The Psychological Difference Between $12.00 and $11.67 - <AUTHOR> http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/01/the-psychological-difference-between-1200-and-1167/384993?single_page=true

<comment><USER3> I've always seen the difference between round numbers as being a question of arbitrariness.

If the price for a new TV is exactly $1,000 it strikes me as a price that was arrived at arbitrarily. $999 just gets rounded up in my head. Whereas when I see an amount like $1,012 I feel like -- rightly or wrongly -- that there must be some logic behind the price. That it represents a price set for a reason other than mere marketing.

<comment><USER4> I see this a lot with bidding for government contracts, it's a known trick. There's a sign near me describing the new pipes going into the ground replacing the ditches, it says the contract went to some company for something like $12,345,122 (not sure what the real number is, just an example). I've seen similar numbers on signs at my university describing contracts for new buildings.

<comment><USER5> Amusingly, this sort of thing happened with the first measured height of Mount Everest. It was measured at exactly 29,000ft, but they fudged it to 29,002ft so it didn't look like an estimate.

<comment><USER6> Source: [http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2684102?sid=2110577666...](http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2684102?sid=21105776664453&uid=2&uid=4)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Not really related. When the N64 had been out for a while it was £99.99. My brothers and I begged for it, but my mum said it was too expensive and she would consider it when the price went down. Later that week we were all watching the TV together and an advert for the N64 came on, and at the end it said "Buy now for £99.98!". We all celebrated until my mum said that didn't count. We never got one in the end.

<comment><USER8> I liked your story, but was bummed at the end "We never got one in the end." Haha You should go out and get one online now! You deserve it! ;) haha

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> When i took a trip to Paris from the US a while ago i thought it was awesome how tax was included, and the majority of the prices were even or multiples of useful coins, so that .20euro coins were the smallest i needed to worry about.

That and its super easy to figure out how much you owe when its simpler numbers with tax included.

until that one store who used .99 or other oddness everywhere and now i had a pocket of "useless" tiny coins to deal with.

<comment><USER10> FWIW I've been in tens of countries and the only place which does __not __include taxing in the price was the US.

Regarding the other subject in your comment, I think this sort of initiative[0] by certain countries is definitely commendable.

[0] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_coins#Price_rounding](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_coins#Price_rounding)

<comment><USER11> > I've been in tens of countries and the only place which does not include > taxing in the price was the US.

You need to visit more countries then.

The reason for not including the price is that taxes can vary by city. Which makes is impossible to place an advertisement that lists the price in a wide area.

Any country that has local sales tax will be like the US in this.

And I personally think the US should just round to the tens place and forget both the nickel (5 cent) and the penny entirely. They'll have to issue a new coin in place of the quarter (25 cent) so it'll never happen, but it would be nice.

<comment><USER12> I've been to ~15 countries in Europe, a couple in Asia and the USA. The latter was the only place I've witnessed it. That's not to say it's the only place it happens, but it certainly seems anecdotally to be a rarity.

Maybe instead of a snide reply to your parent comment you could've given an example of another country than the US to have this issue caused by regionalised sales tax differences?

<comment><USER11> Canada.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Numeric system with negative digits are interesting in this respect. If you read 11.67 as actually 12.3̅3̅ (with 3̅ = -3), then it becomes clear that you need to give a ten and two bills, and get some change.

Or said otherwise, when paying, you should round up in your mind, not down...

</comment><comment><USER14> Apparently you make much more money (in a restaurant setting at least) if you omit the currency, use round numbers and no decimals.

Rabbit with oyster and samphire - <USER2>

Rabbit with oyster and samphire - £7.00

<comment><USER15> Yeah, I nearly got caught out once when I went to a restaurant and ordered wine "number 23", thinking it was like a Chinese Takeaway menu or something. I was wondering why there weren't in order! Got an odd look from the waiter too. Lucky I didn't go for wine number 200.

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> It's a form of (marketing?) deception, isn't it? One that's been running for so long that it altered how people perceive prices. Am I the only one who doesn't like these kind of practices?

<comment><USER17> I don't either, but my method of countering it is to round the price to the nearest dollar in general.

<comment><USER16> I think most people do that, question is whether that also negates any subconscious perception modifiers (sorry, I don't know what else to call that). Like when "feel good" commercials make you associate the product with good feelings unless you actively resist that.

(Disclaimer: I hate this kind of advertising)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> I understand that sales are greater with a price of $59.99 rather than $60. But _how much_ greater? Can anyone point to an article that quantifies the effect?

<comment><USER19> Here is an interesting study done on it. PDF warning.

[http://www.jem.org.tw/content/pdf/Vol.9No.2/06.pdf](http://www.jem.org.tw/content/pdf/Vol.9No.2/06.pdf)

</comment></comment><comment><USER20> In design (UIs, pricing, etc.), there is a constant battle for attention & processing between emotional and cognitive. Round numbers and solid icons are understood and don't set off mental red flags. When things become more difficult to understand, we either assume (correctly or incorrectly) or have no choice but to make an effort to fight those expectations.

On reddit, there are popular subreddits like /r/oddlysatisfying, /r/mildlyinfuriating, and /r/mildlyinteresting that demonstrate intrinsic attraction and repulsion to said expectations.

In the world of interface design, there's been some debate regarding solid vs hollow icons in terms of processing. Here's a well researched article that sheds some light: [http://viget.com/inspire/are-hollow-icons-really-harder- to-r...](http://viget.com/inspire/are-hollow-icons-really-harder-to-recognize- a-research-study)

</comment><comment><USER21> Our supporter plan for neocities.org is $5. We talked about saying $4.99, but I felt that this is deceptive marketing so we didn't do it.

To me, it's a tradeoff between the possible increases in signups you get from using a .99 price, and the level of trust you potentially lose from engaging in psychological manipulation of your users.

I'm comfortable with $5, even if it does cost a few customers. Being straightforward with our pricing builds a story of trust and honesty that I like.

</comment><comment><USER22> Not that it is related a lot but reminded me of this

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8274084](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8274084)

</comment><comment><USER23> Interesting. I've actually read that it's for a different psychological reason: nines are big numbers, and make others look smaller. So in $20.00 you have a first digit of 2 and inconsequential zeroes, but in $19.99 you start with a 1 and make it look even smaller next to the imposing nines.

(Wish I could remember the source but I don't.)

</comment><comment><USER24> What about gas prices? Why do we, as a country, put up with "$2.59 9/10" as a price? It's ridiculous.

<comment><USER25> Status quo? I dont see it as any different than "putting up" with $x.99 prices, its just not enough of a difference to change behavior. The quirky gas prices date back to a time when gas cost $0.25/gallon, so the 24 & 9/10 cents was a significant margin increase (vs 24 cents) on a product that was, and is, a low margin product (at least at retail).

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> 11.67 is practially less than 7.50...

</comment><comment><USER27> Personally I find it insulting. 9.99 prices are designed to deceive, their sole purpose is to hook you, anchor your decision process on MEANINGLESS numbers. When I see prices like that I know its a scammy place, and they designed it thinking Im a sucker.

Sooner you learn to ignore them the better for you as a consumer. Metacognition will set you free.

</comment><comment><USER28> This isn't the first time where I've read that someone doesn't understand why prices end in .99 and I'm surprised no one seems to know though someone in the comments in the article came close.

I've owned restaurants for 30 years. When I first got into the business, I was told to always end our prices in "9" because when you add up the prices of items you sold, it should always end as .....

And that is where I, too, have forgotten. It was an accounting thing as mentioned in the comments. Should be easy to Google or look up. I don't know if anyone does it for that reason anymore. We certainly don't.

I'll leave looking that up as an exercise to the reader.

<comment><USER29> If .99 is used consistently, the distance to the nearest whole number tells you how many items were sold, which is useful as double-check (also subconsciously).

39.94 = 6 items

<comment><USER30> But if this was the reasoning ending in .01 would surely make more sense.

39.06 = 6 items

79.59 = 59 items

<comment><USER29> Change giving becomes much more difficult.

<comment><USER31> Just apply a $0.01 discount at the register for customers paying in cash. Your total is $34.06, with a $0.06 discount. Your change is a $1 and a $5 from $40. Thank you, come again.

A $0.01 discount is a lot easier to swallow than an additional $0.01 change- making fee on each item.

<comment><USER32> The arithmetic would be too much for a large number of tillers, who can't do much more math than count change.

This still misses the other main purpose of the .99p, which was to force the tiller to open the till to get the change (thus, reducing the likelihood that they might just pocket the money handed to them).</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Music Suite: a system for creating, processing or analyzing music in Haskell - <AUTHOR> http://music-suite.github.io/docs/ref/

<comment><USER2> Discussion from a month ago: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7852296](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7852296)</comment>


Delta passenger plane mistakenly lands in US air force base - <AUTHOR> https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/09/delta-passenger-plane-mistakenly-lands-in-us-air-force-base <comment><USER2> As a flight simulator occassional player, one would think that ILS, VORs, GPS assisted flight routes, ATCs and the countless procedures that need to be followed by a flight of such characteristics would prevent this from happening...</comment>


'Suffrajitsu': How the suffragettes fought back using martial arts - <AUTHOR> http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34425615 <comment><USER2> According to Wikipedia, many historians think the suffragettes hurt the cause of women getting votes. There were several suffragist movements, and "suffragette" was used to describe the militants (who went on hunger strikes, committed arson, etc).

The opponents of suffrage would refer to suffragists as "suffragettes" (in much the same way Fox News might refer to left-wing politicians as socialists or communists), and would often argue "women are too crazy to vote - just look at the tactics they use!".

Women got the vote in 1918, 4 years after WSPU (the militant suffragette group) ceased activity (they essentially disbanded / split after the war started, because domestic terrorism during a war was obviously not a winning strategy).

It might be fun to think they beat up policemen, forcing people to take them seriously. But it actually had the opposite effect. At best, they were comparable to Malcolm X (making other groups look relatively acceptable).

<comment><USER3> Meh. People in power always say the militants were too militant and actually hurt the cause - whether it's true or not.

When you think about it, the only thing the establishment wants is an opposition too weak to effectively stop them. Winning movements almost always have a radical edge. You mentioned Malcolm X, but even Martin Luther King was accused of hurting the cause for black equality by being too extreme.

And even if all the militant suffragettes did was make the mainstream suffrage movement look more acceptable, that's still a huge impact for a numerically small group.

<comment><USER4> There have been some studies showing that militant tactics in the civil rights era provoked conservative backlashes compared to geographic areas where militant tactics were not employed. We're not in the realm of pure hypothesis and supposition anymore.

[http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/05/new-study- shows...](http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/05/new-study-shows-riots- make-america-conservative.html)

It's worth considering that the people in power who say the militants are hurting their cause _may be speaking the truth_. Rather than dismissing them out of hand because you find their motives suspect.

<comment><AUTHOR> _provoked_

Oppression isn't provoked or a backlash. It's cold and calculated for purposeful effect. The banal logic of colonialism is why Reginald Dyer's troops had .303 Enfields [and the used because they were too wide armoured cars] at Jallianwala Bagh. [1]

Jim Crow, the Klan, George Wallace and segregated public schools were long established before events such as those which earned Edmund Pettus Bridge [2] it's National Historic Register status. Though I suppose "conservative backlash" one could mean the Cahaba Boys [3], I'm not really seeing anything that I would qualify as provocative in a neutral sense of the word.

[1]: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jallianwala_Bagh_massacre#The_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jallianwala_Bagh_massacre#The_Hunter_Commission)

[2]: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Pettus_Bridge#Civil_rig...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Pettus_Bridge#Civil_rights_flashpoint)

[3]: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_church_bombing#Pros...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_church_bombing#Prosecution_of_Robert_Chambliss)

<comment><USER4> OK. Then use a different set of words. Violent protest in these historical contexts has been demonstrated as causally linked to political changes antithetical to those preferred by said protesters.

Happier? The exact same phenomenon has now been described without using either of the words you object to. What has been gained by this exercise? The phenomenon in question has not changed because a vocabulary some people might consider more neutral has been used.

Do you have something to contribute to this conversation?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Some examples from the Eastman House collection:

[http://www.geh.org/ar/strip43/htmlsrc/vanderweyde_sum00035.h...](http://www.geh.org/ar/strip43/htmlsrc/vanderweyde_sum00035.html)

I visited once to try and obtain larger copies but archivists look down on the common folk.

</comment><comment> rm_-rf_slash Well that was easily the coolest thing I've seen all day.

I advocate for everybody to study martial arts. Learning to fight is a process that teaches you to synchronize your mind and body out of sheer necessity: if you don't practice your technique, strengthen your entire body, or take care of your diet, you're gonna get punched in the teeth.

Most of my youth was spent playing video games, and sports were boring exercises that my parents dragged me to. If anyone else can relate to my experience, take my advice and try a martial art.

<comment><USER6> Yup, as a kid I was even told by doctors to avoid strenuous exercise because of a minor heart condition.

These days I do good old english boxing four times a week. It's an amazing workout and you will never achieve so much focus and flow as quickly as you will in a sparring session. For those three minutes, you are there, you are fighting, there is no room to think about anything else, or to stress about anything else.

Nothing like the immediacy of a potential punch to the face to make all other stress in your life melt away and become meaningless.

<comment><USER7> _Nothing like the immediacy of a potential punch to the face to make all other stress in your life melt away and become meaningless._ The necessity of focus and putting everything else out of your mind is similar in motorcycling, FWIW.

Bikes are probably more likely to kill you though. But not as likely as horse riding - that's a seriously dangerous sport.

<comment><USER6> I think the effect is pretty much the same in all adrenaline sports and adrenaline seeking behaviors. Which one you pick is a combination of convenience, enjoyment, money, and risk tolerance.

I love downhill longboarding for instance. But it's extremely inconvenient. Especially the part about walking back up the damn hill.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> I took martial arts as a kid, taekwondo, hapkido, karate. I loved knowing my limits thats what martial arts teaches you, your physical limits and it lets you stay out of fights unless absolutely necessary.

More over I loved the discipline, and a strong sense of inner confidence. The stress release. I find martial arts is more about meditation and practicing control over yourself.

As for practicality, you are better off learning something that special forces developed for hand to hand combat.

Out of all martial arts I'd say taekwondo if mastered is the most lethal because the leg is the most powerful muscle, perfect for women as they have much more lethal leg muscle than men.

My instructor practiced it since he was a kid and went to a special university where they practice TKD day and night. His control over space and footwork was WTF grade. Even when a group of black belts tried to spar him, the non stop array of fakes and quick turn kicks knocked somebody out.

The most practical form of hand to hand combat is practiced by special forces

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fer7MWiVN6w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fer7MWiVN6w)

</comment><comment><USER9> A favorite martial art of mine is Aikido. It is quite different from all other martial arts in that it emphasizes disabling your opponent while minimizing harm to them. There are different styles. Here's a demonstration of one such style called Yoshinkan (it is considered one of the rougher/more rigid styles):

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugsS2_Z0wpA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugsS2_Z0wpA)

<comment> atom-morgan I seriously question the practicality of Aikido. It's easy to look good when your opponents play along with your attacks.

<comment><USER9> It's worth questioning for sure, but at the same time it's easy to misunderstand Aikido.

"opponents playing along" is half-accurate. In Aikido you spend most of your time practicing techniques with a _partner_ , and they do not play the role of an uncooperative opponent for two specific reasons:

1\. The goal of Aikido is to, through repetition, build muscle-memory of very specific techniques. These are very different types of techniques than what you'll find in say, karate, where it's basically kicking and punching. These techniques are designed to disable your opponent while minimizing harm. Aikido is also not about kicking and punching, it's about _responding to kicks and punches_ (attacks).

There is simply no way to build that muscle memory other than by having repetition with a cooperative partner. To outsiders this may seem like opponents that merely "play along" with your attacks, but that is ultimately a misunderstanding of what's going on.

2\. These techniques _are painful_ if you don't cooperate. The reason the "opponent" seems to be "playing along" is because they have to do this _over and over_ for the length of the class session. If you're a poor Uke (the opponent) and are uncooperative, you will end up missing most of your classes due to injuries. A good Uke will be uncooperative to the extent that it helps Nage (the person practicing the technique) learn the technique without seriously injuring themselves.

<comment> atom-morgan I don't think the issue of building muscle-memory is exclusive to Aikido. It's a part of nearly any physical activity.

Why do you think a martial art such as Aikido is nearly non-existent at the highest level of competition such as the UFC?

<comment><USER10> Aikidoka have no place in UFC because it goes against the whole spirit of the art: harmony, self defense, non-competition.

Regardless, Aikido techniques (i.e. joint manipulation) violate the rules of the UFC. [http://www.ufc.com/discover/sport/rules-and- regulations](http://www.ufc.com/discover/sport/rules-and-regulations)

<comment><USER11> The difficulty with that claim is that it's circular, and it makes it untestable: the effectiveness of Aikido cannot be tested because testing the effectiveness of Aikido goes against the spirit of Aikido.

<comment><USER10> Not exactly. The question was "Why do you think...?" "Spirit of Aikido" was my thoughts, a conjecture, not a claim as spokesperson on behalf of the Aikido community. :)

To rephrase what I said before: If a high-ranking Aikidoka wants to play UFC, they're certainly free to do so. However, _I think_ none have done so because it goes against the spirit of Aikido. (e.g. people attracted to Aikido are not those attracted to UFC, Aikidoka UFC fans don't associate Aikido with UFC)

<comment><USER11> I've seen others express the same sentiment. Your explanation may be true, but I think a parallel explanation is also probably true: they are unprepared for a fight with a skilled opponent.

<comment><USER10> I agree that "unprepared for a fight with a skilled opponent" is true for many Aikidoka (perhaps they are more self-aware of their limitations than students of other arts?), but it's also true of Cat Zingano ;)

<comment><USER11> I know you're making a joke, but I don't think it works: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Zingano#Mixed_martial_arts...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Zingano#Mixed_martial_arts_record)

<comment><USER10> My point, made in jest, was that even the most seemingly prepared, skilled, and qualified person can be unprepared for a skilled opponent. I was aware of her record, hence the example. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding you?

<comment><USER11> She's demonstrably prepared for a fight with a skilled opponent. She's just not prepared for the _most_ skilled opponent - but right now, it appears that no other woman on the planet is. Surely our bar for "skilled opponent" in this discussion has not been Ronda Rousey, a bronze medalist in Judo and the most dominant female MMA champion, ever.

<comment><USER10> It seems I misjudged the conversation and should not have made a joke. My apologies.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> Caption reads: "A suffragette defends herself from a policeman's truncheon". Poor choice of words much?</comment>


The Airbnb for Sport Equipments - <AUTHOR> http://www.airsportal.com/a/

<comment><AUTHOR> AIRSPORTAL aims to help travellers to discover local sports and activities. To do so the team is developing a great product to support the sharing of sport equipment, help travellers and listers to manage the exchange with the best terms for everyone, and in total safety for the equipment itself.

The Ambassador program is now ON to grow the communities, feel free to have a look: [http://bit.ly/airsportalambassador](http://bit.ly/airsportalambassador)

Nobody knows better than locals right?</comment>


Has anyone used Angelsoft? - <AUTHOR> http://www.angelsoft.net/

<comment><AUTHOR> I usually cringe at the idea of paying someone to help shop an idea. But I've heard of the folks behind this and it seems interesting.</comment>


Ask HN: Is there anyone who is looking to expand their business to S.Korea? - <AUTHOR>

Hello, I'm a 28 year old native Korean.
To explain a bit about myself: My lifelong goal was to become a game developer, but I was forced to choose pharmacy as my university major under my parent's pressure.
Ten years fast forward, I ended up with a master's degree in pharmacology and three years of experience in a pharmaceutical company.
(In Korea, every male citizen is required to serve two years in the army. Alternatively, you can apply to work in a scientific field for three years to compensate.)
As soon as the three-year mandatory period was completed, I had called it quits. That was three months ago. Afterwards, I began to make game in my room.
As a result of fiddling with various projects in my spare time, I was already experienced in Python, Javascript, C++, Obj-C.
Within a month, I succeeded in finishing two simple iOS games called "Jumpy Rabbit" and "Don't Touch 2048". Well, I'm not proud of those two games because they are spin-offs of the popular games (Flappy Bird, 2048). During the development of my third game, I began to feel burnt out. The motivation was dwindling, productivity plummeted.
I know this is just a small setback and I will continue to make games. But I see there are other ways to make a living.
Nowadays I keep reading these successful startup articles in HN and think: "Why isn't there such thing here in Korea?".
Is there anyone who is looking to expand their business to Korea, or even localize their game to Korean? Maybe I could help. I don't have any experience in entrepreneurship, but I'm a good learner (my English is self taught) and given enough time, I believe I'm up for most tasks. Feel free to contact me at firstname.lastname@example.com
Thank you for reading.
TL;DR: A native Korean jack of all trades is looking for someone who wants to expand their business to South Korea. <comment><USER2> Could you point out some problems companies have when localizing for Korea? Being able to point out how others have failed, and how you can help us succeed would be a great argument for hiring you. (note: I'm not in a position to hire anyone at the moment)

Also, I spoke to a Brazilian guy a few years ago. He said he took an idea from an American website, translated it to Brazilian had a profitable business in no time.

<comment><AUTHOR> In addition the obvious language barrier, different culture and law/regulations are the biggest difficulties I can think of.

I don't know about the failed cases, but a handful of big companies tried to expand to Korea and succeeded (e.g. AirBnB, Uber, League of Legends, Clash of Clans). I still wonder how they managed to expand to Korea. Maybe someone like me reached out to them?

Anyway, I thought medium, smaller companies or even indie game developers may want to hire someone like me and hopefully grow together.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> Is this you as well?

[https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Jin+Man+Kim](https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Jin+Man+Kim)

<comment><AUTHOR> No.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Can you set up a small website with your intent to do localization work or even just put some of this info into your profile (while continuing to actively participate)? HN tends to move pretty fast. I can't imagine this one post would really get you the kind of attention you need to get anything off the ground.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thank you for the advice. I have been thinking about setting up a personal website (even registered a domain) but kept procrastinating. I'll start building one today.</comment></comment>


Does Time Machine work with cheap external drive enclosures? - <AUTHOR>

I'm not having much luck with it.
On one initial backup attempt, it got stuck early on.
On another attempt, it thought the disk was unmounted even though it seemed fine to me.  Getting it to back up again at this point was extremely slow.
So I'm rebuilding the spotlight index in the hope of improving the situation.
Anyone have similar problems like this? <comment><USER2> no problems</comment>


Tech.view: Planes, trains and automobiles - <AUTHOR> http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13853060 <comment><AUTHOR> "...many modern autopilots use Intel's veteran 80386 processor..." surprised me. I would have been less surprised by Motorola 680x0 or IBM PowerPC: I thought both were more common than x86 in embedded devices.</comment>


The Art of Madness - <AUTHOR> https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/02/06/the-art-of-madness/ <comment><USER2> No discussion of Outside Art would be complete without mentioning Henry Darger ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Darger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Darger)) and his uber-epic _In the Realms of the Unreal_ , a "15,145-page, single- spaced fantasy manuscript". He lived almost all his life on 851 W. Webster Avenue in Chicago. If you're in Chicago you can also visit the INtuit Center of Outsider Art ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intuit:_The_Center_for_Intuiti...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intuit:_The_Center_for_Intuitive_and_Outsider_Art)) to see his work, in NYC the American Folk Art Museum has a center dedicated to him.

Or you can watch the documentary [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRlvDKcDvsI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRlvDKcDvsI), although I didn't find it do too much justice to him or his work.

<comment><USER3> Indeed. I saw his work at an exhibit in Seattle years ago. It is a mind- bender, for sure.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> The collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne Switzerland is still one of the most breathtaking exhibits I've ever seen. Features the works of Darger, Wolfi, Josome and many more.

[https://www.artbrut.ch/en_GB/authors/the-collection-de-l- art...](https://www.artbrut.ch/en_GB/authors/the-collection-de-l-art-brut)

<comment><USER5> Thank you for the link.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> I clicked on this link thinking of Louis Wain and his cats. I was surprised to see most of the images looking generally similar to each other and unlike Wain's work. It makes me think maybe people looking for "outsider art" are looking for art that fits a narrow stereotype.

<comment><USER6> This collection, and "outsider art" in general, seem to be about untrained, self-taught artists. Louis Wain was schizophrenic, but he studied at the West London School of Art and made a living as an artist for years.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> This article reminded me of Nick Blinko's cover art for Coil's Unnatural History III.

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

I seem to remember reading that he suffered from schizophrenia, and had a habit of burying is art in his backyard so it would grow.

[http://www.outsiderart.co.uk/blinko.htm](http://www.outsiderart.co.uk/blinko.htm)

</comment><comment><USER8> The American visionary art museum in Baltimore is worth a visit if you like this sort of thing:

[http://www.avam.org](http://www.avam.org)

</comment><comment> the-dude TempleOS

<comment><USER9> Fomerly, I viewed TempleOS as some kind of useless exercise.

But now I think this should be considered a piece of art.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> Artistry of the mentally ill by Hans Prinzhorn is an incredible work of narrative art criticism. It changed my whole idea of what Art is.

The collection itself can be viewed in Heidelberg and is worth a visit if one is nearby.</comment>


GTA clone in HTML5 - <AUTHOR> http://www.webworks.dk/enginetest?hn

<comment><USER2> cool concept, but I wish the aiming crosshairs could be controlled by the mouse without having to reclick and move after each shot. very frustrating.

<comment><USER3> I literally came back here just to say this. I love the concept but it's almost unplayable with the dragging after every shot.

Make it follow the cursor!

<comment><USER4> I can't figure out how to shoot. It's telling me to drag the mouse and release, but that just makes the dude run.

<comment><USER5> Right-click to pull your gun, drag the green crosshair that appears over your target, and release.

It's really not a good gameplay mechanism at all. Also, the game crashed with a Java (!) stacktrace for me.

<comment><USER4> Yup, that just makes my guy walk over there. I have the feeling I need a real target before it will work, but I'm the only one on the screen and the tutorial won't let me continue until I've killed something.

A+ for technical showmanship. D- for quality.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> This blog post has a some more details:

[http://blog.webworks.dk/2012/03/webworksengine-html5-game- en...](http://blog.webworks.dk/2012/03/webworksengine-html5-game-engine.html)

</comment><comment><USER6> What I like is that they put some time to make good HD graphics and make it looks good (even though the control sucks as many have mentioned). The other HTML5 games that has a 95 GUI gave a feeling that HTML5 is going to take the gaming experience backward.

Design does really matter. A good step forward.

<comment><USER7> tbh you can get away with '95 and early graphics as "retro" - these are more like those you might find 5-7 years later, and i don't think they cut it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Controls suck. Aiming sucks. Looks crappy. Retro look is over. Get some nice vector art and make it look stylish. Get some game design and make it so you can actually kill the first guy easily so people want to keep playing. Fix the loading times. Make the tutorial at the beginning inline instead of a practice. Also, why does someone on my block want to kill me right away?

</comment><comment><USER9> Very cool game. I keep getting a technical error and a stack trace every time I fight these guys and try to cover myself using the building to the north east of them.

<http://www.hick.org/~raffi/gangstagangsta.tiff>

Google Chrome 17.0.963.65 on MacOS X 10.6.8.

</comment><comment><USER10> Impressive. I did get a few issues which did point out its implemented using GWT.

Any thoughts on using GWT for something like this? The only other game using it that comes to mind was Quake2 but that was more a getting it to compile problem then building something from scratch.

</comment><comment><USER11> Awesome! Works phenomenally in Chrome. The crosshair mechanism is difficult to control, though,

</comment><comment><USER12> Not only a cool implementation, but, amazing music and amazing character words. "It's like that cuz!"

</comment><comment><USER13> Again, an "html5" game with reliance on flash. At least this one plays without sound if you don't have a flash plugin, but what's stopping this (and seemingly everyone else) from using html5 for sound?

</comment><comment><USER14> This engine is lot closer to a high res NES Legend of Zelda than GTA 1 (flat buildings, screen-scroll when you reach the edge), GTA plot/mechanics, though, I guess.

</comment><comment><USER15> looks good but the controls suck

</comment><comment><USER16> dislike the drop release to fire, but everything else is AMA-ZING!

</comment><comment><USER17> No progress on loading window with OS X Safari latest.

</comment><comment><USER18> This just strikes me as a wee bit racist.

<comment><USER19> yo bitch, y u be trippin?</comment></comment>


Tapping the Power of Your Morning Routine - <AUTHOR> http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/leadership/23188

<comment><USER2> "Think in the morning, act in the noon, read in the evening, and sleep at night." - I guess I never thought about it that way.

Lately I have been trying to get up earlier, though unfortunately, I don't know what to do with my mornings. I guess I need a plan of action. Further considering I am in Columbus, OH, it gets very cold this time of the year (and for the next few months) so going out to do something isn't very appealing.

Though doing some exercise at home in the morning does not sound like a bad idea.</comment>


#haskell is a busy place - <AUTHOR> http://donsbot.wordpress.com/2009/02/01/haskell-is-a-busy-place/

<comment><USER3> It's good to see more Haskell-related stuff being posted here.

Since you presumably frequent #haskell, how does it compare to other programming language channels? What sort of level is the discussion generally at? Are the people joining the channel relatively new to Haskell, or have they been using it for some time and want to involve themselves a bit more deeply in the community?

<comment><AUTHOR> I'm certainly a Haskell noob, so it's hard to say - most discussion is over my head. I _am_ very impressed with how helpful everyone in #haskell is - <USER2> debugging code to getting Cabal (the dependency manager) installed, people in #haskell have _really_ gone out of their way to help me out.</comment></comment>


Peregrine Falcons Inspire New Thermal Soaring Strategy for UAVs - <AUTHOR> http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/26103/ <comment><USER2> Really efficient thermal soaring drones could trade off altitude for electrical power using airstream turbines. This means they could be used as adhoc high power transmission and relay stations. There would be military applications. (Yes, the military already has hardware that can do that stuff, but this would allow a _man-portable_ setup of surprisingly high power.)</comment>


Not Everyone Gets a Seed Round - <AUTHOR> http://bryce.vc/post/16074389844/not-everyone-gets-a-seed-round

<comment><USER2> I don't think this analogy holds up very well. Getting a trophy is something that happens at the _end_ and getting a seed round is something you do at (roughly) the _beginning_.

Getting a seed round of VC is more analogous to being allowed to be on the team in the first place. The trophy is more like an IPO or acquisition.

"Not Everyone Gets To Be CEO Of A Billion Dollar Company" strikes me as a more appropriate headline for this bit. I don't see any reason not to allow (or even encourage) everyone to try though. Sure, some (most?) will fail, but as the old saying goes "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take."</comment>


We just launched OpenSignal 2.0 for Android - <AUTHOR> http://opensignal.com/android/

<comment><USER2> Where do you (HN) guys draw the line between good app & bad app?

There seems to be a lot of "tin foil hat" responses here regarding permissions and personal information. I'm an Android developer with a top selling app that uses a TON of permissions (it features a bunch of system utility switches & stats).

There's nothing I see about OpenSignal being a malicious app, but a lot of responses seem to presume otherwise despite OpenSignal team members being present and responsive here.

What justifies the hard, negative position?

I'm really very curious. What's the deal, please?

<comment><USER3> As a technically inclined member of the HN community I am acutely aware of the implications of leaking my personally identifiable information out into the world and having it be stored/analysed/sold/copied for eternity. I think many of us are.

Simply inquiring about how/why this information is used/asked for does not imply that we're having a 'hard negative reaction'. It just means that we're aware of our right to privacy and are actively trying to assert and protect it.

Personally, I applaud the OpenSignal developers being active here and answering questions. Also, just because you might not be using the information you collect in your apps for nefarious purposes doesn't mean that nobody does. Finally, I don't expect you or anyone else to be the guardians of my privacy. Only I can be charged with that task.

<comment><AUTHOR> We posted on HN for exactly this type of constructive criticism (though we do hope that there are a few quiet users who are enjoying our app and don't feel the need to post a plain back slapping comment that isn't really part of the spirit of HN anyway).

Privacy is something we take very seriously at OpenSignal. For one, we watched CarrierIQ get torn apart[1] after it came to light the types of data that they were collecting of their users. Its obvious to us that if we ever abused our user's privacy the same thing would happen to us, so not only do we consider ourselves moral people there are clear market forces from preventing us from using your private data, which might be more reassuring to some.

We also only look at data related to your wireless service e.g. signal strength, data speeds etc and always anonymize it. It's worth remembering that not too long ago studies found that 50% of top android apps were tracking and collecting personal data[2] such as IMEIs, phone numbers, sms etc and these are not crowd-sourced data gathering apps, this was a random sample of the top 30 android apps at the time of the study. With that in mind, we don't begrudge anyone who wants to check our privacy standards are up to scratch.

[1] [http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/01/carrier-iq-how-to-find- it-a...](http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/01/carrier-iq-how-to-find-it-and-how- to-deal-with-it/) [2] [http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/30/study-select- android-apps...](http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/30/study-select-android-apps- sharing-data-without-user-notificatio/)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> @RyanZAG That's the idea :) but a few things to note: 1\. All data is anonymized 2\. You can turn data-sharing off in the settings (as pointed out when you start the app) 3\. Providing data to the networks is not only a funding source for our efforts to build coverage maps online (which will always be free and independent at opensignal.com) but it allows the networks to improve their service - showing them where their service is weak, or where they should focus their marketing.

<comment><USER5> Ah, interesting business model, thanks!

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> I don't know what you are referring to when you're talking about open. Where can I download the source code for your apps or a database dump?

<comment><USER7> We have an API and our maps are open for free for everyone to see. You're totally right though, we don't offer source code or data dumps, and aren't an open source project.

</comment></comment><comment><USER5> Free with no ads? Curious to know why you're doing it. Do you somehow sell the uploaded data to interested parties?

<comment><USER7> Just copyings James' response below here:

That's the idea :) but a few things to note: 1. All data is anonymized 2. You can turn data-sharing off in the settings (as pointed out when you start the app) 3. Providing data to the networks is not only a funding source for our efforts to build coverage maps online (which will always be free and independent at opensignal.com) but it allows the networks to improve their service - showing them where their service is weak, or where they should focus their marketing.

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> Still works well even with almost all permissions denied using LBE Privacy Guard. Want my Phone ID? Too bad!

<comment><USER4> Hehe good to hear. We use a hashed version of phone IMEI as a unique identifier for proper weighting and cleaning of the data. You can also stop this without LBE by turning off data-sharing in the app, but then you won't be contributing to the world' largest and most open coverage maps.

<comment><USER3> Yep, I'm still contributing my data. I was just a little bit leery of giving the unique ID of my handset. Will the data I share with my IMEI blocked still be useful?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> I would love to install and try this, but it wants access to my SMS messages and all my contacts. Why would a WiFi analyzer possibly need those two permissions? I've all but given up on rejecting apps that request my phone id since they all seem to do it now. But this seems excessive.

<comment><USER7> The SMS messages stuff is so we can run analysis on number of SMS's you send and receive to display to you. We don't read any of your SMS's, we just count them. Unfortunately Android permissions don't let us differentiate the two. You can just not allow that permission though and the app will still work.

<comment><USER9> Last I checked, you can't cherry pick permissions when you install an app, its all or nothing.

<comment><USER7> Hmm, I'm the iPhone user of the company so I wouldn't know :). But according to nicholasjarnold below LBE Privacy Guard might work for that?

<comment><USER3> You can absolutely cherry pick permissions (and everyone should). You just can't do it during installation and without a 3rd party helper app. Please look into rooting your device and installing LBE Privacy Guard.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Is there way to simply get APK? Some people are not using google market, even if they are using Android.

<comment><USER2> Really? Why is that? I"m also an Android developer, so I'm curious why anyone would avoid the Play market.

<comment><USER11> Kindle, not available in their country, etc.

<comment><USER2> Kindle isn't really Android and doesn't use most of these features.

Countries that are not on Google Play usually have legal / export restrictions, do they not?

<comment><USER12> so what if they have legal / export restrictions, it shouldn't stop them from getting software

<comment><AUTHOR> We have a lot of demand from users who aren't able to access our app on Google Play. There's a lot of devices out there without market access e.g. Kindle Fire and we get a lot of demand in countries which don't have Google Play e.g. Iran & China.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Two things:

1) I'm unclear what I'm supposed to enter on the plan details screen's "billing date".

My last bill covered 2012-12-10 through 2013-01-09. Do I enter 9 or 10 there? Experimenting, it looks like you want the first day in the next bill, so 10.

2) The time on network graph is showing a lot of time on 3g, but that's because the phone is on WiFi so it dropped the HSDPA+ connection, probably to save power. Would be nice if you could exclude when on WiFi from that chart.

</comment><comment><USER14> I enjoyed OpenSignal 1 on Android, but I also found that it was running in the background (and using up the very limited RAM on my Nexus S) even when I had not opened the app. So I uninstalled it. Are you able to explain why it was doing this, or was I somehow mistaken? Thank you!

<comment><AUTHOR> Its user configurable. In the settings we allow users to choose how frequently the app will take signal readings and whether or not it will do so in the background. We also allow users to turn off data sharing completely if they are so inclined.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> Working in a large downtown building, it would be great to have 3D view of what walls to be by to make a call. My brain sort of has a map like this, just from the punishment of a hanging browser session or dropped call.

<comment><USER16> With the new version of Google maps you can view nearby cell towers on a 3D map - you can see a screen shot on the android market: [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.staircase3...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.staircase3.opensignal&hl=en) It's very cool :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> OpenSignal 1.0 crashed evrytime I opened it on my Nexus 4. I hope you guys have fixed all those issues and I also hope the refresh is now automatic in- app and not manual.

<comment><AUTHOR> We're always interested in bug reports. Its most helpful if you can provide a detailed description so that we can try and recreate it. For example, you said it crashes on start but is it immediate or does it occur consistently after a particular element loads? Anything else that you notice? Also, detailed breakdown of carrier, device & software version always helps. In terms of updates we use the standard Google Play system, so you'll receive a notification when you open the Google Play app & the app will update automatically if you select the automatica updates checkbox. Thanks for the feedback.

<comment><USER17> I have previously submitted bug reports when the crash happened through regular Android bug reporter. I just gave it a try and now it doesn't crash and start time has gone down too. It feels much more smooth now. Good work. Two other things that I want to say are as follows.

1\. The app allows you to swipe among screens (Dashboard, Test, Stats, Coverage, and report) but once you are in coverage/map section swipe among screens doesn't work, instead it pans the map. May be a lock should be placed in map screen to have a consistent swipe experience.

2\. I am not sure how stat settings work. I use Nexus 4 with Straight Talk/ATT. It is a prepaid with $45 for everything unlimited. I pay on 7th of each month. Allowances and Traffic settings in both Contract and pre-paid revert back to default settings. I can't change top-up date in pre-paid settings. Data/Call/SMS monitoring settings can be more intuitive.

Thanks for coming over here and answering questions.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks - glad the new version is working better. We've squashed a large number of bugs.

1\. The map screen will swipe but due to the map extending to the sides of the screen, a bezel swipe is required to switch to tabs adjacent to the map tab. This was recommended to us by Google employees on the Android team, so I imagine it's relatively standard practice.

2\. We'll take a look at this. When you look into the different types of contract and pre-paid plans out there the functionality and settings rapidly became very complex. Once we get a bit more feedback from users we'll do some work to simplify them.

<comment><USER17> 1\. Problem solved. Thanks.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> I love the idea behind this. I seem to recall that the previous version wasn't terribly stable on my Galaxy Nexus. I'm eager to give the new version a try.</comment>


How coronavirus infected my brain: anxiety, the internet, and keeping up to date - <AUTHOR> https://jborichevskiy.com/posts/corona <comment><USER2> While I've been following all Covid-19 related news and keeping track of the numbers with near morbid fascination, I've found that being in lockdown has made me happier. It has also given me perspective on life.

As cliche as it might sound, I've realized that what truly makes us happy is family, friends and time to devote to hobbies. I've been chatting with my family everyday, calling friends, playing board games with my wife. I'm producing music again, learning new things again as opposed to just being "productive".

I used to order in food 3-5x a week. Now I'm making all meals from scratch and really diving into what makes good food taste, well, good.

I haven't bought anything except groceries in a month and honestly, I haven't even missed it.

I really don't know how I'll approach the world post-Covid-19. The thought of going back to the old life and routines seems a little absurd now.

<comment><USER3> I have exactly opposite feeling than you. I usually spent 7-8 hours at work and then do hobbies, visit friends and family and usually spent weekends away from home and computers. Now, I am locked at home and I can't visit anyone and I work way more and spent way more time on computer (at least I live with my girlfriend, so I am not completely alone). I am also way less productive as I am not happy and I am tired all the time from not being able to really relax my brain. Also I cook at home a lot normally so cooking everyday is not that big difference.

I prefer meeting people in real life so chatting and video calls are not enough for me. Many of my friends are not good at tech too so it is sometimes difficult to connect with them. I look forward to go back to my pre-covid life.

<comment><USER4> Yeah same, vidoeconferencing with friends is better than nothing but still doesn't hold a candle to actually hanging out for me.

Basically this whole exercise has lead me to discover that while I assumed I was pretty introverted because I'm not generally outgoing, I'm really not.

Also I'm a total night owl and being at home all the time has seriously messed up my sleep schedule. Last night I went to bed at 3AM.

<comment><USER5> It's funny, I've got almost the inverse of your inverse experience. An old group of friends, formed over IRC/TS2/MMOs, had in recent years traded a lot of that sort of thing for less-frequent IRL hangouts as lives and interests developed. Recently, all the old lines of communication have come back to life and it honestly feels like going home.

That said, I'd probably change my tune after a year or two. I think a lot of "quarantine is the best thing ever" floating around right now is driven by various forms of novelty/nostalgia bias.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I've been following the coronavirus news since mid January, spending hours a day on twitter and reddit looking at virus and financial news. There are days I take a break from it all, but overall I feel like I want to bear witness to the events as much as possible. I firmly believe the outbreak and the economic devastation are the most important events of my lifetime and it's worth staying informed no matter how grim the news.

I don't recommend everyone do the same, and I definitely don't pass on all shear weight of all that's going on to my wife, but someone's got to try and keep up with the zeitgeist and make informed decision for the sake of my family. My hunch is we're in for some bad socioeconomic times, worse than most are predicting, and I'm trying to do due diligence spotting trends as they start happening.

Ideally I'll look back at this post and laugh at all the wasted energy chasing the impossibly fast news cycle...

One thing I've been doing is creating a list of predictions about where we are headed in order to be able to look back and evaluate whether I was able to process the firehouse of news into consequences. At least that part is fun.

<comment><USER7> > got to try and keep up with the zeitgeist and make informed decision for the > sake of my family. My hunch is we're in for some bad socioeconomic times, > worse than most are predicting

This really resonated with me. While most seem to think that a return to normalcy is right around the corner, I can't shake this feeling that the world is in the early stages of multiple, massive (and potentually rapid) once-in-a lifetime paradigm shifts. Not knowing how to position myself and my family for the future (and not even knowing where to start) leaves me with this growing sense of urgency and desperation that ultimately manifests as a frantic, nonstop search for any and all information that might help.

There's got to be a better way to handle this, and I'm sure there are others out there that feel the same way. I wonder if its possible to get some sort of crowd-sourced intelligence platform built that can filter out the noise to help provide accurate, actionable information and extrapolation into trends without it devolving into some end-of-days prepper forum.

If anyone's interested in helping build such a thing, or if one already exists, please let me know!

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> I'm so worried about what lockdown is doing to my mental state that I'm taking better care of myself than ever, and actually coming out ahead.

Running three days a week is now a delightful excuse to get outside, rather than a chore.

Strength training with bodyweight and exercise bands at requires less activation energy / admits fewer excuses than going to the gym.

Cooking at home is now the only real option, instead of something I just feel guilty about not doing.

Accidentally working 24x7 is such a real threat that I'm deliberately ending my day, switching to the other side of the kitchen table, and working on my own stuff. Usually I would get home and still be in a half on / half off state, surfing Reddit and work email at the same time.

I do find that media about the pandemic delivers a lot of anxiety and little signal. I'm keeping it down to a quick glance over NYT for anything urgent, and otherwise just bite-sized chunks of The Economist daily at breakfast, plus an episode of This Week In Virology on the weekends. It seems like a decent balance.

<comment><USER9> Yeah well at least you can go out to run. Here in Spain we're completely imprisoned :( It's a nightmare and really detrimental to our health (especially mental).

I'm actually trying to work 24/7 as much as possible because it keeps the anxiety at bay a bit.. But there's 4 days off from tomorrow which is going to be the hardest yet. And the government just announced they want to extend it until at least the 10th of May.

<comment><USER8> I assume that's coming for us too; want to use my freedom while I still have it.

<comment><USER9> You're right :'(

The day the lockdown was announced I was gearing up for a big walk in the mountains but people were already getting scared and my friends advised me not to go.. Which I followed. I soo regret not going now. Make the most of it while you can!

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> You're describing more or less a classic case of OCD, It's very good that you are able to identify the rituals/compulsive behavior that comes with it. You have to stop that immediately. Those compulsions are what's fueling your obsessions and causing your anxiety. You have to stop checking your news, disinfecting your phone, etc, and simultaneously stop avoiding your usual routine tasks (exercise, etc).

I have been suffering for 10 years from OCD (hypochondriasis) which has debilitated me almost a 1/3 of my life. Only recently I got it under control with meds and intensive CBT therapy.

<comment><USER11> Your advice is not good for people with health oriented OCD. The typical advice from health professionals there is to basically stop washing your hands for a period of time. Not recommended anymore.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> Author here!

It's been a few weeks since I've written this and I'm pleased to say things _have_ improved significantly with diligent focus on my healthy habits, consistent exercise and meditation, and less infinite scrolling.

Regarding the title: it was meant to be cheeky but I do apologize if it confused anyone given how little we know about the virus. I think a better one would've been `How Coronavirus Infected My Mind` but I didn't think of it then.

Stay safe and sane everyone!

<comment><USER13> Ya it is a kind of clickbaity title but I didn't regret reading it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> My country's subreddit (france) was already difficult to bear with, but the pandemic really made things much worse.

It really got to me.

What I'm afraid of is people who spread panic and are negative. I'm really bothered by people who keep criticizing the government over anything they can. Government are not superhero daddies.

The news about the economy also seem unnecessary and irrelevant, in my view. I wish there was more focus on how third world countries are going to fight this, because I think it's going to be much uglier there.

<comment><USER15> It's amazing how - for example - almost every country's press is managing to treat a global shortage of every single thing needed to test for coronavirus caused by massively increased demand as a unique political failing of their country's government that is literally killing people.

<comment><USER16> Treating it as a 'unique political failing' might be silly, but highlighting the problems of our JIT economies, and criticizing our governments about that, is in itself a good thing.

From cursory reading it seems many experts have been beating the drum about these types of events (global 'catastrophes') and instead of 'wasting' a bit of money to keep stockpiles up, or implement other types of policies 'just in case', many of our governments have led us here in the name of optimization, efficiency, etc. I think it's fair enough for the media to bring that up.

<comment><USER15> One of the things that amazes me is that the US press has also managed to take their government's attempts to prepare for a scenario like this and twist them around to attack the government. For example, it turns out the US government had a really long-term, forward-thinking program to develop and stockpile cheap, mass-producable ventilators for exactly this scenario - and we're talking really long-term, with the design contract signed in 2014, FDA licensing last year, and delivery in the next presidential term. This is how ProPublica titled their article about this program: "A Company Promised Cheap Ventilators to the Government, Never Delivered and Is Now Charging Quadruple the Price for New Ones". [1] They literally took the existence of this long- term, forward thinking program and used it - together with a more normally- priced rush order of less cost optimised ventilators - to create a narrative of corporate and government malfeasance.

[1] [https://www.propublica.org/article/a-company-promised- cheap-...](https://www.propublica.org/article/a-company-promised-cheap- ventilators-to-the-government-never-delivered-and-is-now-charging-quadruple- the-price-for-the-new-ones)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> This sounds very relatable to me with other topics.

I have serious problems with obsessions in this vein that I believe to be pure-O (just the obsessive part of OCD) related, or in other words, an anxiety disorder. My mind latches onto things that are bad, and assumes that they will become way worse (as worse as possible), and it paralyzes me with anxiety to the point that I can't sleep some nights. I can't stop thinking about the worst possible case. Endless reading up on the subject, constantly trying to take steps to protect myself from the perceived threat.

I hate it so much. I tried to take medication to deal with it, and it helped me tremendously to stop worrying so much, but the medication caused quite bad tinnitus (it is ototoxic), and I had to stop.

I'm not discounting that coronavirus is scary, it definitely is. I wish I could take my own advice, but it would be far healthier if we could focus only on the present realities instead of fearing the worst case scenarios. If anyone knows how to do that, please advise!

<comment><USER18> Have you considered other medications? I take 20mg of Lexapro a day for it and it's no exaggeration to say my life has experienced a sea change for the better. There are many meds to try all with different side effect profiles and different efficacies in different people.

<comment><USER17> The one I tried that caused it was Zoloft. I assume the other SSRIs will also cause tinnitus by way of raising serotonin levels. But for the brief week before the tinnitus hit, it very much felt like a sea change for the better.

<comment><USER18> As I understand it, Buspirone might be worth asking your doctor about — it's not an SSRI or a benzo, and appears in some studies to lower serotonin levels in animal brains. Anyway, worth bringing up with your doc if SSRIs are out.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> I am happy that I quitted all social networks before the corona crisis. I decided that contempt, destructive critic and all that were not the circuits in my neuronal network that I wanted to activate every day. Even if you have a very interesting timeline, you read a bunch of negativity mixed with the interesant bits.

With the crisis in China and Italy I got properly informed in meneame (Spanish reddit-like site). I could prepare me and my family in advance.

And the keywords are "in advance". It was very useful before the thing blowed up in our faces. There was a lot of important information about how the virus is transmitted, etc.

Now we are all full of dirt and social media is about who's fault it is. There is nothing in there that can be useful anymore. Moving on.

<comment><USER9> Well, I can't really blame the population for not taking it seriously. Even the Spanish government talked it down strongly.

And to be fair, it could have fizzled out like SARS version 1 did in the early 2000's. This is SARS version 2 after all.

</comment></comment><comment><USER20> >> ...at the fact that I get to safely work from home, taking on less risk but not actually being able to contribute anything useful to the larger situation

Please note and take comfort in the fact that by staying home and taking less risk, you ARE DEFINITELY CONTRIBUTING something very to the larger situation by that act alone -- you are actively reducing the risk for everyone else.

If we can also contribute other benefits, that would be a bonus for sure, but give yourself a break and don't add that unnecessary guilt to your burdens.

Stay well!

<comment><USER12> This is very true and I'm much more appreciative of that fact now. Thanks - you stay safe as well!

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> I keep reading from here, "Gosh I'm working so hard all the time because I'm so bored and locked in all day." Folks, I think I'm crazy, or very different from you. I'm much more, "Gosh, I can't even BEGIN my work for the day. I'm drowsy, spending two hours daily chasing delivery, talking to family overseas because I'm 6 hours behind and they're around during my work day, and WORK IS MEANINGLESS." And I like my job!

<comment><USER22> This is similar to what was happening with me too. Someone had to basically say "get to work now".

So maybe it will help you to hear too. Sit down, make a list, work through it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER23> Hello, fellow native Sacramentan (and the many HNers here finding this post relatable).

Addressing your items piecemeal might get things started in restoring some balance. Or, doing something more sweeping... who knows. Anyway, if I may share my take on one of those pieces:

> And of course, I've managed to mix in some guilt:

> at the fact that I get to safely work from home, taking on less risk but not > actually being able to contribute anything useful to the larger situation

Understandably, one might very well be looking to do more.

In any case, may I suggest the idea that you are, in fact, diligently doing your part by trying to not unnecessarily put yourself out into public? That's already more than a start.

I'm not a particularly patriotic person. In fact, I'm also intentionally unregistered to vote. But, the whole distancing exercise thing is one of probably a few opportunities I'll ever have to feel like I am meaningfully serving my country. (Never mind for a moment that I'm running dry and have been trying to rejoin the workforce :)

There are quite a lot of informal reports out there of the healthcare sector being slammed.

<comment><USER12> Hello! (author here)

Great point you bring up about doing my part -- I've definitely come to that perspective in the time since writing this. There are people much more skilled dealing with things and my job is to get out of the way and not make their job harder.

Stay safe. I'd love to grab a coffee/drink once this all blows over if you're still in Sacramento!

<comment><USER23> Of course.

Pulled an all-nighter; I'll reach out later to the listed email.

And you, as well. Cheers.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> I know people like this. While it's good to stay informed about some very significant events, but some people just get sucked in by its gravity (pun intended). They obsess over every detail, especially numbers and projections. They can't get anything else done. Probably sleep and eat too much, exercise not enough. All signs of classic depression, and pretty much expected TBH.

The advice I've seen from the therapeutic community is to check news _a couple of times a day_ for new information and safety recommendations. Otherwise, do things that help you and those around you remain calm. For some people that might be productive work, and good for them, but for most it's a mix of that with other things. Don't feel guilty about being at less than full strength. And practice "anxiety distancing" to avoid making others feel more worried than they probably already are by themselves.

</comment><comment><USER25> If you needed more anxiety: COVID-19 can do that in rare cases:

COVID-19–associated Acute Hemorrhagic Necrotizing Encephalopathy: CT and MRI Features

[https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.2020201187](https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.2020201187)

</comment><comment><USER26> I felt this way around mid-March: I was spending hours checking the news and Twitter and I felt unable to concentrate on work.

After a week of constantly feeling worried and overwhelmed by the situation, I changed some things.

I now check news online news once a day and watch the local evening news on TV. I managed to dive again into my work routine and stopped checking twitter every 10 minutes.

I feel much better now. Of course I'm still worried, especially about the consequences of this on the economy (because it will affect a lot of people, obviously).

My CEO keeps repeating a sentence that might sound dumb but which actually helps a lot: "Focus on the things that are in your control and be thankful for the things you have".

<comment><USER27> You may like the old Serenity prayer, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer) and with music by Sinead O'Connor - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LoZqvMryMs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LoZqvMryMs)

</comment></comment><comment><USER28> Yup, and this is why it is a necessary evil that a website like HN penalizes the subject. I got cured from my obsession after I got the disease [and got cured] (supposedly, NL government does not have enough tests).

<comment><USER29> Just pointing out the irony of you being one of the first comments on a Coronavirus post, and claiming to be cured of the obsession :-)

<comment><USER28> Fair enough, but its relative. I was spending hours upon hours on COVID-19. Now I don't. 15 minutes a day, perhaps.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER30> I really enjoy the lock down, I walk in nature, have time for the kids. The air is cleaner and there are a shitload of birds. I dunno, I am not anxious at all. I don't want to go back to the previous state either. I also stopped buying crap I don't need anyway. Stopped drinking.

EDIT: I have to state, we are not in full lockdown. We are allowed to walk around outside, as long as we don't have close contact with others. We have been in lockdown for 3 weeks now.

</comment><comment><USER31> Had a similar experience 2-3 weeks ago when Italy, which is right next to my country, started blowing up. Going into "lockdown" and starting a new routine working from home actually calmed me down, just the notion of doing everything I can to keep safe and keep others safe.

That first week I couldn't sleep and lost like 10 pounds in 5 days, most of my working day was refreshing the number of cases in my country and smoking e-cigarettes on the balcony.

</comment><comment><USER32> This title is clickbait. Some viruses _can_ actually infect your brain, as I first-hand witnessed by having half my face paralyzed for a month last year. Being obsessed with the news has nothing to do with that. In times where there is already a lot of panic-spreading of medical nonsense, please just keep the headlines accurate.

</comment><comment><USER33> Since you're American, I believe that your root problem is that you have bought into the notion that it is good and desirable to be productive all the time. People then extend this to trying to better themselves by amassing more knowledge.

Have you tried sitting alone in a room with no music, no TV, and no phone for an hour? It's actually quite liberating.

And if you call it digital-detox meditation, it's fashionable, too.

<comment><USER11> This has nothing to do with nationality. I work for a global company, and EVERYONE feels the same stuff no matter where they live.

<comment><USER34> Well, panicking co-workers are bad. I have quite opposite. My manager keeps repeating, that this is just another flue.

Personally I don't care. Isolation isn't nice, but as long as I sit home, nothing bad will happen. I am not cashier at understaffed grocery store, not nurse in failing hospital. Life is good, keep calm!

<comment><USER35> > as long as I sit home, nothing bad will happen.

As long as food comes on your table.

I'm not worried about the virus (because I'm lucky enough to be able to work from home). I'm worried about the economic consequence.

<comment><USER34> Trust me, food will come. The riches and puppet governments do not need revolts. Seasonal field workers will get 10€/hour or even 15€/hr instead of 5€/hr like earlier and it will be all good.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER36> I usually don't watch the news, but after covid-19 I've started to follow a similar pattern as you. But in the second week, I felt very anxious and too much worried, imaging many outcomes that this disease could bring to my family and me.

So I decided to stop to consume news and to try to put in practice a knowledge that is very difficult to practice: "don't care about things that are out of your control."

So since then, I am avoiding the news, practicing social distance, and helping my family to do the same and trying to keep my work and studies. The only thing about the pandemia that every day I search on google is: "coronavirus cure". To know about new vaccines and medications that are under test.

</comment><comment><USER37> I've been tempted to do a week long phone and news fast while I am stuck here. Maybe I'll hide my browser and make myself only go online from a computer like the old days.

<comment><USER12> Even a period of a few hours of being unplugged has been so relaxing, particularly if done in the evening before bed.

</comment></comment><comment><USER38> That level of anxiety the author feels is what a poor person feels daily about how the next rent and food money gonna come from. That stuff takes a toll.

</comment><comment><USER39> Are you me? Jokes aside, taking a break from the media helped a lot. I've come to a conclusion that no comment on reddit can be trusted because I wouldn't be surprised if the foreign countries spreading misinformation, trying to create more chaos in the States.

<comment><USER40> This, well, this except for the US Exceptionalism bit (other countries are also affected by this).

All I need to do is stay at home and keep myself uninfected (washing hands, avoiding contact with others, keeping myself healthy, etc). I am not needed to pass on urgent information to friends or family. I do not need to understand the science, or how it spreads (though I did enjoy Plague Inc). I'm not part of the solution, and I can avoid being part of the problem by taking sensible precautions. I don't need daily updates on the progress of the virus to do that.

To the OP: I know it's tough, but you need less information, not more. The product you describe sounds great, but it's not going to solve your problem. Solving your problem will mean redefining your relationship to social media so it becomes healthy. That's not going to be something the social media apps will do for you. That's something you're going to have to work out for yourself.

</comment></comment><comment><USER41> sars-cov2 _has_ actually infected some people's brains, making this title a bit... awkward

</comment><comment><USER42> I try to minimize my exposure to non-actionable news. Once we went into total lockdown almost all news became non actionable so I've insulated myself from pretty much all of it. Just working through the $2000 of food we stocked up.

</comment><comment><USER43> Why all this negativity? It is normal to feel anxious in this situation, to try to stay informed and to be confused about the consequences and necessary actions. You're mostly built to act on known facts and there are a lot of new unknowns right now.

Refreshing HN and Reddit all day isn't any worse than gossiping with the neighbours (which is what they would have done 80 years ago), considering the circumstances it's actually much healthier.

You will probably get used to the new situation quickly, like humans do, and find comfort in small things, like painting.

</comment><comment><USER44> This is a good time to learn to practice meditation.

I recommend the Waking Up app by Sam Harris. It's a good guide for someone trying to learn.

</comment><comment><USER45> it's been pretty rough. I'm currently part of a software engineering immersive program for the sake of a career change. In three weeks, I'll be job hunting to get a job to support my wife and I. The job market has my feeling pretty anxious right now.

</comment><comment><USER46> so much stress, so little productivity despite optimizing my life around Not Going In To An Office, definitely relatable.

</comment><comment><USER47> hey yankee, just chill ;)

being improductive is also good. why are you being so anxious about productivity in the first place? survival, more money, glory?

all fine. just take your measures and whatever makes you feel ok, life is very very very very short.

a sneeze and you are 60 years old.

</comment><comment><USER48> Okay.

Now, please leave my head.

</comment><comment><USER49> Inaccurate title. This person is not infected.

The post is about anxiety causing them to slip into old bad habits, not about a brain infection.

It's really more like "How a global pandemic is affecting my mind and personal habits."

<comment><USER50> [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphor)

<comment><USER49> It's click bait. HN guidelines suggest the title should be changed in such cases.

Your handle is plenty old enough to understand that much about HN.

<comment><USER50> The title is a metaphor (or, more strictly, rhetorical hyperbole.) It's not meant to be taken literally.

<comment><USER49> Yes. I know that.

There is also absolutely no way to tell that until you click into it.

"Rhetorical hyperbole" is a fancy way of saying "click bait."

Edit:

To be clear, I only read it because I was expecting a medical piece, not the usual whining about First World Problems where so many people don't know how to stop wringing their hands about our 24/7 news cycle (which isn't remotely unique to the current crisis) and then don't actually want reassurances that "It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine."

It was a waste of my time.

My father fought in WW2. My mother grew up in Germany during WW2 and its aftermath. The world has been on the brink before and come through it.

The same world that was all "Meh, not my problem" when I was homeless also doesn't want to hear "The world can, in fact, get through this." So I find it hugely personally grating to read this overwrought nonsense, frankly.

<comment><USER51> > The same world that was all "Meh, not my problem" when I was homeless also > doesn't want to hear "The world can, in fact, get through this." So I find > it hugely personally grating to read this overwrought nonsense, frankly.

I know this was somewhat of a rant, but I still found this statement thought provoking and it clicked with me.

It can be exhausting to deal with this type of neglect and self limitation at times.

Being consistently empathic and positive is challenging to say the least.

<comment><USER49> It's not a rant. It's a very restrained statement of fact.

Given how monstrously callous the world was to me when it was just my world in the toilet and on the brink and there were adequate resources for me to be helped but I couldn't access them because fuck me, no, I don't have any empathy for some privileged person who has remote work and a lot of protection from the pandemic whining about how they are back to checking the news constantly and, oh, there isn't even any good discussion anymore on effin _Twitter._

And this makes the front page and then people have the gall to defend the click bait title.

Meanwhile, when I posted about actual solutions to help less privileged people try to access remote work during this crisis, it was dismissed as content marketing for the service I work for and sometimes write about.

I also spent some time criticizing the emphasis on ventilators and being attacked for talking about my firsthand experience with lung clearance techniques. Yesterday, I posted a piece about how some doctors are concerned with the 80 percent death rate for people on ventilators and trying to do other things, some of which are very similar to things I talked about. That got three upvotes and the only discussion was someone letting me know the link was broken and someone asking me how the pandemic is impacting the homeless population.

I'm downright disgusted with quite a lot of things. But I also know from being on HN for more than a decade that people here literally don't care if I'm in danger of dying and they certainly don't care about my feelings about the whiny oversensitive BS that very privileged people have ridiculously big feelings about because they are too fragile to face a real problem, good god.

<comment><USER51> > (...) I don't have any empathy for some privileged person who has remote > work and a lot of protection (...)

What I meant is that I think it is self-limiting to be pessimistic about our future in the way you described. I think we agree on this point. As you said here:

> The same world that was all "Meh, not my problem" when I was homeless also > doesn't want to hear "The world can, in fact, get through this."

There are two underlying problems here: lack of empathy / neglect and pessimism.

Being optimistic, empathic and looking for solutions is challenging. It is far easier to self-loathe but also destructive.

> But I also know from being on HN for more than a decade that people here > literally don't care if I'm in danger of dying and they certainly don't care > about my feelings about the whiny oversensitive BS that very privileged > people have ridiculously big feelings about because they are too fragile to > face a real problem, good god.

It saddens me that you experienced this. In the other hand you seem to have developed an immunity against BS through this hardship. I think many people crave for this kind of clarity on some level, _especially_ privileged ones. I don't mean this in a cynical way. I think there is a real, acute need for people to free themselves of self-induced BS problems.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER52> do smart people really have this sort of problem partitioning their brains?

It doesn't matter what sort of horrifying stressful shit i read before going to bed... when I lay down, that stuff gets turned off and I focus on going to sleep. its never really a problem for me.

<comment><USER53> Assuming 'smart people' have a higher incidence of ADHD and Asperger's, you'll find the comorbids of depression and OCD etc following them.

I learned meditation in my teens, so I can switch a lot of stuff off, but when I'm particularly stressed - it becomes increasingly difficult to avoid being overwhelmed.

Imagine trying to go to sleep after being mugged or being in a car accident and having to deal with that adrenaline rush, then being asked to sleep. It's that kind of level of stress. Some people are just more susceptible to being overwhelmed that way.

It's one reason why I avoid TV news, and Twitter ... Too many monkeys screaming panic

<comment><USER52> ok didn't think of the ADHA / Aspergers/ Autism side of things... yeah those with conditions that make it hard to control input would be a problem.</comment></comment></comment>