp navigation functions -- forward-sexp and backward-sexp. These are very useful when programming.

I've been using emacs for close to 20 years. I've had more hand pain from too much mouse use than I have with emacs' traditional shortcuts -- assuming the control key is remapped to the caps lock location next to the "A" key.

</comment><comment><USER8> ..:: Rebind CapsLock ::..

Windows users, use SmartKeys[1] to redefine CAPS LOCK to Left Control.

I makes the frequent use of the control combinations a lot more bearable.

\</comment><comment></comment><comment>

[1] <http://www.randyrants.com/2008/12/sharpkeys_30.html>

<comment><USER9> Instead of a registry hack (that SmartKeys does), I use Ctrl2Cap - [http://technet.microsoft.com/en- us/sysinternals/bb897578.asp...](http://technet.microsoft.com/en- us/sysinternals/bb897578.aspx). I used to do the registry hack manually, but remember (although not specifically anymore) there were some issues with it not working at certain times or in certain programs.

I don't use emacs anymore, but still find that C-x, C-c, C-v, and C-anything is easier with this setup.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> Yes, The shortcuts are painful, countless times I've wished I had more fingers per hand...

But I don't think this will be be any use for anyone who has gotten used to the layout of emacs already... I know I wouldn't. Once those shortcuts are hardwired to your brain, there is no going back. Plus if the shortcut ends up being really too painful, most everyone would just adjust it in their .emacs.

But this is something I will definitely suggest any newcomers to emacs.

<comment><USER11> "Once those shortcuts are hardwired to your brain, there is no going back."

Tried it?

It's easier than you think.

A fun experiment: Take two keys and switch them, like s and a. See how long it takes to adjust. In my experience, under an hour.

<comment><USER10> I've tried many times, and I really want to go back (because when I sit at a vanilla emacs, sometimes it's hard to use it without my own customizations)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> I've seen some people suggest hitting the ctrl key with the 'side' of your hand instead of your pinky. I've found that using the bone directly below your pinky (towards your palm) also works (at least in my case), and is fairly comfortable.

I was inspired to do this by Aikido, where one of the techniques is a pressure-point application using the bones on the inside of your hand to apply specific pressure while holding someone's wrist in a grip.

</comment><comment><USER13> Ctrl or alt foot pedals are the way to go here -- using caps-lock is a workaround but in proper typing I wish to use the modifier key on the other hand to the letter.

</comment><comment><USER14> now I'm re-considering the move to programmers dvorak... Everything is almost 100% there, but it's enough to bug you.</comment>


AI News - <AUTHOR> http://ainews.org/

<comment><USER2> >You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near '-50, 50' at line 6

Broke as I was navigating :)</comment>


Ask HN: Should I take voluntarily layoff package - <AUTHOR> I have worked for 10 years in this US company and due to cost-cutting strategies, the company is offering a good voluntary layoff package, around 28 weeks of package in my case. I was thinking to take this opportunity to start of my entrepreneurial journey. I have had multiple ideas which I always wanted to build but due to lack of time was not able to realize it. Any suggestions, apart from finance, health insurance, what should I take care. I am very confused at this point whether to continue with the current job or return to my home country where living expenses are low and continue to realize with my ideas. <comment><USER2> 1\. If a company is doing voluntary layoffs they're probably not doing well. Usually the people who are more likely to find a new job, or otherwise more motivated, are more likely to take the package, so company loses best people. So just on general principle I would take the package.

2\. Never consider just two options; minimum of three is much better. For example, you could get another job in US and pursue your ideas part time.

3\. For your ideas, do some research. "Having an idea" in no way translates into success. Do you have _evidence_ there's a market? Have you listened to potential customers? "Here's my idea, is it good" is not listening, everyone will say "yeah great idea" even if they don't care, just to be polite. Idea that comes from "I am an expert in this market and know their problems" is very different from idea that is "here's a random thing in an industry I know nothing about".</comment>


Analyzing Xbox serial numbers - <AUTHOR> http://www.pagetable.com/?p=465

<comment><USER2> When I start building stuff, I'm going to make the serial number random and keep a database with serial<>manufacturing data. All to keep my Evil Competitors from gleaning any useful information!

<comment><USER3> You don't need a database, just a mapping function and a seed. I haven't seen anyone else do this, but I worked out a solution a while back.

<comment><USER2> It'd need to be a symmetric function that appears at least pseudo-random, any suggestions for suitable candidates? But I'd probably have a database with assorted data about the production anyway, so adding a random serial number wouldn't make much of a practical difference.

<comment><USER4> Any symmetric cipher (e.g. DES, AES, Blowfish, countless others) would work.

<comment><USER2> Ah, of course!

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Sounds quite similar to the serial number format used on Apple products until recently. First 2 characters were the country / factory of manufacture, 3rd digit was the year, 4th and 5th were the week. The next three were the machines actual unique serial number, and the final three were a model identifier.

Seems to be pretty common to store this information in "plain text" in the serial number. I'm sure it has advantages over just giving every product a UUID and having a lookup in a database somewhere, perhaps in doing product recalls - you can specify a range of numbers that are affected?

</comment><comment><USER6> This would be far more interesting if it were finding out information that wasn't already known.

<comment><USER7> A friend of mine ran a team at a financial institution that did stuff like this every day. For instance, looking for sequential transaction numbers on large e-commerce sites to estimate sales.

This particular bit of research sounds like it then could be used (in conjunction with some ongoing data-gathering) to predict sales / units manufactured in advance of Microsoft's quarterly reports.

That type of information is very valuable to the right parties, which is why my friend's team was quite highly paid.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> This makes me want to look at serial numbers for all my stuff.

</comment><comment><USER9> I was bored until the author referenced German Tanks.</comment>


How Much Surveillance Can Democracy Withstand? - <AUTHOR> http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/10/a-necessary-evil-what-it-takes-for-democracy-to-survive-surveillance/

<comment><USER2> Or to rephrase it: when much surveillance turn a free society turn into a police state?

</comment><comment><USER3> I feel this is one of the most important articles I've read in the wake of Snowden's patriotic disclosure. Thank you Libertatea for sharing it.

</comment><comment><USER4> Admittedly skimmed this once I saw it is a list of "remedies" that will, unfortunately, never happen.

</comment><comment><USER5> Stallman is right again, but he leaves out a very important point about privacy and constitutionally limited government: Without privacy, ANY law can be implemented.

Imagine re-arguing abortion in this era of big data. If makers of pregnancy and baby products can reliably infer that you are pregnant, do you still have an expectation of privacy in what it going on inside your body? The government almost certainly knows you are pregnant. They have your call to your mother recorded. You have admitted it!

The government knows you are pregnant or not. There is no barrier to fairly and uniformly enforcing laws against abortion because reliable information is universally available to any prosecution.

Let's imagine all the other previously impractical laws that would improve society!

<comment><USER2> Originally a big push back against the social security system was that it would assign a number to every individual allowing each to be tracked by the federal government. Seems to me the original founders intended that the federal government dealt directly with the states and NEVER had anything to do with individual citizens. How much the US has changed....</comment></comment>


We're lucky Mark Zuckerberg is in charge - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/swlh/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-stock-drop-shouldnt-step-down-a4277737152e <comment><USER2> I guess "too little, too late" means nothing to this person.</comment>


Building A Strong Indie Game Development Team - <AUTHOR> http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AlistairDoulin/20100107/4040/Building_A_Strong_Indie_Game_Development_Team.php

<comment><USER2> This is a basic article with not much surprising/new information.</comment>


Ask HN: Co-found with someone very vocal about his politically incorrect views? - <AUTHOR> I am starting a company together with a friend. One of us will be the technical founder, the other one the business person. We are both relatively junior, and have the option to take a third person on board. This person is much more senior than us and is a big name in our field. He would not contribute day-to-day, but his name and network could open many doors that would otherwise stay closed. We would offer him a 5-10% share of the company.
The issue is that this person is very vocal about his politically incorrect, alt-right leaning views. He takes every opportunity to rant (in strong language) about how politicians are dumb, diversity quota are bullshit, climate change protesters are stupid, etc. Also to people who did not show any signs of being interested in holding such a discussion, for example at networking events.
My problem is not so much with his political ideas in itself (I have many good friends and colleagues that I disagree politically with) but with the fact that he is so vocal about them and has built somewhat of a reputation for it.
In particular I'm worried about two things: - Although he will open some doors, he might also close some others. I wonder if a politically correct company (take Google as an example) that knows about his reputation could be put off by it. - He does not fit in the company culture that we want to build. Again, not because of his differing views (we can agree to disagree), but because he is so unnecessarily vocal about them, which might deter future employees who take offense.
Any experiences or advice you can share? <comment><USER2> You're going to have 100 things you disagree about in the first year, and you need to be able to talk those through without it being a world war. If he can do that, despite how he is around politics, then he at least checks one box.

If you're not unified in the type of culture you want to build, that will be debt you have to pay down in the future. Might not bite you till an A round, but will matter some day if successful.

If they're a straight up liability, which he sounds like he might be, you may end up having a cofounder leave early with a huge chunk of equity, which is always less than ideal. If you can limit his equity stake or increase the vesting cycle you may need to look into that.

Happy to talk more one on one. Email is in my profile.

Best of luck.

<comment><USER3> This is the best answer, full of practicality and lacking in judgement.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Bring it up with him and see how the conversation goes. If your relationship can't handle one difficult conversation, it certainly won't handle cofounding a company together.

Other questions that come to mind are - if he has a reputation for this, will your company really benefit from his name and network? Also, maybe you and the other cofounder can tolerate this person - but would your politically incorrect colleague be as tolerant of new people that come on board: can he work in a healthy way with people who are clearly left-leaning or in a minority group?

You do not want to be mentally and verbally tiptoeing around other people in your company. You also don't want to be embarrassed by someone whose name and network are supposed to help your company. And since you're just starting and have more control than usual, you also have more flexibility in choosing who you partner up with.

</comment><comment><USER5> It sounds like this guy is negative publicity for you and you can find a replacement.

I would not want to work for a company with a controversial founder because he is just one more obstacle for a startup trying to get off the ground.

If you tried to recruit me and you told me one of your cofounders was an alt- right controversialist, I would never consider working for you. You should wonder about the quality (or desperation) of the prospective employees who would put up with that kind of thing.

</comment><comment><USER6> You describe a classic example of a toxic person. Stay away from him, especially if he expects they many shares for minimal amount of work. He will be as vocal about his unhappiness with your company if things go south. The worst part is the overall environment he will create around your early employees. No one would want to work for a company like that to know someone got so many shares for doing basically nothing.

</comment><comment><USER7> You're only considering bringing him on board to create a first impression of your company, and you think it'll be the wrong one. You're proposing giving him equity mainly to network and you're not actually impressed with how he acts at networking events. This shouldn't be a difficult decision, even if his paper credentials are great.

It's not like hiring a developer whose political commentary is a bit annoying, it's like hiring a developer whose main contribution to your company is rapidly increasing the number of security holes in your product

</comment><comment><USER8> > He does not fit in the company culture that we want to build.

Sounds like you already know what to do.

<comment><USER9> This right here. Actions speak louder than words, and if your first action is to go contrary to the company culture you profess, how do you expect anyone to believe in it?

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> I would think long and hard before giving someone ten percent of the company just for making the occasional phone call, when you will be expecting people to bust their asses for much less. I might do it if everything else so indicated strongly enough. But if the negatives seem likely to be as heavy as the positives? No way. This, mind you, does not constitute drawing any conclusions about whether he's a good or bad person. It just needs a straight pragmatic business decision.

<comment><USER11> This is the best answer. Forget about his political views but I would not give anyone 10% just for opening some doors.

I would offer some type of commission incentive and keep them away from any equity of possible.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> Why don't you voice this very concern directly to that person? Does the culture you're about to build in your company includes honesty and sincerity? Probably not, because it seems that you believe people are not supposed to say what they actually think. In that case you should certainly avoid taking him on board, he won't fit.

</comment><comment><USER13> It is a deal breaker to me because of _" He does not fit in the company culture that we want to build"_.

The company culture is not something you artificially build for an abstract entity called "company". The culture of your company === the culture of the people that form your company.

There is no workaround if he joins your company. And as he is more senior, famous and all, the influence on the company will be maybe larger than yours. You will get job candidates that get to know the company because of this person.

</comment><comment><USER14> Sounds like a large share of the company for what sounds to me like a liability. A bad actor can sink an early stage venture very easily. I'd just try to build your network a different way. If you already know what doors they would open, maybe look for one of those people to join you instead. Seems like you could do better, and it feels like from your post that you feel the same. Trust your gut. Does the other founder want you to do this or are you both on the same page?

</comment><comment><USER15> If you think their honest opinions are probably a liability, that's probably going to compromise your relationship from the start, right?

I totally understand being able to work well with people whose politics you disagree with. But you gotta make sure that you see them as a great colleague to work with, not somebody you're embarrassed to be acquainted with! :)

Sounds like instead of piggy-backing off their network, you need one of your own. Not easy but it will probably pay off.

<comment><USER16> I don't think OP's problem is the politics as such, but rather that this person "takes every opportunity to rant in strong language" about them.

That sounds rather ... unhinged, no matter what those political believes might be. Reminds me of Bobby Fischer in his later years.

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> It depends on your business. Steve Jobs wasn't boardroom-compatible, but Apple's financials got him accepted by the old-fashioned investors.

If your product is loved by the users and generates loads of money, you can think whatever will want, people will want to invest in your company. Even if you are a dictator and you fall under international sanctions.

Until then, your potential co-founder should better be busy with getting there instead of converting the world.

</comment><comment><USER18> You should trust your judgement on this one, it already sounds like you're leaning towards turning him away and just want confirmation. If he doesn't fit your company culture why would you hire him? If he were a day to day employee, would you still hire him if he wasn't a culture fit?

</comment><comment> a-saleh It seems to me, that you don't really want to be associated with this person. If that is the case, don't associate. Find somebody you are aligned with.

I.e. if you want him to represent the company on networking event's, you don't want to stand around with banners saying "Our investors private opinions don't represent the views of the company!", if he is so _public_ about his private opinions :-)

Especially consider if you would ever clash directly. What if _you_ would want to have a diversity initiative in your hiring? e.t.c.

On the other hand, if you agree to disagree, but you really like him and don't mind that others might view you as politically incorrect, get him on-board.

</comment><comment><USER19> If company culture is your primary goal, start a charity or a country club.

There's a depressingly small amount of daylight between the pools of investor capital available on good terms and the language this guy speaks. I imagine he'll shake the money loose like few others because this is the exact language many of the target market speaks.

Put a shotgun clause on his share and remember that a 5-10% minority of your company is not your company. If you want to do some "actual good", you're not going to do it while broke.

Hate the game, not the player. Don't begrudge your truffle pig his table manners.

</comment><comment><USER20> You seem to know better already. In your early days, the more you can avoid known pitfalls and issues, the better. So you must avoid taking this person in. Otherwise either you and/or your co-founder may quit in frustration because of this person, and leave this whole idea behind as a bitter experience. To go from inspiration and excitement to a bitter parting of ways would be terrible.

Avoid this from happening, and also the possibility that one day you may write a blog post about how you ended up making this wrong decision and how it hurt you. :)

</comment><comment><USER21> I wouldn't even work with him for 0% stake, as there is obviously a misalignment of values.

Treat business partners like you would dating. All I see is massive red flags:

"...to people who did not show any signs of being interested in holding such a discussion, for example at networking events."

"He takes every opportunity to rant (in strong language)"

Some doors should remain closed. I question the network and the people who would associate with such a person, those people would not be my target customers.

</comment><comment><USER22> Usually I'd say avoid such a person. But it depends. He acts like this yet is still influential in your industry, so it hasn't been a problem for him so far. I'd be more concerned about giving 5-10% to a guy who's going to make a few phone calls. Will he let you skip some major sales/funding cycles? Can you get him onboard as an investor for instead? That would solve your PR problem too, it's more ok to have shitty people as investors.

</comment><comment><USER23> It depends... I think the Paypal Mafia had politically opposite views and it worked out because they didn't let it affect work. I think the most infamous example would be Peter Thiel and Keith Rabois: "Rabois came to Thiel's attention after he was found outside an instructor's home, shouting homophobic slurs and the suggestion that the instructor "die of AIDS.".

<comment><USER24> They didn't hold opposite views. Rabois was being a free speech edgelord.

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> It sounds like it will hurt the business more than it will benefit it, which goes against the best-interests of stakeholders including yourself. Have a friendly conversation with him and decide if this person is worth working with based on his willingness to change certain behaviors that you don't approve of. If not, then you two aren't the best fit for each other as cofounders

</comment><comment><USER26> Company interest is king. If the person's skill set and connections are a valuable asset to the company, then his personal views and traits shouldn't be something to be concerned about. Maybe tell him to dial down the preaching and focus on the job. Measure his value through what he does and not what he says.

On the side note I think this topic is quite frightening in some way. We reached a point where a company, or employee is not going to be measured by the product or value they make, but what political views they represent. Soon we are going to have political questions on an interview. The companies will police their employees what they say and what they do in social circles. Workplaces become political echo chambers.

Also like how you just state that he is "politically incorrect", making your views the only correct ones. Not different, but incorrect.

Talking about double standards.

<comment><USER4> > his personal views and traits shouldn't be something to be concerned about.

Unless he's bringing them up inappropriately in a work meeting. Then it's very much something to be concerned about.

I think there's a fallacy in your argument - you're taking OP's concern about associating with someone who's openly alt-right and assuming that the response that follows is making the workplace too far-left, "politically correct", asking political question as screening etc. While the appropriate response is having a politically neutral working environment - where the best technical ideas win, where decisions are based on facts, where people aren't screened for their personal views, and where those views aren't brought up if they're irrelevant.

</comment></comment><comment><USER27> Early hires are incredibly important as losing someone early derails progress. Think long and hard about who you want to partner with.

Any person you bring on board should vest over time so that if you're wrong, it doesn't cripple your cap table.

</comment><comment><USER28> You should not start a company with someone you don't want to be around. You will have to work closely with him for years to come. You want that life? Find another option and leave him behind.

</comment><comment><USER29> Would you go to war for this person?</comment>


Icelandic Pirate Party Proposes Basic Income in Parliament (translation) - <AUTHOR> http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&sl=is&tl=en&u=http://www.althingi.is/altext/145/s/0454.html <comment><USER2> Untranslated link - [http://www.althingi.is/altext/145/s/0454.html](http://www.althingi.is/altext/145/s/0454.html)</comment>


A Robot Finds Its Way Using Artificial "GPS" Brain Cells - <AUTHOR> http://www.technologyreview.com/news/542571/a-robot-finds-its-way-using-artificial-gps-brain-cells/ <comment><USER2> I'm curious as to how this is different from existing path finding strategies such as (ironically) A-Star.

Naming your company after a pathfinding algorithm that has been around since the 60s, and then claiming that you are doing pathfinding in a completely different and novel way, smacks of a funding grab to me.

Show me the code.

</comment><comment><USER3> Url changed from [http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/21/simulated-brain-cells- rob...](http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/21/simulated-brain-cells-robot- instinctive-navigation/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000602), which points to this.</comment>


Non-activist tech news source? - <AUTHOR> I used to read The Verge before they turned, then switched to Techmeme which has recently done the same.<p>Specifically I'm seeking a source for "hard news" about the tech industry that takes a value-neutral approach a la Reuters. <comment><USER2> techcrunch?

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks! Perused them and it looks a solid match.

I had always thought of them as being mostly startup centered, but it seems they've expanded.</comment></comment>


The Death Penalty in Louisiana - <AUTHOR> http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/06/revenge-killing <comment><USER3> "Cox does not believe that the death penalty works as a deterrent, but he says that it is justified as revenge."

That is so, so fucked up. An attorney, someone whose job it is to _impartially_ argue the law, _equally_ to everyone, saying "Yeah you know, we kill people _FOR REVENGE_." Not even, you know, hey if we have the death penalty it'll maybe make people think twice about committing a serious crime, but straight up saying "We're gonna get _REVENGE_ on anyone who dares defy the law!" JFC.

*Edited to change judge to attorney

<comment><USER4> Punishments for crimes are not merely deterrents; that is a secondary role.

Punishments are ... punitive, of course!

Suppose you break into someone's house and steal 50 bucks. You aren't just forced to return 50 bucks; you go to jail for a while.

Even in civil suits, there are "punitive damages": remedies awarded to a plaintiff beyond actual damages.

If you kill someone, then killing you is not even punitive really; it's like taking 50 bucks from someone who stole 50 bucks. The revenge is less than punitive. It's not true revenge. True revenge has a punitive aspect: it goes beyond the original offense. Killing is only revenge if the method is more fearsome and painful.

If a killer tortures someone to death, but is given a quick and merciful death, that falls short of revenge.

Anyway, deterrent value must never be the focus; that is a pseudo-intellectual liberal angle which detracts from the morality of the situation, which is about justice.

If a punishment's ability to deter is considered important, that leads to injustice. For instance, big punishments are handed down for small crimes to "make an example" which discourages others. E.g. six month prison terms aren't deterring petty pickpockets in some area, so we crank it up to five years.

<comment><USER5> IIRC in Turkey, they reintroduced death penalty for kidnapping and the number of people rescued from kidnapping declined dramatically: it is much simpler to do away with witnesses.

You can say you don't believe in deterrents, but you surely cannot believe that it's good to have punishments that encourage to commit more crimes.

For what is worth I agree with you that deterring from committing crime is not the primary purpose of legal punishment, but I think that the primary purpose should be reeducation and reintroduction in society. You'll probably call that a crypto-socialist intellectual angle, but I don't think a just society can exist with both death and life penalty.

<comment><USER4> > _You can say you don 't believe in deterrents, ..._

But your example is precisely of a deterrent gone wrong.

They clearly tried to deter kidnapping by making it a capital offense, and it backfired.

It is also unjust: an extreme version of my fictitious example of giving petty shoplifters five year sentences.

Zeal to create a deterrent resulted in a horribly unjust law, which backfired on top of that.

> _I think that the primary purpose should be reeducation and reintroduction > in society_

Reeducation is more suitable for exhibitionists, shoplifters, embezzlers, ...

The risk of re-offending is there, but nobody dies, and there is a chance for improvement.

When it comes to violent crime, the focus of the criminal justice system must be to protect people.

<comment><USER5> In another comment you said that one homicide should be punished by death in the exact same form. This would have the exact same effect as the kidnapping example: if you killed one person why not kill 50?

<comment><USER4> I wrote no such thing in that other comment. I said that such a punishment is _just_ and concluded the comment with a remark that though just, it is not necessary to implement. The intent was to argue that even a barbaric form of capital punishment is just, never mind "regular" capital punishment.

> _if you killed one person why not kill 50?_

The simple fact that you can only be executed once already encourages multiple murders. However, you have a very valid point here in that some killers would be otherwise satisfied in perpetrating a single murder that involves torture might, out of fear of a tortuous execution, opt for "quantity over quality" and kill more people in a quick and clean manner.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I live in Louisiana. America has the highest incarceration rate per capita amongst all countries.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarcera...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate)

Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in America.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_incarce...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_incarceration_rate)

Tis truly a messed up place.

<comment><USER7> Something doesn't add up. The country list puts the US incarceration rate at 707 per 100k, but the state list gives an average of 478 per 100k including federal, which the highest state not even breaking 700. What gives?

<comment><USER8> "Jail and federal prison inmates are not included in the state rates."

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> How is that we have a system where we have an assistant district attorney (now running for DA) who not only openly believes we need to kill more people, but thinks they deserve to suffer as much physical pain as "humanly possible"? I mean his own colleagues question his mental instability, and nothing happens. When no one is willing to actually disbar someone like this, where are the effective checks on power?

<comment><USER4> That is clearly wrong; they only deserve to suffer as much pain as they inflicted, not as much as possible.

Ideally, offenders eligible for the death penalty should perish in exactly the same circumstances as what they inflicted. Someone who starved an infant to death should be starved; someone who strangled ought to be strangled and so on.

(By and large it's good enough to have them permanently gone by any means. That's the important thing: erasing the mistake.)

<comment><USER10> Would you consider the guaranteed percentage of innocently convicted being starved, strangled, or any number of unimaginable torturous horrors committed to them at great pain and distress acceptable collateral damage in a quest to exact sadistic justice?

<comment><USER4> I only described what I think is just, not arguing that it should actually be implemented. There are numerous problems with actually implementing the concept, not the least of which is that it is being barbaric, and requires psychopathic executioners that only differ from the convict in that what they are doing is legal in its context.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Why does the US use a complex 3 injection cocktail?

In countries where assisted suicide is legal people just swallow a pill and go peacefully to sleep. Yet in the US there is this "crisis" of not being abel to source the injections needed.

Pets are also put down very easily with a single injection which makes them go to sleep and the heart beats slower and slower until it stops in a few minutes.

<comment><USER12> _Yet in the US there is this "crisis" of not being abel to source the injections needed._

Many medical doctors (persons with legal authority to prescribe drugs) and pharmacists (persons with legal authority to dispense drugs) object to capital punishment, and thus will not supply prisons with drugs that have the sole purpose of killing someone.

<comment><USER13> So they wouldn't supply medication for assisted suicide either?

Also, allowing people to opt out on supplying the drug on matters of conscience is a slippery slope. What about letting people opt-out of providing abortions? Or marrying gay couples? A case could made for people refusing to do these as matters of conscience as well.

<comment><USER14> No, it's not a slope. Gay marriage and the death penalty are two very different things and I can't believe I'm typing this out.

There also numerous reasons to be against the death penalty but not abortions, but something tells me I'd rather not have this discussion here and now [1].

[1] for what it's worth, an example not related but relevant: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9770221](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9770221)

<comment><USER15> They're not very different if you believe that personal ethical beliefs can be used as a justification to not provide a service.

<comment><USER16> If you supply drugs to be used in an execution, you are part of a chain of actions that ends with the intentional taking of a life.

If you bake a cake for a gay couple, you are part of a chain of actions that sort of, kind of, indirectly might offend your sensibilities.

Those two outcomes are vastly dissimilar - equating them because they are both "doing things you object to as a matter of conscience" is too reductionist by half.

<comment><USER15> If you supply drugs (or facilities) to be used in an abortion, you are part of a chain of actions that ends with the intentional taking of a life. Same with assisted suicide.

But even the magnitude cutoff is arbitrary. At which point is the result "bad enough" that ethical reservations start to apply?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> No matter how many times I read about the death penalty in America, I just can't wrap my head around the fact that it still exists, that the powers that be kill their own citizens in such a way.

It's so incredibly horrifying to me that it almost becomes an abstract concept, but then you read an article like this and - guilty or innocent - <USER2> true human cost and all that associated suffering comes right back to you.

<comment><USER18> What do you suggest in regards for money being spent on containing people who have zero chance on rehabilitation?

Sweden can't afford cancer medication for certain people, but has no issues containing violent sadists.

[http://www.svd.se/effektiv-cancermedicin-anvands- inte](http://www.svd.se/effektiv-cancermedicin-anvands-inte) [http://www.sydsvenskan.se/skane/hon-fick-ny-cancermedicin- ut...](http://www.sydsvenskan.se/skane/hon-fick-ny-cancermedicin-utomlands/)

Some people in the middle east tortured children, women and committed other atrocities while laughing and recording it.

Whats your take on that?

<comment><USER19> The death penalty is more expensive than life in prison.

If the US didn't imprison so many people they'd easily be able to afford to house the actually violent criminals.

<comment><USER20> That's only true because the cost of appeals is included in the cost of having somebody on death row.

For the record, I'm very happy that people on death row get so many appeals. I'm very happy that some of those appeals are automatic (all states I'm familiar with automatically appeal any death penalty sentence to the state supreme court).

But given that the average death row inmate lives 20 years or so in custody, and that the average life sentence prisoner lives two or three times that long, and assuming that the people on death row don't get incredibly expensive food, it seems that the only reasons for a difference would be increased security costs (are life sentence inmates less likely to try to break out?) or costs not directly related to jail, such as legal appeals.

We could save a lot of money by simply denying appeals to inmates on death row, but I don't think that would be an improvement. If anything, the difference in cost between death row and life imprisonment suggests that life sentences aren't getting the same scrutiny that death sentences get, and we probably have more innocent people serving life sentences than awaiting execution.

<comment><USER21> How on earth is the cost of a legal appeal not directly related to jail?

<comment><USER20> The statement that "putting people on death row costs more than putting them in prison for life" is incomplete. The complete statement is "under our current legal regime, including costs of various appeals, putting people on death row costs more than putting them in prison for life."

Since the costs of appeals dwarfs all other relevant costs, it's just as true to say "under the current legal regime, appeals for death row inmate cost much more than appeals for life sentence inmates." That's a very different statement, and not necessarily something we want to fix.

If we did want to fix it, we could either spend less money on appeals for death row inmates (make it much harder to get off of death row/get exonerated), or spend more money for appeals for life sentence inmates.

Indeed, it might just be that we aren't doing everything we should to find wrongfully convicted inmates who weren't given the death penalty.

But that's certainly not the message people seem to be trying to make with the statement. The message I've always heard was "it would cost less to put him in jail for life." Or "it would cost less to get rid of the death penalty altogether." The first message has less impact when you realize that the costs involved are nearly all about legal appeals, not about running a prison, feeding the prisoners, etc. The second message is provably false: in a regime without the death penalty, the resources currently used to get people off death row would be used to get people out of life sentences.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> This article has little to do with startups, technology, or "hacker news". But it is of the utmost importance to human beings, and hackers are human also. That is why I voted up this article.

</comment><comment><USER23> If "deterrence" theories had any validity, the Middle Ages would be remembered as a golden age of peace and civility. Conversely, shouldn't states without the death penalty be positively crime ridden compared to the revenge-happy southern states? I'm being somewhat trite, but it doesn't take too many thought experiments and statistical exercises to see that revenge doesn't serve justice.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> Personally, after the paragraph describing Nathan Bedford Forrest's picture in the DA's office, I had to get up and take a break from reading. Even as someone who lives in New Orleans, the wat/paragraph ratio was > 1 for this article.

</comment><comment><USER24> Dale Cox was only one person in the article who I felt deserved to be put on put on trial.

</comment><comment><USER25> BBC - The Science of Killing Human Beings:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImQoyRs5cWc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImQoyRs5cWc)

It's easy, safe, cheap and humane to suffocate a delinquent with Nitrogen.

Those features are also obvious - so of course there are people in charge how do want the condemned man to suffer while dying.

</comment><comment><USER26> The death penalty isn't the problem and never has. There are far too many people who have no place in society and there is zero benefit to society to continue their existence.

That being said, abuse by the legal system of those who cannot afford to defend themselves properly has gone on for far too long and its not just a Southern thing. From the bail bond market to the plea bargain junket of Federal Courts, justice isn't the goal, successful prosecution is.

So until the goal posts are moved we are not going to fix this situation.

<comment><USER27> The death penalty is a problem:

\- it never really acts as a deterrent

\- often the person on death row is basically in solitary confinement. So even if they are released, they are released crazy

\- the penalty is quite final. there is no appealing afterwards

\- it is mostly about revenge

\- ripe with abuse

<comment> at-fates-hands You forgot the part about executing innocent people.

Currently the rate is roughly for every 10 guilty people who are executed, 1 innocent person is executed.

I don't care how you cut that statistic, it's too much.

<comment><USER28> Wow, that's really sad. Do you have a link for that statistic? How is it determined?

<comment> at-fates-hands It's from the statistics of people on death row being exonerated for their crimes:

[http://deathpenaltycurriculum.org/student/c/about/arguments/...](http://deathpenaltycurriculum.org/student/c/about/arguments/argument3a.htm)

 _Since 1973, at least 121 people have been released from death row after evidence of their innocence emerged. During the same period of time, over 982 people have been executed. Thus, for every eight people executed, we have found one person on death row who never should have been convicted._</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Measuring Women Representation and Impact in Films over Time - <AUTHOR> https://arxiv.org/abs/2001.03513 <comment><USER2> Bullshit: "Women have always been underrepresented in movies and not until recently do women representation in movies improve."

In fact women were not underrepresented until the 50ies. Recent improvements are still not approaching the pre-50ies numbers.</comment>


Apple Vs Braun : copy or inspiration ? - <AUTHOR> http://visual.ly/braun-or-apple

<comment><USER2> Someone copied my precious round wheels. They will use another form. Triangle ones? Square-shaped? No restrictions!</comment>


Evernote Raises $10 Million From Investors - <AUTHOR> http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/evernote-raises-money-to-back-up-your-memory/?src=twt&twt=nytimesbits <comment><USER2> Maybe they can finally _buy_ a text editor fir their Mac version now! Grrr</comment>


Samuel Delany and the Past and Future of Science Fiction - <AUTHOR> http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/samuel-delany-and-the-past-and-future-of-science-fiction <comment><USER2> Can anyone explain to me what that article had to do with the past and future of science fiction?

I am seriously trying to understand.

<comment><USER3> It seems pretty explicit about it, although "the past and _present_ of science fiction" might be a better descriptor.

For example, here are quotes where the past:

> Delany came of age at a time when the genre [of science fiction] was indeed > characterized by gee-whiz futurism, machismo adventuring, and white, > heterosexual heroes.

is contrasted with the present:

> In the contemporary science-fiction scene, Delany's race and sexuality do > not set him apart as starkly as they once did.

EDIT: Actually, I hesitate to presume on the legendary New Yorker proofreaders / fact checkers, but shouldn't it be 'macho' (an adjective), not 'machismo' (a noun), 'adventuring'?

<comment><USER4> The final comments also support the theme: Some of the more conservative authors presently complaining are doing so, Dulaney thinks, because they fear the growing presence of a more diverse community and a wider acceptance of the same. Trends which will continue to grow into the future.

I think this might be attributing too much malice to the author in question though; Larry C seems more like a somewhat thoughtless writer annoyed that his low-brow entertainment books are not considered to have the same merit as Dulaney's stuff, backed up by an echo chamber online community.

<comment><USER5> Perhaps Larry C. could raise his profile with the New Yorker by joining NAMBLA. I'm sure that it was an innocent oversight on Bebergal's part to omit that detail about Delaney from the piece.

<comment><USER3> None of the following is a defence (his attitude on NAMBLA is deeply squicky to me); but, as far as I know, Delany (not Delaney) was never a _member_ of NAMBLA. The closest that some quick Googling finds is the famous quote:

> I read the NAMBLA [Bulletin] fairly regularly and I think it is one of the > most intelligent discussions of sexuality I've ever found.

Will Shetterly has a conversation with Delany on the subject at [http://shetterly.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-conversation-with- sa...](http://shetterly.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-conversation-with-samuel-r- delany.html) .

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Interesting little profile of Delany. I didn't realize he was so prolific and still writing. And I'm not quite sure where to start his work.... probably not Dhalgren, right?

<comment><USER7> I started with Babel-17 and then read Nova and Stars In My Pocket... before getting into the short stories a bit (Time Considered as a Helix of Semi- Precious Stones was the first, I think).

He's a master, and his works are in a real sense masterworks. Whatever you start with, you'll probably find something to enjoy.

<comment><USER8> _Stars in my pocket..._ is an Epic. Definitely worth it, but like Dune, it took me years of trying to get past page 100. Once past, they were both amazing works, but, oh do they start of sooo slowly.

<comment><USER7> I never had a problem with either of them, for some reason, but E.R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros had that effect on me pretty heavily. To this day I've never read more than 100 pages of that book in a single attempt (where attempt can be a couple weeks of concerted effort).

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Interesting. I've still never read Delany despite the fact that he's the only commercially successful, black sci fi author I know.

<comment><USER10> There are two others, Steven Barnes and (the late) Octavia Butler. Besides being great storytellers, Butler won the MacArthur Prize and Steve has written episodes for a variety of TV shows over the years. Each was (arguably) commercially more successful than Delany. If Butler were still living I'm sure she'd have been interviewed as well.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> Nice to see that those who are pro child molestation still getting press. Classy New Yorker.

<comment><USER12> [Citation required]</comment></comment>


Show HN: Sixxsd – The SixXS Daemon – IPv6 Tunnel and Routing Engine - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/massar/sixxsd <comment><AUTHOR> Submitting to HN, as I've noticed a few folks here too asked about this.

Primarily pushed to github for historical reasons and to show how relatively simple that code was that was forwarding all the packets on the SixXS PoPs... ;)

See README.md for a few more details about the system, though the code is light on comments, it should be relatively straight forward.</comment>


Bootstrapping an Ultra Low Latency Trading Firm, Part 4 - <AUTHOR> http://veyronb.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/bootstrapping-an-ultra-low-latency-trading-firm-part-4/

<comment><USER2>
      char *t = "VEYRONB ";
      uint64_t u =*(uint64_t *)t

If this is done, you need to ensure your strings are stored in memory on aligned boundaries (8-byte for 64-bit ints) otherwise mis-aligned data access could seriously degrade your performance.</comment>


Campuses Can't Become One Big 'Safe Space' - <AUTHOR> http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-03-31/campuses-can-t-become-one-big-safe-space <comment><USER2> Universities are not what they used to be. They are not bastions of free speech and thought. They are not a place to challenge ideas.

They're an extension of high school. Their environment is an extension of the environment of corporate America. Going to university is a business transaction - time and money go in, credentials come out.

People go to universities to get a piece of paper saying they are capable of passing a series of classes. They rarely go to feel challenged, and often don't even go to learn. They just need to prove, without expense to future employers, a basic level of competency in following instructions.</comment>


High-temperature Superconductor Spills Secret: A New Phase of Matter - <AUTHOR> http://home.slac.stanford.edu/pressreleases/2011/20110324.htm

<comment><AUTHOR> I'd like to mention that this sort of research at SLAC and other Office of Science facilities and programs in the DOE, is being targeted for heavy cutbacks. A bill passed the house proposing a 20% cut ($1Bn) from the Office of Science budget, but the consensus is that it won't pass the senate or the president.

More extreme examples come from people like Rand Paul who have proposed eliminating the DOE completely.

<comment><USER2> I agree that this kind of research is needed, but surely you aren't suggesting that the DOE is the only entity capable of investing in research of this kind?

<comment><USER3> Investments in research which have a time to profitability longer than 20 years, which is the length of the patent term in the US and most of the world, cannot be supplied by for-profit companies. That pretty much leaves government or philanthropic entities. Philanthropic entities do not invest at the level justified by the expected benefit to society of the research. If you want funding at the appropriate level, you need to either do it through the government or you need to modify patent law to enable corporations to capture profits with very large time horizons.

Is there a reason that the DOE is a particularly bad agency, among potential government agencies, for doing this investment?

<comment><USER4> Wouldn't it be better to fund this through NSF so that it could be part of a cohesive portfolio? Instead of the through the DOE which adds massive beurocratic overhead/duplication of effort. Wouldn't one science funding research body be sufficient?

Also, as for nuclear weapons research wouldn't that be best carried out by the dod, perhaps throug DARPA?

<comment><AUTHOR> There's a lot of things wrong with what you are assuming, and assuming that the DOE adds massive bureaucratic overhead is a bit naive, frankly.

The NSF doesn't have a physical presence, and given that particle physics is a very natural extension of nuclear physics, that's why the DOE does particle physics (which includes lightsources). DARPA is purposefully limited in scope, they also have very few facilities (really, they are sort of like the NSF for weapons). Nuclear Weapons research is a small (but very important) part of the DOE's mission, but weapons and reactors are so closely tied together that it's really impossible to separate the too. There's certain levels of civilian and military separation that have been put into place by law. Many of the labs do weapons (usually conventional, only two do nuclear) research, many do only science, some do both, some do reactors and some do accelerators. The DOE services everyone though, defense, civilian, academic, everything, and that's largely why they are there and set up the way they are. It sort of ends up being this buffer zone between pure science and defense, and that's generally a good thing I think.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> As a layman, I've grown to associate "new phase of matter" with concepts that I'll never hear about again. It sounds like "there's a hole here, but we made a cork for it, and guess what, it fits!", aka too much model rearranging.

Said that, I hope they are right this time.

<comment><USER6> Phases or states of matter at the higher end of physics do not necessarily entirely correspond to the ones you learned in school. For instance, look at this state chart of water, and note how many entries there are: <http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/phase.html>

It seems likely to me that this new state would be a subset of what you'd call a "solid", just as you'd call both water II and water III "ice" without worrying about it. You can say the same thing about plasma and how it is a subset of what you would call a gas, if you don't care about the electrical differences.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Nice to see some progress coming out of this. Its one of the areas in basic science that can be massively disruptive overall. (probably no need to tell this crowd was room temperature superconductors would change, I know they would sure lower my datacenter cooling bill :-)

I don't doubt for a minute that this is something google.org would fund if the federal gov't money dried up. To much benefit for their business to overlook it.</comment>


Multiple Event Listeners With jQuery - <AUTHOR> https://gist.github.com/897382

<comment><USER2> Can you briefly explain what you're trying to accomplish here? I can think of several much simpler ways to do what I think you're doing here, but a brief description would help.</comment>


What the Hell Has Happened to the Process of Innovation? - <AUTHOR> http://www.forbes.com/sites/theopriestley/2015/07/07/what-the-hell-has-happened-to-the-process-of-innovation/

<comment> vezzy-fnord I thought this was going to be a decent mainstream article calling out the software industry on its shit for calling every reuse or reapplication of decades-old methods as "innovative", but instead it's a tactless and incoherent rant that starts with a faulty premise right from the first sentence and devolves into what amounts to "Stupid Millennials, I'm better than you."

<comment><USER2> I don't quite see where you have found incoherency or tactlessness in this rant.

On the other hand, there's no substance in the text, and this may be why I don't see either of those.</comment></comment>


Deadlines Forces Creativity - <AUTHOR> http://www.ajkesslerblog.com/deadlines-force-creativity/

<comment><USER2> This is also mentioned in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" (which I haven't read in a while, so bear with me). When one of his English students complains she's stuck and can't figure out where to start her essay, he tells her to pick a single city to write about. When she returns later with the same problem, he tells her to pick a single building in that city to write about. When she again returns later, he tells her to pick a single brick in that building to write about. When she again returns later, she comes back with dozens of pages.

I recall there being some comments about how she had to narrow her focus, because when you think of a city you can only think of all the things you've ever been told about that city, or ever heard about that city. Even when you think of a building you can only think of what other people have said about that building. When you focus on a single brick, it becomes clear that no one has ever said anything about it; so you clear your mind and think and write your own thoughts...

Point being, limiting yourself can get rid of certain distractions and make it clearer what your task actually is.

</comment><comment><USER3> This was also commented on in the Tao of Programming:

A manager asked a programmer how long it would take him to finish the program on which he was working. "It will be finished tomorrow," the programmer promptly replied.

"I think you are being unrealistic," said the manager, "Truthfully, how long will it take?"

The programmer thought for a moment. "I have some features that I wish to add. This will take at least two weeks," he finally said.

"Even that is too much to expect," insisted the manager, "I will be satisfied if you simply tell me when the program is complete."

The programmer agreed to this.

Several years later, the manager retired. On the way to his retirement luncheon, he discovered the programmer asleep at his terminal. He had been programming all night.

\-- "The Tao of Programming", section 5.3

</comment><comment><USER4> This was inspiring. As others have stated, this isn't about deadlines per se, but _limitations_.

This is such a common theme among artists, here's Stravinsky rifting on the same:

[http://jorielle-music.blogspot.com/2005/06/stravinsky-on- acc...](http://jorielle-music.blogspot.com/2005/06/stravinsky-on-acceptance- of-limits-as.html)

</comment><comment><USER5> @jberryman

You're certainly right, Jack is talking about limitations, and a bit about deadlines. The reason I used "deadlines" rather than "limitations" in the title was deliberate though. I think for many creative types, having a firm deadline is one of the best, and sometimes only, ways to get something shipped. It's hard to produce art. There's a lot of ego involved. It's real easy to keep polishing, trying to get it just the nth degree more perfect. Deadlines eliminate this.

This applies elsewhere too: in most mediations and negotiations we set a hard deadline. The deal is inevitably made minutes before the deadline. It doesn't really matter how much time is allotted: whether you have 40 hours or 4 hours, almost all of the time will be chewed up by bickering and arguing over positions. The deal is almost always made in the last 30 minutes or less.

</comment><comment><USER6> Not just deadline, other kinds of constraints do that too. When you're given a paper and asked to draw your mod creative piece, you can sit there for hours debating where to start. Now if you are asked to draw the your most creative flower with four petals, you can channel your creativity to very specific areas.

</comment><comment><USER7> It is not just deadlines, I find that any social situation where people are dependent on what I produce to be an extremely strong motivator - moreso than any well organized task list or plan -

</comment><comment><USER8> This is something I've often observed. Something about a looming deadline really focuses my mind and lets me churn out amazing work in surprisingly little time.

Most recently I noticed this when writing an article for a magazine. Weeks went by and I didn't write a thing. Then days went by and I churned out perhaps 100 words.

Then the deadline was in a few hours and I churned out a 3000 word article over two cups of tea in a single sitting. Didn't even take my eyes off whatever text editor I was using. The flow was just there.

So yes, from my observations, if you want to get in the flow - just have a looming deadline.</comment>


Show HN: Functions as a Service for Kubernetes - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/alexellis/faas-netes <comment><AUTHOR> I've just had a play with community FaaS app - an online code editor + executor from a DevRel guy at Cisco. [https://github.com/JockDaRock/Time2Code](https://github.com/JockDaRock/Time2Code)

You can run Go/Node/Python in your browser via functions.

</comment><comment><USER2> How does this differ from the existing FaaS frameworks on top of Kubernetes?

<comment><AUTHOR> FaaS is the first Kubernetes FaaS framework to natively support Docker Swarm and Kubernetes. Rather than using a highly specific / burnt-in JavaScript and Python runtime (as the other frameworks do) - any process or container can be deployed as a serverless function. This is because the execution of your functions is separate from the orchestration layer.

A tiny Golang shim (watchdog) is embedded in your container and means you don't have to create and maintain individual runtimes. You can even make `cat` or `gofmt` into a serverless function with no extra code. Communication is by stdin/stdout pipes (similar to CGI) meaning you can also support native Windows processes too - such as .NET.

You have a UI built-in for testing/viewing functions and metrics are used to auto-scale your functions for demand.

If you're already using Docker to package applications, it will be easy to adopt this OSS FaaS - whether building for Windows or Linux. More info on the README [https://github.com/alexellis/faas/](https://github.com/alexellis/faas/)

<comment><USER3> How does the overhead of creating a new process for every request compare to language specific runtimes.

I realise it will be more, since it adds flexibility, just curious how much.

<comment><AUTHOR> Good question - it depends entirely on the disk storage, RAM generation & speed and CPU. Golang and Python are fastest. I am sure it could be further optimized for a given combination.

Tested on a Type 3 Packet Bare Metal host with latest Docker Swarm. The NodeJS example called NodeInfo comes back in around 0.1s / 100ms for a round-trip. A bash built-in (cat) is 0.015s / 15ms. Golang sample markdown function - 0.024s / 24ms.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: Does CalDAV as a service exist? - <AUTHOR> I'm trying to build an app that exposes a calendar for each user that stays up to date on their devices. It should work similar to Facebook's per-user read-only calendar via CalDAV.<p>Are there any paid services for this? <comment><USER2> Just yesterday I launched the launch page for my upcoming calendar as a backend service: [https://blobcal.com/](https://blobcal.com/) ! CalDAV support is one of the features I plan to implement if there is demand.

But looking at your current app website, it looks to me as if you don't necessarily require to manage your user calendars. Just getting your app information in their calendars is probably enough, whatever 3rd party provider they are using? In that case [https://www.cronofy.com/](https://www.cronofy.com/) might be a good fit.

</comment><comment><USER3> I am not sure if I understand correctly, but ownCloud's Calendar is interfaced by CalDAV and can be internally shared between its users.

</comment><comment><USER4> [https://fruux.com](https://fruux.com)

</comment><comment><USER5> Yep, There`s teamup.com. Works well for loose groups of friends. And its free.

</comment><comment><USER6> FastMail</comment>


Sweet Home Alabama Played on Tesla Coils (2012) - <AUTHOR> http://www.openculture.com/2012/03/sweet_home_alabama_played_on_tesla_coils.html <comment><USER2> I suspect it's accompanied by some speakers too, because otherwise the sound would be a lot "emptier" and less bassy.

Similar device: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_speaker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_speaker)

Also reminds me of this old video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9UO9tn4MpI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9UO9tn4MpI)

<comment><USER3> You can pretty clearly hear the drum and synth parts playing in the background, at least. I don't think they're trying to conceal it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> In Portland there's Quarterworld Arcade that does a few musical Tesla coil shows every week. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb6MyRPQRPM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb6MyRPQRPM)

</comment><comment><USER5> Direct Video Link: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbLshnfu0wY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbLshnfu0wY)

</comment><comment><USER6> In honor of Alabama's impending loss to LSU, I present ArcAttack! playing the Imperial March on Tesla Coils and a human being.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OdubOdFS-Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OdubOdFS-Y)

Also, Sharon Osbourne gets boo'd.

Saw these guys play at DragonCon a few years back, and it was the bomb. They also played a bunch of chip-tunes through the coils, which seemed to work extra well.

</comment><comment><USER7> I heard the band called "Arc Attack" do this about 10 years ago in Austin, TX.

The video is ok but listening to it in person, up close, is something else entirely. The sound-generating surface is physically huge, so the sound fills the space in a way that is hard to describe. If you're into the chiptune genre to begin with... It's great.

Here is a video of Arc Attack: [https://youtu.be/huuevMwp1wg](https://youtu.be/huuevMwp1wg)

IIRC the drum was played by a robotic drum kit and they had a dude in chain mail dance in the middle.

</comment><comment><USER8> This is a good song for the Tesla Coil

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee5evlN8Bbs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee5evlN8Bbs)

</comment><comment><USER9> Curiously reminiscent of the Moog Cookbook's version. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vaThIiLlm8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vaThIiLlm8)

</comment><comment><USER10> At Burning Man 2018 someone hooked up two massive Tesla coils to a keyboard and you could see and hear the notes as electricity as you played them on the keyboard. One of my favorite memories :)

</comment><comment><USER11> Do we live in a marvelous age or what?</comment>


Ask HN: How to learn more about Crypto Currencies for a Newbie?? - <AUTHOR> <comment><USER2> Princeton prof ARVIND NARAYANAN - wrote an excellent introductory book on Bitcoin.

[https://freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/randomwalker/the- princeto...](https://freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/randomwalker/the-princeton- bitcoin-textbook-is-now-freely-available/)

<comment><USER3> The Princeton Bitcoin class and companion text are very thorough. One of the crypto-currencies of note highlighted during the class was zerocoin, which adds a layer of anonymity to the blockchain. The Zcash implementation of zerocoin is currently launching in alpha. It may prove an interesting way to witness the progress of a crypto-currency being bootstrapped in real-time. As well as gaining insight into cutting-edge zero knowledge technology, that some believe may become standard in all future crypto-currencies.

[https://z.cash/](https://z.cash/)

<comment><USER4> is there a public syllabus/reading list available for this? please share if available.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I dont understand this question, what is your question? From the whitepaper do every single relevant discussion around this topic is freely available in the internet.

<comment><AUTHOR> To elaborate it further, lets take a situation here, lets say,for a newbie who has spent considerable amount of time on reading a few books and searching through reddits, and watching about 50 videos related to the topic on youtube, what would be the best course of action, because most of the time the material on the internet on most blogs and article is the same, but just written in a different way.

So are there any websites, blogs, reddit groups or other forums which an experienced miner would suggest to a newbie ???

<comment><USER5> I still dont know what you want to know. you can also not just ask "How to learn about fiat money" and expect helpful information.

If you want to know how Bitcoins work, start with the Satoshi Whitepaper and proceed from there. I am sure it will automatically lead you to other resources when you try to understand some parts of it.

If you just want to use them, just use them, there is not really much knowledge needed for that.

If you are interested in the anonymity of it, look around the Darknet market communities.

If you just want to be involved in a general Bitcoin community, try Bitcointalk

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the answer, Actually up until now i was picking up bits and pieces of information instead of a more structured form. i guess i am not able to express my question in a better way. but hey thanks for engaging i this conversation, you gave me a starting point man, thanks a lot for that.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> [https://medium.com/@ConsenSys/programmable-blockchains-in- co...](https://medium.com/@ConsenSys/programmable-blockchains-in-context- ethereum-s-future-cd8451eb421e#.6n4l0d7dh)

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> Just Found this few hours earlier, while searching for more information on bitcoins this video on youtube. I believe this be taken as an introductory video and this website too.

[https://youtu.be/Lx9zgZCMqXE](https://youtu.be/Lx9zgZCMqXE) & [https://www.bitcoinmining.com/](https://www.bitcoinmining.com/)

</comment><comment><USER7> I recommend the ethereum whitepiper. It has a clear description of bitcoin and then goes on to describe other applications of the blockchain:

[https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/White- Paper](https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/White-Paper)

</comment><comment><USER8> The number of resources available online is just too intimidating for a "newbie".

I have started this class on Coursera a few weeks ago, and it is very well structured and gradual. [0]

[0] : [https://class.coursera.org/bitcointech-001](https://class.coursera.org/bitcointech-001)

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the link mate, just enrolled into the course, i hope this will help me understand 'BitCoin' in a better way

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> I have the same question!</comment>


Maryam Mirzakhani is a woman, but what about her research? - <AUTHOR>

Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman to be awarded the Fields medal, mathematics' equivalent to the Nobel Prize.
The media only covers the fact that she is a woman. almost no one covers her research.
In the Google auto complete "Maryam Mirzakhani Math" is coming after "Maryam Mirzakhani husband".
This inforgaphics explains her research and what are Riemann surfaces and geodesic curves. https://www.matific.com/us/en/maryam-mirzakhani <comment><USER2> _Quanta_ magazine (which I had not previously heard of) did fairly good profiles on each of the winners, which include both biographical and mathematical aspects (to the extent possible for an intellectual but non- specialist audience). Here's the one for Mirzakhani: [http://www.simonsfoundation.org/quanta/20140812-a-tenacious-...](http://www.simonsfoundation.org/quanta/20140812-a-tenacious- explorer-of-abstract-surfaces/)

Was on the front page yesterday: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8172574](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8172574)

</comment><comment><USER3> My knowledge of her research is limited to Wikipedia and the recent news articles. Based on that limited knowledge, I think her two major contributions were:

1\. An asymptotic formula for the growth of the number of simple closed geodesics on a compact hyperbolic surface. 2\. Proof for the conjecture that William Thurston's earthquake flow on Teichmüller space is ergodic.

You explained point no. 1 in a simple way so that anyone could understand it. Thanks for that.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> Maryam Mirzakhani husband is more important than her work :( [https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152645840868627](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152645840868627)</comment>


The PNG Gamma Dilemma - <AUTHOR> http://morris-photographics.com/photoshop/articles/png-gamma.html

<comment><USER2> Nice review of gamma issues, particularly I hadn't realised the problems with Safari (oops). But doesn't mention the problems with IE8 and opacity (eg <http://www.mezzoblue.com/archives/2010/05/20/ie8_still_fa/>).

<comment><USER3> That's because the article seems to be really old (refers to safari 2 instead of 5, and there's no mention of chrome)</comment></comment>


Ask HN: Accused of plagiarism because I used HTML5-Boilerplate for a project - <AUTHOR>

Our class was assigned a project to make a website for an already existing company. I built mine using html5-boilerplate, and now the teacher is accusing me of plagiarism. They said it's a template and templates aren't allowed. I've built the entire website by myself. I created the layout by myself even though they accuse me of stealing existing elements because the stylesheet was already filled with css, and the entire interactive slideshow I built was without even consulting tutorials on the internet or using Javascript snippets from somewhere else.
Now, one of the teachers previously told me that using Bootstrap was allowed, so once they confirm that he actually said that, then there's no more discussion left.
However, I'm bothered by this and I'm genuinely curious whether using html5-boilerplate for this class assignment can be viewed as plagiarism. This assignment was to demonstrate that we're capable of building a website, and I think I'm more than capable of doing that. What does HN think? <comment><USER2> I used the html5 boilerplate a few years ago for a course when I was an undergraduate without issues. This was for a course at a large, well known university. It didn't even occur to me to ask for permission, but html and css were just secondary to the class material, since it was about server side development.

What was the focus of the course? I don't think you make it clear if the website was front-end code only (html/css/js) or if it also tied in backend code and a database.

Pretty much, every professor I ever had told us we could use whatever libraries/code snippets we wanted on projects (as long as the snippet/library wasn't a drop in replacement for the purpose of the assignment of course), so long as we cited where we got them from and if asked, could explain exactly what they did.

</comment><comment><USER3> It's up to the teacher really. I had a professor who accused an entire class of plagiarism for a small assignment because they all used similar logic. The thing was, it was a low-level class and the solution was less than 50 lines of Java anyway. There wasn't really room for unique solutions.

In the industry, using templates/boilerplate code is expected and encouraged. No reason to re-invent something if someone's already done it better than you will.

</comment><comment><USER4> I had the same assignment, I think I used Zurb Foundation thought, and the focus of the assignment was on the front end graphic design.

I think I learned more going through the HTML5-Boilerplate's Git comments/bug fixes, then I learned in class. Especially, when it came to understanding the "state of the web".

I think 9oliYQjP who made the calculator reference is spot on. It's a tool, and it ensures accuracy, precision and speed in your work.

</comment><comment><USER5> Ask your teacher why you would be stupid enough to use a widely recognized template if you were trying to get away with actual plagiarism. My opinion is it is okay to use a template if you fully understand all of the functionality it brings to the table. It is no different than using a calculator if you've memorized simple arithmetic but just want to ensure accuracy, precision and speed in your math work.

</comment><comment><USER6> It sounds to me like this is just a misunderstanding of what HTML5 Boilerplate is. Your professor should be encouraging you to re-use libraries, as that's what you will have to do in the real world. Not a single project goes by that I don't use a reset, or another library. Many libraries and tools have huge communities built around them, and are more tested than if I had done it myself.

</comment><comment><USER7> Tell him you can't expect a company to put together a car with out using wheels, an engine, a chasis, etc etc. or that using classes in programming languages are basically you plagiarizing yourself ;) ( unless your coding in binary your basically using someone else's work )

</comment><comment><USER8> If Bootstrap is allowed and html5-boilerplate isn't, then I think your teacher should do some more research.</comment>


Ask HN: What will life on Earth be like in 2030? - <AUTHOR>

Just curious, this question has been on my mind a lot lately. Looking at recent world events and the pace of change in my lifetime (23.5 years), I just feel like we haven't seen anything yet. I wonder how we will apply science and technology to solve problems that affect the entire biosphere. I wonder how and when we will terraform another world/moon, when we will find life on an exoplanet, and when we will reach another star. <comment><USER2> I am more concerned with 2038, when the memory on time_t runs out. I plan to be stocking up on baked beans prior to then. :-)

</comment><comment><USER3> It will be more polluted, and have more unhealthy people.

Terraforming worlds / moons? Not in our lifetime.

<comment><AUTHOR> I wonder if that 'garbage-eating' bacteria will help reduce landfill sizes. I'm an optimist but I wonder how will dodge the bullet of a few billion more people wanting to live like Americans. We dont have the resources to sustain that kind of growth without major consequences.</comment></comment>


ZipPy: fast and lightweight Python 3 implementation using the Truffle framework - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/securesystemslab/zippy <comment><USER2> If only Oracle would stop gimping performance on the free version of GraalVM. The best optimizations, the ones that make it faster than OpenJDK, are $$$$$. And they're trying to replace OpenJDK's compiler with Graal, to convert Java back into a language where performance costs money.

Imagine if the free version of gcc or clang had gimped performance. The whole purpose of a compiler is to build code that's as performant as possible.

I won't go near Graal

<comment><USER3> > The best optimizations, the ones that make it faster than OpenJDK, are > $$$$$.

But Twitter run free Graal and it's faster than OpenJDK (let's be more specific and say C2) for them.

<comment><USER2> They have a Scala-heavy codebase that benefits from the of the optimizations C2 in OpenJDk doesn't do. In the general case, Oracle optimized free Graal to the point it was just on-par with OpenJDK and made the additional optimizations commercial only

<comment><USER3> So you agree it's on-par with OpenJDK, and admit sometimes a lot better in practice, and it's free... and you're still not happy simply because there exists something even better which isn't free?

<comment><USER2> It's an official implementation, the beginnings of a segment of the ecosystem. A different Java compiler was what Google started with on Android... Look at the mess they created now.

If code runs differently on official platforms Commercial Graal can build a moat where code X doesn't work well on OpenJDK. Eventually you end up with code that works on OpenJDK and Graal EE, and a subset that only works well on Graal EE.

This is why, in my mind, compilers from official sources should always be free. Since Graal EE performs better there's nothing stopping Oracle from pulling a Chrome. Take all the market share then a few years later use your market power to start fucking with the ecosystem

<comment><USER3> It implements the same Java specification as every other Java implementation. It's a conforming implementation.

How can an extra implementation of exactly the same standard possibly be a bad thing? This is what we want isn't it? Multiple implementations innovating to improve while keeping to the same spec? So if you don't want to pay for Graal EE it doesn't matter because your code still runs everywhere, and because CE is as good as OpenJDK you're no worse off in any case.

Or are you saying they're going to break the spec? Well that's just a baseless speculation so not useful to talk about in my opinion.

We're really lucky that Oracle are investing so much money on pushing the limit of Java performance, and that they make the vast majority of it open source. Few companies have the money and institutional knowledge to do this.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Also see: [https://github.com/graalvm/graalpython](https://github.com/graalvm/graalpython)

<comment><USER5> Does anyone have any explanation of how ZipPy and GraalPython differ?

What is the history of these two projects? Was ZipPy abandoned in favour of GraalPython? (And if so, why?)

<comment><USER6> ZipPy, the initial implementation of Python on Truffle, was an intern project developed by Wei Zhang [1] while doing his PhD at UC Irvine, and continued by other students for a while. It was later re-implemented from scratch by an Oracle Labs team. I think that the main reason for a clean re-implementation was that the Truffle framework had evolved enough where it was easier to start from scratch than to rebase. Also, ZipPy was reusing the Jython parser, whereas GraalPython is using ANTLR [2].

[1] [http://thezhangwei.com](http://thezhangwei.com)

[2] [https://medium.com/graalvm/how-to-contribute-to- graalpython-...](https://medium.com/graalvm/how-to-contribute-to- graalpython-7fd304fe8bb9)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Looking at this and also at [https://github.com/graalvm/graalpython](https://github.com/graalvm/graalpython) I can't find the answer to the one question I really want answered:

Does this get rid of the GIL?

<comment><USER8> Yes

<comment><USER7> Can you link to where this is stated? I can't seem to find it.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Interesting, but how fast is it, especially compared to PyPy? Didn't find this information, neither in the top nor the other provided links.

</comment><comment><USER10> It looks like the project has lost steam in 2015.

<comment><USER11> Looks like this was supported by Oracle's Zurich team, and they probably decided to stop working on this project back then (they were responsible of the vast majority of the contributions before then)

<comment><USER12> I imagine because they've been focused on GraaalPython [https://github.com/graalvm/graalpython](https://github.com/graalvm/graalpython) ?

From what I can see in ZipPy it's leveraging Jython at least partially, whereas graalpython wasn't (presumably written as a fairly clean implementation?)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Isn't the biggest issue that alternative Python implementations (pyston, pypy) have to implement all the quirks of CPython and compatibility with C-Extensions? Since there is no written standard and libraries rely on CPython behavior. Making things like Numpy etc. work, that heavily use C, seems really hard for jitted implementations.

<comment><USER3> This is why Graal languages virtualise C extensions by interpreting them, allowing them to appear to meet a fixed C interface with quirks but really being implemented more efficiently.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> Oh wow!

This is great, I'm in love with the idea of something like Jython for Python 3. I want to love python more than I already do, and with type checking sorta creeping into the understanding of the userbase, I'm hopeful still.

I'm gonna try this out later and see what kinda numbers this thing can actually do.

Edit: hm, this hasn't actually been touched since 2018, that's not good.

<comment><USER3> GraalPython went on from where this left off.

<comment><USER14> Thanks for telling me, Mr Seaton!

I'm glad to know, I had no idea, I thought ruby had the Graal situation monopolized.

Where could I find out about developing for Graal? If I had a custom vm for my own language, how could I go about moving to Graal?

Perhaps such a thing is not done, and I'm just ignorant to it.

<comment><USER15> You need to make use of Truffle, there are a couple of tutorials around.

[http://cesquivias.github.io/blog/2014/10/13/writing-a- langua...](http://cesquivias.github.io/blog/2014/10/13/writing-a-language-in- truffle-part-1-a-simple-slow-interpreter/)

[http://cesquivias.github.io/blog/2014/12/02/writing-a- langua...](http://cesquivias.github.io/blog/2014/12/02/writing-a-language-in- truffle-part-2-using-truffle-and-graal/)

[https://www.graalvm.org/docs/graalvm-as-a- platform/implement...](https://www.graalvm.org/docs/graalvm-as-a- platform/implement-language/)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> I wonder if this will mean you can deploy Django on the JVM as you once could with Django 2 and Jython.

</comment><comment><USER17> Note that Truffle framework is also a framework for Ethereum smart contract development

[https://www.trufflesuite.com/](https://www.trufflesuite.com/)

The Python smart contract framework is called Brownie.

</comment><comment><USER18> "Lightweight" makes me think of something like Lua, not the JVM.

<comment><USER3> GraalPython can run on the SubstrateVM, rather than the JVM, which is a lot lighter.

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> Looks abandoned - last issues are from 2017 and the build system fails when you run it, it points to resources online that no longer exist. Why did this get posted?</comment>


What Facebook Knows - <AUTHOR> http://www.technologyreview.com/featured-story/428150/what-facebook-knows/?mod=related <comment><USER2> "If Facebook were a country..."

The fact that it has 900 billion people and no real source of revenue or trade would make its citizens among the poorest in the world. The massive infrastructure costs for its regime of information gathering are not offset by any kind of taxes. Further, the lack of any police force or military (aside from a few pushy lawyers) means that it has no way of protecting itself or ever hoping to recover the massive loss that went into building the fledgling nation. But the 2000 bureaucrats running the place are doing pretty well for themselves.

And yet still, I couldn't make this article interesting.

</comment><comment><USER3> Previous HN Discussion - <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4123652>

</comment><comment><USER4> As a PhD student studying ape communication there is nothing more enticing then landing a spot on the Facebook data science team. I bet the best way for a current student to get a job there in the future would be to initiate an academic collaboration while still in the lab.

<comment><USER5> Good luck getting 900 million people to fill out consent forms to satisfy your IRB. Academic research follows actual ethics rules. :)

<comment><USER6> Wouldn't the terms of service qualify? It explicitly gives Facebook permission to use your data.

<comment><USER7> Not for academic purposes they wouldn't, that doesn't really constitute informed consent. Most people don't read ToS and that is well known.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Am I the only one who thought this was a terrible article? There wasn't much to it. A collection of quotes and a high level explanation that basically facebook collects data (duh) and has a bunch of infrastructure for analysis.

</comment><comment><USER9> Why learn how people behave when you can teach them how to behave?

<comment><USER10> Exactly.

When articles like this emerge detailing the trouble of understanding the mountain of data that accumulates from a piece of software it makes me wonder about what their goal was in the design process, or whether they think of it that way at all.

The problem, to me, is not the one detailed in the article: but the fact that a company can have such a crisis. It makes me think that this company has no internal compass and can only invent one through analysis of a data set collected with a muddled original intent.</comment></comment>