Show HN: Can'tada – Tracking the stuff you can't use in Canada - <AUTHOR> http://www.cantada.org <comment><USER2> Good to see that full (hockey face) shields have been dropped from the list.</comment>


Guided by Touch Screens, Blind Turn to Smartphones for Sight - <AUTHOR> http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/disruptions-guided-by-touch-screens-blind-turn-to-smartphones-for-sight/?ref=technology&_r=0

<comment><USER2> I'm currently creating a touchscreen voting application in HTML for low vision and blind users. AMA.</comment>


SXSW Field Report, Day Ω: Texas Indoctrination - <AUTHOR> https://keen.io/blog/113498366086/sxsw-field-report-day-texas-indoctrination

<comment><USER2> I _hate_ this kind of fake gonzo writing. It's like Vice, but with all of the banality of the tech bubble.</comment>


Researcher says can hack GM's OnStar app (different from UConnect) - <AUTHOR> http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/30/us-gm-hacking-idUSKCN0Q42FI20150730

<comment><AUTHOR> Here we go again!</comment>


A Good way to think through Python Generators - <AUTHOR> https://jdridgeway.com/python-3-generators/ <comment><AUTHOR> Generators can quickly become complicated. Maybe there's a different way to understand them? </comment>


Why do we still not know what's inside the pyramids? - <AUTHOR> http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151113-why-do-we-still-not-know-whats-inside-the-pyramids <comment><USER2> Why are people using infrared to look for new chambers and passages? Muon detectors, using cosmic rays for the source, were used in the 1960s to conclude:

> We can say with confidence that no chambers with volumes similar to the four > known chambers in Cheops's and Sneferu's pyramids exist in the mass of > limestone investigated by cosmic-ray absorption. The volume of the pyramid > probed in this manner is defined by a vertically oriented cone, of half- > angle 35 degrees, with its point resting in the Belzoni Chamber. The > explored volume is 19 percent of the pyramid's volume. We hope that with > minor modifications to the apparatus the complete mass of limestone can be > searched for chambers. - > [http://www2.lns.mit.edu/fisherp/AlvarezPyramids.pdf](http://www2.lns.mit.edu/fisherp/AlvarezPyramids.pdf)

That's one of the reasons we know for certainty there is no large, unknown grain storage chamber in those pyramids.

<comment><USER3> I'm guessing a big part of it is "The explored volume is 19 percent of the pyramid's volume." Eliminating the possibility of huge chambers is cool, but it would also be cool to find out if there's anything in the other 80%.

Do you know if they ever succeeded in searching the whole pyramid?

<comment><USER2> LOL! It's going on right now! As part of this exact research project!

The BBC article only mentioned infrared, but [http://www.popsci.com/archaeologists-will-scan-egypts- pyrami...](http://www.popsci.com/archaeologists-will-scan-egypts-pyramids- with-muons-drone-mounted-lasers-and-more) says the researchers are "[a]rmed with thermal imaging, muon detectors, and drone-mounted laser scanners."

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> I wonder why they cannot use ultrasound or something similar where they "ping" in different locations, then pick up the result by various microphones attached to locations all over the pyramid. I don't know a whole lot about this type of engineering so if someone has an answer I would very much appreciate.

On another note, if they open it up and find out it's been filled with grain this whole time I might have to consider voting for Ben Carson.

<comment><USER5> FTA:

        "Archaeologists have in fact found grain
        silos in Egypt, they're well known to us
        and they look nothing like pyramids," she
        says. Egyptian officials have also chimed
        in recently to refute Carson's ideas.

<comment><USER4> yes but that part of the comment was sarcastic. My jaw would hit the floor though if someone told me it was true.

<comment><USER6> They have found grain in the pyramids, but small amounts buried along with the other treasures as part of the burial ritual. Since grain was "stored" there then they were technically used to "store" grain.

<comment><USER7> That's technically true, but irrelevant, at least in the context of what Carson said. Carson's comment was that the pyramids were built _by Joseph_ to store grain. This is significant because Joseph prophesied seven years of famine and urged the Egyptians to store grain against it (Ge41). So anything built "by Joseph to store grain" would have to hold a lot of grain.

<comment><USER8> Was he being serious or just trying to score some sympathy of Jews and Christians?

Nobody has ever found any evidence of Exodus and it isn't like people aren't trying.

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

<comment><USER7> Carson is a Seventh-day Adventist, and hence a young-earth creationist. (Yes, I know. It's mind-boggling, isn't it?) And he's stood by the remark. So almost certainly he was being (and continues to be) serious.

<comment><USER9> All Seventh-day Adventist are NOT young-earth creationists.

<comment><USER7> That may be, but it is official church doctrine:

[http://www.adventist.org/en/beliefs/humanity/creation/](http://www.adventist.org/en/beliefs/humanity/creation/)

"God has revealed in Scripture the authentic and historical account of His creative activity. He created the universe, and in a recent six-day creation the Lord made "the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them" and rested on the seventh day."

<comment><USER9> Yes, they quote the bible. Yes, many Christian churches quote the same text and call it the same. No, it does not mean all Seventh Day Adventists are young earth creationists.

<comment><USER7> I didn't say all 7DAs were YECs. But the fact of the matter is that YEC is the church's official position. And Ben Carson is on record as believing in a six- day creation, and professing ignorance of the age of the earth. So we can quibble over the YE part, but not the C part. Ben Carson is without question a creationist.

<comment><USER9> "I didn't say all 7DAs were YECs"

your exact phrase was:

"Carson is a Seventh-day Adventist, and hence a young-earth creationist."

<comment><USER7> Really? You want to hold me feet to the fire over my use of the word "hence"? Very well, let me be as excruciatingly precise as I can.

Ben Carson self-identifies as Seventh-Day Adventist (7DA). Hence, if he follows the doctrine of the church he professes to believe in, he is a YEC.

Now, it is possible for someone to self-identify as a 7DA and not be a YEC, just as it is possible for someone to self-identify as a Catholic and deny the authority of the pope, at least on some matters (e.g. all the self-identified Catholics who deny that the use of birth control is a mortal sin). But Ben Carson is clearly a creationist. He's said so on numerous occasions. Arguing over whether he is a YEC or some other flavor of creationist is really whittling at the margins. He's specifically proclaimed ignorance of the age of the earth. He uses YEC code words like "evolutionist" and "micro-evolution".

Finally, it would be exceedingly peculiar for a 7DA to not be a YEC. The _name_ of the sect derives from their belief in Biblical literalism, and specifically from their belief in creation as described in Genesis. A 7DA who is not a creationist would be like a Mormon who thinks Joseph Smith was a con man. Again, not impossible. People can self-identify as anything they want, and once you've abandoned science and reason anything is possible. But it would be really, really weird.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> It could be a coincidence, but I wonder if this piece (published 3 days ago) was inpsired by this 6-day old Reddit thread: "ELI5: Why don't we already know everything that's inside the pyramids?" [https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3s7ljo/e...](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3s7ljo/eli5_why_dont_we_already_know_everything_thats/)

<comment><USER11> I suspect both were inspired by US Presidential candidate Ben Carson's recent claims that (he believes) they were built by Joseph to store grain (as per the Book of Genesis).

<comment><USER12> For clarity, Genesis recounts grain stores being built, but makes no claim that the Great Pyramids were those stores. The BBC article does reference grain storage directly:

> But Stevenson also says that counter-theories about the pyramids actually > being huge grain stores are not helpful. "Archaeologists have in fact found > grain silos in Egypt, they're well known to us and they look nothing like > pyramids," she says.

<comment><USER13> I think building a grain store in the shape of a giant pyramid wouldn't work anyway. The grains at the bottom would be pretty much unusable and likely you couldn't get them out except from the top because of the weight. I do wonder if someone could work out the math though :-)

<comment><USER12> If you make the bottom of the pile accessible in some manner (like with a door), it's more efficient to withdraw the grain from that point due to gravity.

Peripherally related, this pyramid talk finally made me look up "critical angle of repose" of various materials: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_repose#Angle_of_repos...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_repose#Angle_of_repose_of_various_materials).

The Great Pyramids are around the 50° mark, where modern wheat's angle of repose is roughly half that (27°). That's not to say a pyramid-like structure _couldn 't_ be used to store wheat—just that the shape of these particular pyramids don't directly mimic the free-standing angle that a wheat mound would form.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> Once we have nanobot cameras we can send them in through the cracks. All the more reason to invent nanobot cameras.

Well, that and the amazing medical imaging they could be used for.

<comment><USER15> Also spying on everyone.

<comment><USER14> I was trying to remain positive, but yes, most likely the military will invent them -- heck maybe they already have.

<comment><USER16> Well, that's a given, right?

In other news: [http://news.mit.edu/2013/inexpensive-nano- camera-1126](http://news.mit.edu/2013/inexpensive-nano-camera-1126)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> Get some big cranes, take it apart, record where everything goes, then put it all back together again when done. Carefully of course...

<comment><USER18> What happens when we put it back and end up with extra pieces?

<comment><USER19> Those were just extras in case we lost some.

<comment><USER18> Better make those hotter so we can easily find them with thermal imaging, then.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> > Either way, National Geographic reports that the Egyptian authorities are > already interested in the idea of marketing tourist access to any chambers > that might be found

I am a big history nerd. I will literally say, I love this history shit. You can see how passionate I am about learning history.

But I am concerned about this statement. Does a historical figure deserve to have his or her tomb to be further explored, displayed, and made for profit?

Is there a balance between learning about ancient culture and respecting the dead?

</comment><comment><USER21> Obviously the illuminati can't have the slave class discovering their interdimensional portals. Duh.

</comment><comment><USER22> Why do we still think that they were built with chisel and hammer when we know is impossible with these tools to cut the stones from king chamber to laser precision or cut stones to make a perfectly symmetric pharaoh statue?

<comment><USER23> Didn't Rafaello and Michelangelo use those tools to work with rock?

<comment><USER24> There are two things to keep in mind. Rafaello and Michelangelo worked with stone that wasn't nearly as hard as granite (granite being one of the hardest stones). Secondly, we don't believe metals were nearly as developed during the period of dynastic Egypt and some Egyptologists theorise (but I think this is crazy) that stone tools were used to carve the blocks.

<comment><USER25> Granite? Who crazy would come up with the idea to build pyramids with something as heavy and hard as granite.

They were not even carved out of limestone blocks, they were casted by an early form of concrete created using a mixture of limestone, clay, lime, and water. Similar to how they would have been built nowadays. [http://www.livescience.com/1554-surprising-truth-great- pyram...](http://www.livescience.com/1554-surprising-truth-great-pyramids- built.html)

<comment><USER24> The walls of the king's chamber are pink granite. They also happen to be some of the more precise work in the pyramids.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: Where are the cheap gyms in SF? - <AUTHOR>

Thats it! Looking for something < $20 for a day pass.  Or a month-by-month under $50 bucks. As I'm not sure where I'm living yet.  So short term is good. <comment><USER2> YMCAs are a good start, tho they're a bit over your budget: $60/mo.</comment>


Australian government posts 1,000 requests for citizens' metadata each day - <AUTHOR> https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-19/authority-creep-has-more-agencies-accessing-your-metadata/10398348 <comment><USER2> This is precisely the issue that was raised by anyone with enough knowledge to accurately describe metadata prior to the legislation being implemented.

This metadata retention, in combination with the encryption-breaking legislation being currently put in front of parliament, shows the Australian government (both sides, given the lack of resistance from the opposition) as some kind of data-worshipping paranoiacs.

It makes me feel that Australia, due to its steretypical laid-back attitude and disinterest in politics, is being used as the tip of the spear for other countries (5-eyes members primarily) to use as precedent for implementing their own such surveillance states.

References:

George Brandis "explaining" metadata: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbtgULCY5zk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbtgULCY5zk)

Article from 2014 about risk of scope creep for the metadata retention laws: [https://www.itnews.com.au/news/metadata-laws-open-to- scope-c...](https://www.itnews.com.au/news/metadata-laws-open-to-scope-creep- lawyers-398971) (December 2014)

What metadata retention looks like: [https://www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/2015/02/19/418355...](https://www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/2015/02/19/4183553.htm)</comment>


IPhone: American Express Honoring Price Protection For iPhones - <AUTHOR> http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/iphone/american-express-honoring-price-protection-for-iphones-297684.php <comment><AUTHOR> You can also get the $100 apple gift card

(via iPhonewebdev group)</comment>


Ossia, FCC Approval for Wireless Charging, Already Downplaying Expectations? - <AUTHOR> https://liesandstartuppr.blogspot.com/2019/06/ossia-and-fcc-approval.html <comment><AUTHOR> Ossia, the RF wireless charging company, have received Part 18 approval from the FCC. The system needs a fixed transmitter and receiver, a receiver the size of 2 phones, barely receives a Watt, no-one can be within 20 centimeters of either, and is at the safety limit for power output. Their own publicity seems to downplay the system and instead focuses on unavailable mythical future products. Where do they go from here?</comment>


A Guide for Adults Going to College - <AUTHOR> https://www.npr.org/2018/12/23/678799694/in-never-too-late-finally-a-guide-for-adults-going-to-college <comment><USER2> I'm a returning student about to complete my degree at the end of this year. I went to an art school for a few years out of high school and ended up in customer service positions with some great companies. I didn't want to continue in customer service, so I decided to go back to school. Started with two years at community college, and now finishing up my last two at university.

Some insights I picked up along the way:

\- community college have great professors

\- community college treats you like the adult you are

\- community college is underrated

\- university treats you like a child

\- university professors are more selfish and self-serving

\- university is busy dealing with so much extra-curricular stuff that most adults don't care about, it makes you question your decision

\- Different "schools" within the university do things differently

\- as an adult, it sucks to work in groups with young students

\- I picked up way more knowledge in the "real world" than I realized as a lot of what is being taught is redundant

\- there should be 4 semesters a year, not 2, people should graduate in 2 years, not 4+

At the onset of this journey, I was enthusiastic to learn, but along the way I've been beat down to just wanting to get "the piece of paper" and be done. It's been a long three years and each day forward is increasingly difficult to stomach since I realized I can learn all of what is being taught to me faster on my own.

I don't think anyone needs a degree anymore to get to where they're going. However, it does make it easier depending on one's path.

<comment><USER3> I did my first few years of college at a community college and my experience was that the college had to be very strict about attendance and dropping students who didn't show up. Frankly a lot of them were stoners who were only in school because their parents would cut off support if they dropped out.

The professors were underpaid and many of them didn't care -- some did care and were excellent teachers, but a lot of them were bitter about their career outcomes and just went through the motions. My best professors were the ones who had careers outside of the community college and taught part time, including a tenured professor at Stanford and a professional archeologist.

Honestly it's hard for me to recommend community college to people who are driven and dedicated to their educations, because so many of the other people in those institutions are not like that.

If I could go back in time I would gladly borrow an extra $20k to go to a university from the beginning. Over the time scale of a lifetime, or even just a decade, that's not a lot of money.

<comment><USER4> > The professors were underpaid and many of them didn't care -- some did care > and were excellent teachers, but a lot of them were bitter about their > career outcomes and just went through the motions.

Given how little it pays to teach in a community college, I'm surprised there is _any_ teacher who didn't care.

<comment><USER5> This was my experience. I started in a community college, and my professors were there after retiring from industry, so they had little use for the meager salary they earned. The other professors worked at nearby universities, as well.

They genuinely liked to teach and loved it when they could get their students to care about a subject as much as they did themselves. You could tell they did it out of passion, and moreover, for the students.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> It is never too late for education. It is always too early for crippling debt that exceeds your proven earning potential. None of this advice touches on the lost principle of not putting one's future on layaway. Student load debt forgiveness is a death sentence for American politicians yet there are millions of us waiting for a miracle.

<comment><USER7> It will happen if you vote blue. The first wave of it was 10 year of payments and then debt forgiveness.

<comment><USER8> That will push college prices even higher.

<comment><USER9> Can you explain why that is to me? I would think that if the expected return on college loans drops significantly, fewer large loans would be given out that can be passed on to universities which would see less demand for their product and would need to lower their prices accordingly.

<comment><USER10> The universities aren't on the hook for student loan defaults so they don't care about the expected return for the borrower or the lender. If students borrowed from the schools directly, then the admissions process along with university spending patterns would be vastly different. The only thing we have that is remotely close to this is schools giving out scholarships to students who have great potential to be high earners who later donate back to the school.

<comment><USER11> A startup called Lambda started teaching (online) for free in exchange for a percentage of the new graduate's salary. This is called Income Sharing Agreements (ISA).

[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/business/dealbook/educati...](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/business/dealbook/education- student-loans-lambda-schools.html)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> Because of how the German school system is build (Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium) and me migrating to Germany at 11 years of age without the knowledge of the German language, I had to do it differently and attend something like Gymnasium as an adult after my first vocational training (to become a heating engineer) and because of life happening and me once again migrating to another country (Sweden) without the knowledge of the language, I started university when I was 30.

Everyone else was about 20, partying and drinking, and I was studying 100% and working 50%. It was kind of hard and I'm about 10 years late with my life (compared to everyone else at work) but I finally feel that I am doing something which is challenging and fun at work and I earn a lot more than before.

The only bad thing is the biological clock not stopping to match everything else ^^.

<comment><USER13> Yeah but what you gained from that experience is beyond measure. I assume you're bi or tri-lingual now?

<comment><USER12> Four-lungual, I needed to learn English too.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> "It's never too late"

Well I would agree, but since the UK adopted the US model of university funding, it's too late, and has been for some time.

I'd love to career change into something different. £27k of tuition fees and three years not earning makes it a £150k+ proposition. No matter how bored I've become with tech after 30 years that's a big ask. Open University charges the same fees now or that would have been an easy and obvious route. Just as it was for my aunt who did a OU degree in her seventies "for fun". From what I hear from the kids university isn't as appealing either as they've become ever more commercial.

Friends who are in lower paying careers are even more stuck. The push to get 50% of the population with a degree means even the most lowly jobs and careers often now _require_ a degree.

I guess when I become too much the curmudgeonly old git I'll take early retirement and do some part time gardening, handyman or some such. Shame for the govt about the tax I won't be paying. :)

<comment> a-saleh You could try some of the lesser known universities in Europe, a.f.a.i.k tuition is around 1k to 3k eur per semester (i.e. my IT faculty in Brno, CZK has 3k Eur per academic year).

I finished my masters here, I consider the education quality reasonably good (hey, I even helped my theis advisor to publish a paper :) and I worked part- time for most of the time.

Friend of mine just finished his BCs, while supporting his partners a family and working part-time.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> I really want to go back to finish school. I'm 28 and dropped out at the end of my 3rd year with 97 credits because I had a baby on the way in another country. I've been working as a software engineer ever since. I did try one semester at a CC shortly after but my job was too demanding on top of parenting a wee lad and I took a slate of all Fs, sadly, since I missed the withdrawal date. Now I have the time, funds, and motivation to return and do well (I hope) but fear my sliding grades towards the end would put a nail in the coffin of going to decent university near me (Southern California).

I think my real-world experience would help me a lot here, particularly if I applied to a CS program, but I'm not sure. I will speak to admissions counseling soon to get their feedback, but if anyone here has similar experience, I'd love to hear about it.

<comment> barry-cotter You have multiple years professional experience in programming. You can probably get onto the Oxford M.Sc. in Software Engineering but the deadline is soon. If you miss it the next one is in March.

[https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses/msc- softwar...](https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses/msc-software- engineering?wssl=1)

Applicants are normaly expected to be predicted or have achieved a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours (or equivalent international qualifications), as a minimum, in a related subject, such as computer science, informatics or engineering. For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.5 out of 4.0. Applications are invited from anyone with sufficient experience or proven ability in software, security, or data engineering. A typical applicant will have at least two years' experience in a professional environment, and an undergraduate degree in a related subject. However, more extensive experience may compensate for a lack of formal qualifications, and a strong, immediately-relevant qualification may compensate for a lack of professional experience. Emphasis not in original

<comment><USER15> That sounds like a really fascinating course to take, and I'm tempted to apply just to see how I fare. The cost is a bit out of my reach if I'm being honest. I do make very good money but I also spend good on two children, rent in California, etc. Thank you for sharing this with me.

<comment> barry-cotter In that case you're probably better off asking how hard it would be to get onto the Georgia Tech Online Master of Computer Science at

www.reddit.com/r/omscs

The Master's itself costs less than $10K still but you'd need to do enough undergraduate courses to have credits sufficient for a Bachelor's, though I don't think you actually need to be awarded one. So if I remember right you'd need to do a year's worth of coursework towards a Bachelor's and then you'd be admittable. Not sure though, ask in the subreddit.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> I'm looking forward to someone writing "It's Always Too Early". It'd be a guide for people of all ages to acquire the same education/network/skills as college purportedly offers, without the immense monetary and opportunity costs of the legacy university system.

<comment><USER17> Problem is many companies work off this legacy system and won't hire you without a degree. No engineering degree, no law degree, no doctor degree, no degree at all? No thanks. Of course I'm not saying there are other ways, but its very naive to think that you can get anywhere without one. Not only that, the "legacy university system" is a system that's big on research and has invented things like the very Internet you used to type this comment. Autonomous vehicles were an early university project funded by DARPA before they even reached the mainstream public. In fact, most modern products are the result of university research. Its not so much the university as it is the cost of university.

<comment><USER16> Sure, but many of the best companies are deemphasizing traditional credentials, commensurate with the bloating of the the university system and the rise of other training/evaluation methods.

With student debts and the rise of alternative tracks, we may be very close to a rapid tipping point, where the apparent safety of the traditional credentials – with stodgier institutions – collapses quickly.

And, the university system of 2019 isn't quite the same thing as the university system that gave us "the very Internet… used to type this comment" and other advances. It's a several-generations-removed descendant, with much higher costs, larger bureaucracy, more bundled tangential "lifestyle" services, heavier political loads, and so forth.

That some legacy university research has historically generated societal dividends isn't necessarily relevant to a prospective undergrad in 2019. That's especially so for those struggling with the kinds of questions addressed by the 'Never Too Late' book, like "What do I do if it's been ages since I took algebra?" They need efficient instruction. The fact that groundbreaking grant-funded research by graduate students might be happening in a nearby building is about as relevant as their school's football ranking in the Top-25 polls.

<comment><USER17> If the best companies are de-emphasizing traditional credentials, why do most employees have degrees and why do they use coding interviews that question you on raw CS questions?

The problem with alternative tracks is that they bottle neck you. They often teach you a technology, they don't teach you an actual skill. Of course, its not that this isn't important, but the fundamentals take you much further because they're not tied to anything specific. Coupled with the knowledge of a technology, it can help you understand what you're doing and what the limitations are. Also, universities are pretty well rounded in terms of learning so they teach you about being a better person instead of being a coder like in a code camp.

Not only that, most popular MOOC sites are run by universities such as MIT, Coursera, and EdX. In fact the most top voted courses on [https://hn.academy/](https://hn.academy/) are from universities.

Sure it isn't the same generations ago, but you're highlighting problems that aren't inherent to the idea of the university itself. Costs can be reduced, bureaucracies trimmed, "lifestyle services" is basically the business of the Internet due to rampant self-help, not sure what you mean by "heavier political loads".

"What do I do if it's been ages since I took algebra?" is something you shouldn't address by going to university, you're correct. But if you expect to just learn an entire profession by reading a bunch of Internet articles, doing some exercises/projects, and expect to walk into companies, you're still a far cry, especially from the more demanding law/engineering/MD professions.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER18> Mid 50's here. As my kids are hitting college age I'm starting to get the itch to go back and complete my degree. My company has a facility near Cal Poly, where I went, and I drive by on my way in and out of town when I go onsite. Really don't know what to expect, figure I'll just wander on campus and stop by the admin building and see what they have to say. I'll bring my old student ID with me, just in case.

<comment><USER19> In my experience you can just show up the first day and ask the prof if they mind you auditing the course. There might be password-locked online materials these days, however.

I've thought about going back to finish the degree, but it's hard to see it as worth $60k/year.

<comment><USER18> Agree, I'll have a value point to balance as well. I don't expect it to have any net effect on my career at this point, hope there is some worthwhile learning though.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> I am hoping to hear suggestions or real-life experience of anyone who has gone back to do their Phd after turning 50. My wife and I, both professionally and financially settled, are looking to stop working at 50, and take up something close to our hearts, which will be our _second_ 20-year innings. We would like to start that innings with doing a Phd in that field.

We both have Masters and an MBA in our respective fields. The next innings will be based on our current experience (30+ years) and our education, but hoping to apply it in a macro, policy framework, for which will go back to study.

</comment><comment><USER21> I went back to university as an adult with a mortgage, wife, daughter on the way, and I did an internship. Nobody seemed to particularly notice or care that I was older and I'm not sure it changed anything.

<comment><USER22> How old were you when you did it?

<comment><USER21> 26, so not a lot older in years, but at a very different point in my life - settled with wife, mortgage etc, which makes a big difference I think.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> I'm switching careers from tech to nursing. Being older--mid-thirties--hasn't been an issue. It helps that healthcare has less of an age bias than computing.

<comment><USER24> My significant other just got a job as a captain at a major airline. At 30 he was one of the youngest people hired in his cohort. In aviation experienced captains with lots of fly time and safe and timely arrivals are seen as assets.

It's quite a contrast to what we hear about in tech.

<comment><USER25> I'm still young but this has always been my question as well. When is tech going to grow up and recognize experience as an asset? Beyond of course putting "10 years of Julia 1.0 experience" as a requirement to be hired in a junior level position.

<comment><USER26> As soon as older people and younger people learn to have respect for one another. I mean, what other answer is there? If tech doesn't want older people then they don't have respect for what older people bring to the table. Why is that? Could be older people are less flexible? Less willing to change? I don't know. Specifics probably aren't important. It comes down to respect.

<comment><USER27> Could be that older people are less flexible. I mean, I've been a professional software developer on the forefront of new tech development for about 40 years. I can't seem to do anything else but learn new tech as it comes along and churn out successful products, so I guess I'm rigidly set in my ways.

It helps that I work remotely. Very few see my grey beard and get the chance to see how inflexible I am because of my age, so I get the respect due a younger person.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER28> I believe the title is slightly misleading; most college students are above 18 and are thus widely considered to be adults. This guide seems to be written for adults who are 25 and older, which is a subset of all adults.

</comment><comment><USER29> When I was an undergrad there was a 35-year-old real estate developer living in my dorm. He had decided he'd like to have a degree and enrolled at MIT.

I wish I had understood what it must have been like for him since there was nobody else in the building under 25. I know he had a sense of humor as I saw him once bring a date (around his age) back to his room.

But though we talked a bit I couldn't really comprehend what someone twice my age thought about being a student...and now I'm 17 years older than he was at the time I'd be fascinated to know.

</comment><comment><USER30> There's a pivot point for when going to college doesn't have the ROI, IMO. I got a CS degree at 22 and did an MBA in my 30s. When I did a law degree in my late 30s I quickly realized it wasn't worth it unless I was doing it for the pure academic PoV. But I wanted a law degree to practice law but decided that it wasn't worth it in my case. I was almost 40.

FWIW, I also discovered there are two types of law degree. A Harvard law degree and a non-Harvard law degree. It was quite an eye opener that one.

</comment><comment><USER31> I don't understand why anyone would consider going back to college when there's very legitimate online course options that cost a fraction. Look through edx.org and see for yourself.

Remember there's no guarantee that going back to school will net you the job you want but it's a guarantee that you will go into crippling debt that will follow you for the rest of your life.

Unless of course your company is paying for you to go back to school then why not.

<comment><USER32> Where are the lab classes in edx?

Where are the vocational courses in edx?

Where are the teaching assistants and the study groups?

Where are the 12+ course bachelors-degree curricula?

<comment><USER31> Imagine the person smart enough to substitute each of those things with something freely available. Just imagine.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER33> I don't get this. Sure, it's been a while since I started university (fall 2003) but is stuff really spoonfed to starter students? I'm not saying you have to deliberately make everything hard - but we got a little bit of introduction in the first week and then were sent off to cope on our own. You had the other students, older semesters and whatever else resource to solve your problem.

I don't think I'd want it any other way these days (oh wow, 15 years later) or feel that _anything_ except the first week was tailored to people fresh from school. Sure - people taking courses around their work schedule is a problem, but it's a totally different problem. Either you know it's supposed to be a fulltime course, or it's not.

Also, maybe I'm a little biased for having majored in Computer Science, so mostly everything was digital or online even back then. But smartphones would make coordination with other people so much easier than email and texts... Or maybe American (live-in / campus) colleges are really that different from German universities that I simply cannot imagine the problems this book would show :P

</comment><comment><USER34> I've always wondered how employers treat an older person changing careers? Do you get an internship along with the young people? Is that wierd? Will they be uncomfortable asking a 45 year old professional to do low status jobs?

And then are entry level jobs open to older adults?

How would you design your resume? Leave your past career off?

<comment><USER35> All very good questions. I'm at the Senior Manager level in my profession, trying to switch to entry / junior level in IT security. I have solid experience and great references, and I get calls from clients and recruiters constantly for work in my current field. But I get practically no responses when I submit myself for positions in the new field.

I tracked one recruiter down recently and she basically told me she's convinced I will not stick around once I feel the pinch of the salary reduction. She said she didn't want to be hiring for the same job again in 6 months.

I'm not sure that's the whole truth, or if the others would say the same thing.

Now I'm trying a hybrid solution, of freelancing gigs in grants and proposals part time and doing technical work part time. I'm also focusing my work on tech-centric topics whenever possible. But I usually can't conteol that.

I'm also considering supplementing my current education with CS classes, and picking up a few more certs. But I'm not sure those will have a good return on investment.

Meanwhile I think persistence in bidding on jobs will be the ultimate solution.

<comment><USER7> You might have better luck becoming a manager of or in an IT security company. That way you can learn the technical details on the side. So you sell your value as a manager. Lateral moves happen all the time across domains. You don't have to start from the beginning again.

<comment><USER35> This is a good idea too. I guess I always assumed I would need to "work my way up" from entry level. But I do have a lot of experience running teams and managing budgets.

Thanks for the input. I'm going to broaden my search and look for these roles, and see what happens.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER36> Recently on Hacker News there was a top voted article in which the economist Nassim Nicolas Taleb made the point that a lot of small bets have a higher expected value than one very large bet. But the argument has interesting implications for education. The same reasoning implies that 4 degrees of 1 year should have more payoff to society than 1 degree of 4 years. Likewise, society would benefit more if you got 12 degrees of 3 months each. I wrote more about this here:

[http://www.smashcompany.com/philosophy/nassim-nicholas- taleb...](http://www.smashcompany.com/philosophy/nassim-nicholas-taleb- accidentally-argues-against-4-year-school-degrees)

<comment><USER37> Taleb's insight applies where there is no linkage between bets.

The problem is, a 4 year degree "if done right" is building on a body of knowledge. you can't "do" year 4 without the core competencies in years 1,2 and 3.

So, (and I admit I didn't read your article) I ask if you address the neccessary linkage problem.

Because a chain of 4 small bets is what we call a quinella or trifecta, and in betting circles its high payoff, but low likelihood: It may be better to commit to the whole big package than assume you can bite of chunks and always get the same value.

A midpoint model, is to do 1 or 2 years, get a low degree, then do 2 or 3 more and specialize for a high degree.

<comment><USER36> You miss the point that Taleb is making. His point is something like "Rather than one big bet in biology, what about a small bet in biology, a small bet in physics, a small bet in chemistry." Likewise, in education, instead of spending 4 years learning one thing, what about spending one year learning one thing, another year learning something else, another year learning something else, another year learning something else, and so on. Smaller, more diverse bets. The argument is especially strong for young people at the start of their career, as the risk of being overcommitted to the wrong thing is strong.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER38> When I was a graduate teaching assistant at a 4-year university, the re-entry students never failed to impress me. They were the most determined students I had. They weren't afraid to confront me when I made a mistake, and I made a few.

</comment><comment><USER39> What are the chances of attending Harvard / Stanford later in life? I have a life goal of going there but the older I get (24 now), the less I believe it can form into a reality.

<comment><USER40> Attending Harvard is actually quite easy. They offer classes, both online _and_ onsite, for anyone who is willing to pay tuition.

These classes are offered under a program called "Harvard Extension School", and they are the same exact classes that students who got accepted the "normal" way, take.

It even gets you a degree.

If what you care about is the education and resources offered by Harvard, they are available for the taking, and they are the same exact classes offered to "regular" students.

<comment><USER41> I'm doing the Harvard Extension program right now and am currently on campus taking a course (you cannot go 100% online and get a degree).

My last class, in the fall, was a course that was offered online for the first time ever. We had a bunch of Harvard College students in-person and a bunch of Harvard Extension students online watching the lectures live (they are also recorded). Office hours with TAs were live-streamed and interactive between in-person and online students, we had the same homework and exams, etc. The professor even gave out his cell phone number so we could text questions directly to him.

The professor asked us all about our interest in a particular class that they had been asked about offering online. As it turns out, Harvard is fairly open about offering almost any of their courses online if you can show that demand warrants it, the professor supports it, and that you can get the TA slots filled.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER42> I dropped out in 2004 to start a job as a Programmer. I was broke and needed some cash. I was left with 4 subjects to complete Computer Systems Engineering qualification. Which is 60% IT and 40% Electrical Engineering. I decided to enroll for an IT qualification in 2015 at the age of 33. Best decision I have ever taken.

I graduated last year September at the age of 36 and I am no longer considered an IT dropout or self-taught Programmer. Reason I decided to go back to school was because I was always considered a self-taught Programmer, even though I was taught programming in a formal qualification which I didn't finish. The fact that I finished all programming related modules and was only left with 3-4 Electrical Engineering related modules, didn't help.

Studying when you are older is easier because you are doing it with a purpose. Plus when you are older, you spend more time at home and party less. Freeing more time for studying. The course I did, was heavy in programming, mobile app development and web design. Something I have been doing for over 10 years before I decided to go back to studying.

</comment><comment><USER43> I have a pessimistic view of all this. If you are able to get into a college program easily, the job market will be shit once you get out. If the job market would be great, you'll never get into a program.

Colleges have stupid games based on a point system to get in. The games are HEAVILY biased towards people just out of high school. You only get points for shit like having taken classes at the school before or your parents being alumni. Having real world working experience doesn't give you any points.

My wife was thinking about going to nursing school. In order for her to do that she would need to quit her job take random classes for the _chance_ to eventually get into a program. We're ready to pay cash for the program which she would certainly succeed in, but there is just no chance. Was a real bummer once we realized this.

I guess this all makes sense, just frustrating.

</comment><comment><USER44> Shout out to massey.ac.nz which is one of the very first universities world wide to have serious 'extra mural' programme. They have decades of experience and everything is tuned for the working adult. For anybody in any country should seriously consider. They have extramural students from all over the world because you get world class staff, from a world class university, at NZ prices.

Anybody in US should seriously consider it an option for higher learning.

FYT i did a post graduate Diploma in QUality Assurance with specialty in software engineering through Massey with course work done 1993-95 and finally delivered my project in 1997 after changing countries and jobs. Cant praise them enough.

</comment><comment><USER45> I've been curious if there are any creative financial or work/education balance strategies for a tech professional going back to school, that might not be obvious?

Networking with professors? Working at the university? Or finding an employer that subsidizes grad school? Haven't seen too much on my radar in this area but have heard there are unconventional ways to offset the cost or level up by leveraging my network & career.

(For context - I'm in my late 30's, ~17 years in tech though my degree is from a trade art school, and in an engineering management role these days in Los Angeles. I've been seriously considering grad school either for CS or MBA.)

</comment><comment><USER46> I think about going back for my MBA sometimes (slightly different from the article, but still similar in other ways), but I'm at the mid point in my career and I'm not convinced the money and time I spend going back would actually help me further my career more than building connections and actually doing the work. Senior managers I've talked to have agreed with my assessment. At best, an MBA would get me back to where I've already managed to get myself, but with maybe more attention for certain recruiters.

I'm a big fan of anyone wanting to further their education for whatever the reason -- and I do wish I could sometimes just study really interesting subjects again -- but for a lot of working professionals, I sometimes wonder if the degree will really matter?

Obviously, some professions are different than others and really do require a certain degree to even get in the door (medicine, law, sciences), but by the time I was 34, I'd managed to successfully build two careers in different disciplines, and neither was the focus of my degree. (And I took forever to graduate.)

Every person and situation is different so I don't want to pretend my experiences are prescriptive for anyone else -- but what I value about my undergrad experience is much less "what I learned" and the experiences I had growing up, having time to explore things I care about, etc.

Frankly, I wish there was a collegiate equivalent of a GED that would cover undergrad required classes like a science, a math class, english lit, history, etc. Make people take the actual degree classes, but allow people to test out of all the basic requirements (I realize CLEP allows for some of this but CLEP isn't accepted everywhere and there can be CLEP caps for credits). I feel like for a lot of adult learners, this would greatly reduce the mental challenge of "going back."

What I wish this had touched on more is the pervasive and predatory nature of for-profit colleges and universities. I'm all for anyone going back to school, but it makes me sick when people pay tens of thousands of dollars for bad programs from fro-profit places that have a very small chance at even helping them get a better job.

</comment><comment><USER47> "The other important thing to do is to help adults identify why they want to go back to school. If you can identify what it is that's motivating you, then that can be your rallying cry when you're starting to feel discouraged or anxious about starting school."

Lol. So I've been reading stuff about our ideas of free will; most recently David Orr's book on Frost; but the quote above really sounds like they're suggesting we decide to do something and then need to "identify what it is that's motivating you" I.E. to rationalize it.

I'm not saying they're wrong, it's just a funny way to put it.

</comment><comment><USER48> I want to go back to school. I graduated undergrad in 3 years so even though I have a Bachelor's in CS, I still feel half-baked. I studied CS only because I freaking love it and learning more is my utter passion. I want to have a graduate degree in CS... but how? I have a job, I have other stuff to do now, and taking an almost decade investment sounds way too much (in US PhDs can take very long). I'm a very socially awkward dude and spending my entire 20s in PhD almost seems socially "risky". Did someone else have experience on this matter? I have otherwise have the funds and passion to pursue this.

<comment><USER13> Georgia Tech's Online Masters of Computer Science. 100% online and same degree you get from the on campus program which happens to be a top 10 in the nation. There is no research track unfortunately which means it is a terminal masters program.

<comment><USER49> Not sure where you're getting that a non-thesis masters program is "terminal". You can still go somewhere to get a PhD with a non-research master's degree, not even necessarily somewhere "bad". If anything the fact that the degree is online would hurt you more than the fact that there was no thesis

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER50> I've often wondered, is there a way to get a _reputable_ CS degree that leverages a couple of decades of work experience to make the process shorter? The article says so in the general case, but what about specifically for CS?

</comment><comment><USER51> What is the consensus on coding schools in 2019? I'm looking at app academy and lambda school.

<comment> barry-cotter [https://twitter.com/austenallred/status/1082363551178665985?...](https://twitter.com/austenallred/status/1082363551178665985?s=21)

There are multiple companies whose engineering headcount growth YOY is bigger than the total number of annual CS + bootcamp grads in the US.

Yes, there are a lot more engineers coming on board now. But the growth in demand is mind-boggling.

[https://twitter.com/patio11/status/1082101947795091458?s=21](https://twitter.com/patio11/status/1082101947795091458?s=21)

In case you were wondering whether the engineering hiring market was slowing down, here's Amazon deploying probably every YC company combined on _one product_ : [https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-says-it-has- over-10-000-...](https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-says-it-has- over-10-000-employees-working-on-alexa-echo-1542138284)

</comment></comment><comment><USER52> There's a problem with society, in the west, but I'll speak to the US specifically. My wife just received her Masters degree. Her and I have family that act as if life is hopeless. All ages. We tell them, "the schools aren't closed". The wishing upon a star has to stop with people. Take action. It's a culture in decline, and seeing how the school system directs my wife to not instill discipline in children, combined with the intrinsic low-wage push from capitalism without unions or worker's cooperatives, the entire US workforce will be eaten alive by the Indians and Chinese. It's almost guaranteed to continue, and has already happened.

A quick example on that, her school system (one of the largest in the nation) instructs her to let the kids who don't want to listen to a book to roll around, yell, play. Then she's to pull them aside later on and teach them one- on-one, while the rest are napping. That's not only disruptive, but it's not feasible. I think this culture change (it was not this way when I was in elementary in the 1980s), has doomed generations to wandering around the streets aimlessly. Possibly using drugs as so many are today, as immigrants come in and completely obliterate them from the job market. I'm not an immigrant but I say, let the strong survive and weaker cultures, like ours is becoming, collapse into mediocrity. The lucky ones who get the opportunity to turn it around later in life will be looking at "the guide for adults going to college" today, 1 year from now, 5 years from now, 50 years from now. My wife and I believe that you can't really learn without a baseline of discipline. There's enough distractions as it is and bad families to fight against.

Kids need guidance. They don't actually know anything. The people who let their kid choose a hamburger vs hot dog vs grilled cheese for 15 minutes in a fast food joint? That's a small example of the problem. A child doesn't know what he's even picking, or what he even likes. You give him something, you very strongly encourage him finish his food, and next time he may have a better idea on what he wants. That's a long-lost art of parenting in the west. Everyone treats children like they're 35 years old. Unless it's about going outside and playing, where they could truly learn about choices and consequences.

Second point, on the the "formal education is obsolete" crowd. I needed a bachelors degree and truly enjoyed the directed-learning experience, otherwise I'm self-taught. People like to say they're all self-taught, but people who also do school, do both. There's not additional real-world experience that you gleam because you don't go to school. It's nice to get evidence for your learning as well (a degree) and directed-learning is incredibly valuable, you're exposed to things that the vast majority won't expose themselves to otherwise. People who call for the end of traditional education because Youtube or websites exist are just wishing upon a star that things get easier.

Further on formal education, community college is amazing. I also have an Associate of Applied Science degree. In fact, if I were to do it all over again, I would likely pick electrician/HVAC/plumbing/welding for my AA/AS and get a BA in Education or BS in CompSci, to really cover being employable. I've spent a lifetime programming, and truly benefited from some online sources as well, especially Pluralsight, though most instructors there are well-vetted professionals, many authors there are not the best in designing coursework. Purposefully checking into algorithms and some of the math behind it all was also helpful. That's where lack of an education background causes one to fall apart, people online do not know about how to educate, and you don't know what you don't know to even look into, and why traditional directed education is as relevant as ever.

A third thing people miss, if you care about the best learning experience. Many people seek a degree to get a job, it doesn't earn you a job or even make you employable, it earns you credibility. I wouldn't go to school unless you have a thirst for learning, because to put it to work in a beyond mediocre fashion, will require continuous learning.

</comment><comment><USER53> How does this fare in cultures where there are no second chances, like many places in the US?

My gut says this is a scam.

<comment><USER54> What exactly are you referring to?

<comment><USER53> Going to college after the appointed time, that is right after high school.

If someone does so and makes it work, that's wonderful, but at least around here I can't see a business owner tolerating someone with age but not experience, especially with legions of twentysomethings beating down the doors begging for a job before the rent savings run out.

<comment><USER21> > I can't see a business owner tolerating someone with age but not experience

But why would they care if two people have the same experience but one is older? What difference does it make that they wouldn't tolerate?

<comment><USER53> From what I've read here on HN (and other places), even _with_ experience, ageist bigotry is a significant impact on people's careers, I can only imagine it's worse sans experience.

<comment><USER55> So in my own experience, older colleagues can usually bring two things to the table regardless of relevant work experience: maturity and responsibility. This isn't always true (I've definitely had some older colleagues who are exceptions to this rule), but I think probably your average 40 something is more mature and more responsible than your average 20 something. More importantly, if someone went and did this degree in their 40s, I know they are doing it because they really want to follow the career path that the degree leads to, not because they chose this academic program at random at the age of 17 or 18 because they weren't sure what they wanted to do.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Imagining a skeuomorphic-free, all-aluminium iOS 7 - <AUTHOR> http://www.imore.com/no-more-skeuomorphs

<comment><AUTHOR> Does anyone else see irony in calling a "skeumorphic-free" theme Aluminium?</comment>


Facebook trying to hammer out music licenses for Slideshow feature - <AUTHOR> http://nypost.com/2016/05/15/facebook-looks-at-youtube-for-new-music-ideas/ <comment><AUTHOR> Additional background and relevant industry commentary here:

[http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/facebook-in- talks...](http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/facebook-in-talks-with- labels-over-limited-music-licences/)</comment>


SensibleVision 3D Facial Recognition System - <AUTHOR> https://findbiometrics.com/sensiblevision-3d-facial-recognition-bright-sunlight-409281/ <comment><USER2> Actually those infrared grid things are famous for not working in bright sunlight. For instance, the Microsoft Kinect does poorly in a brightly lit room.

It might be that the iPhone X camera is working at closer range and the geometry is more favorable for it, but systems that use any kind of light projector do worse in bright sun.</comment>


Changing the narrative on distributed teams in Silicon Valley - <AUTHOR> https://versionone.vc/changing-the-narrative-on-distributed-teams-in-silicon-valley/ <comment><AUTHOR> "Among our Silicon Valley-based portfolio companies, not a single company past "A" does not have a distributed team." \- how the narrative on distributed teams is changing in SV given the war for talent and rising costs.</comment>


Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is - <AUTHOR> http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-the-lowest-difficulty-setting-there-is/

<comment><USER2> _I should note that I'm planning to Mallet anyone who decides to start a debate on the word "privilege" in this thread. I've already established that straight white dudes often cannot deal with the term rationally; there's no need for a) any of them to prove it, b) anyone else to reiterate the fact._

Not much room for disagreeing with his summation now is there.

</comment><comment><USER3> Well, the only level easier than SWM is "(Upper)-Middle-class minority playing the minority card".

If you're gay from a poor family in Alabama, you got it tough.

If you're gay from an upper middle class family in, say, New York, you can use it to your advantage.

</comment><comment><USER4> The only thing easier than being a white man is complaining about how easy it is.

</comment><comment><USER5> SWM: still several orders of magnitude harder than being a beautiful woman.

Seinfeld as evidence: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb72AJDFAjE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb72AJDFAjE)</comment>


Changes in midlife death rates across racial and ethnic groups in the US - <AUTHOR> https://www.bmj.com/content/362/bmj.k3096 <comment><USER2> "Drug overdoses were the leading cause of increased mortality in midlife in each population, but mortality also increased for alcohol related conditions, suicides, and organ diseases involving multiple body systems."

Perhaps we can start treating addiction like a disease and not a moral failing?

<comment><USER3> Addiction progresses like a disease, but begins as a moral failing. If I were to begin using heroin today, it would be by conscious choice, not because there's something wrong with my body.

<comment><USER4> Could it be, at the onset? The decision to take drugs? Where one is suffering from depression or some form of chemical imbalance? Or, could one be prone to risk taking behavior? Is the precursor to risk taking behavior, biochemical?

<comment><USER2> I don't know if it's a true "decision" to take drugs for many people. If they have crippling pain due to an injury, they may be prescribed pain medication and then find they can't get off. See my other comment for a scenario.

<comment><USER5> It's complex because there are different reasons for addiction.

Prescription rates are very high to support your example [0]

Recreational use is a bit harder, for me at least, to gauge. I found the 2017 global drug survey [1] showing about 2% opium/heroine use among respondents.

[0] [https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/maps/rxrate- maps.html](https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/maps/rxrate-maps.html)

[1] [https://www.globaldrugsurvey.com/wp- content/themes/globaldru...](https://www.globaldrugsurvey.com/wp- content/themes/globaldrugsurvey/results/GDS2017_key-findings-report_final.pdf) (I wasn't very familiar with this source, but I saw 10+ citations including some respectable journals like BMJ, [https://www.globaldrugsurvey.com/about- us/methods-and-limita...](https://www.globaldrugsurvey.com/about-us/methods- and-limitations/)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> It's gotten to the point where doctors are no longer strongly pushing meeting all the RDIs for eating healthy and exercising if you'd otherwise be working, since (absent other risk factors) how much earning power you have at 35 is a better predictor of your total life expectancy than whatever amount of permanent damage you'd do to your body before then.

<comment><USER7> That sounds very anecdotal.

<comment><USER6> Almost definitely. I'm seeing this move toward pragmatism across medicine though. E.g. even my infant daughter is getting recommendations from her pediatrician that don't adhere strictly to the AAP or WHO guidelines.

<comment><USER8> Umm, isn't that why they're called guidelines instead of rules or laws? They're a generalized solution for the populace at large which may be adjusted for individuals as their needs differ. Comparatively, BMI is a guideline and body fat/cholesterol/activity levels/nutrition intake are the more important drivers to health that determine what changes need to be made for improvement.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> We are too stressed in the US. Our companies don't treat employees like people, treat them like automotas. No paternity leave, very very little maternity leave. 2 weeks vacation. We are working too hard and burning our selves out.

<comment><USER10> > we are working too hard and burning our selves out.

Are we? Every single medium-big sized company I've worked was overstaffed to the gills, you could fire about 40-60% of ppl and no one would notice.

If you work for any online ecommerce company you would notice that their main shopping time is during work hours.

<comment><USER11> i agree regarding the widespread overstaffing and the ubiquitous e-loafing, but the issue is more complicated than that.

it's possible to not do very much work at work but still suffer from the bad lifestyle factors:

sitting all day, being constantly stressed regarding stability, being constantly reminded of your social status (or lack thereof), not having enough time after work to do errands or take care of children, not having enough unbroken chunks of vacation time without having to answer an email or do any work, not getting paid enough to comfortably cover all the bills, being reminded of how hard it will be to make ends meet if you get seriously ill, etc.

even if these excess employees were actually doing necessary work all of the time, these problems wouldn't go away. they might even get worse.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> Sounds like Americans have had a marked decrease in mental and physical health over the time period analyzed. (1999-2016).

I think maybe easier access to healthcare, mental and physical, could help?

Also a lot of this might be signs of an overworked populace? (How many jobs are people working to make ends meet? Do the ends meet after all the jobs are worked? etc). So we should probably look at that as well.

But I think one of the biggest things we should take a long hard look at is our lifestyle. (I know that work hours are a part of that, but I broke that out on its own because it's at least a _bit_ easier). What are we doing during our days? (A lot more screen time these days than there were pre 1999. How many hours do people spend checking reddit/facebook/TinderInstaChat? What impact does that have on physical and mental health?)

What are we eating and drinking? (This might have something to do with it?)

Are there any environmental factors that have arisen as a result in subtle lifestyle changes during the indicated time period?

Etc etc etc.

I guess, in short, I think a comprehensive trend such as the one outlined in the study likely requires a comprehensive look at possible causes.

<comment><USER13> I wish it called out the difference between males and females. Is the trend mostly with males?

<comment><USER12> Actually, it specifically said that the overdose trend is more pronounced in _females_.

But what's _not_ said seems to also be relevant to the issue you raise. For instance, for suicides, I'd wager the trend is more pronounced for males. (Though they didn't call that out. So that may or may not be the case).

But whether those in poor mental health are committing suicide, or seeking escape in opioids and other drugs, the final result was clearly the same. Doesn't really matter if you're male or female.

<comment><USER14> Women are more likely to attempt suicides, men are more successful in their attempts.

[https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/](https://afsp.org/about- suicide/suicide-statistics/)

<comment><USER15> If we adjusted for the period in which they were suicidal, and calculated how many days per suicide attempt existed, would women still have a higher number? That would seem a better measure given that the simple stats of total attempts in general means that a man who commits suicide counts for less than a woman who attempts many times but never commits.

<comment><USER16> People dont try suicide for days. They try once and are either rescued or not. Next suicide attempt does not happen next day, it happens months/years later. It also have less to do with commitment and more to do with choosen method. Men tend to use guns or something of the sort while women are more likely to attempt to overdose - so there is enough time to find you.

I remember reading that most people in usa try suicide once and rarely second time.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> I read through the methods, and didn't see any attempt to correct for changes in the age composition of the population ranges. From my minimal familiarity with it, it doesn't sound like it invalidates the results, but it does tend to complicate them.

[http://andrewgelman.com/2015/11/06/correcting-rising- morbidi...](http://andrewgelman.com/2015/11/06/correcting-rising-morbidity- and-mortality-in-midlife-among-white-non-hispanic-americans-in-the-21st- century-to-account-for-bias-in/)

[http://andrewgelman.com/2015/11/06/age-adjustment- mortality-...](http://andrewgelman.com/2015/11/06/age-adjustment-mortality- update/)

<comment><USER2> Did you read the methods, though? This is the first sentence:

Methods We examined age adjusted mortality rates based on the 2000 US standard population for 1999-2016 using the Underlying Cause of Death Detailed Mortality database in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Wide- ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (CDC WONDER) platform.27 The agency's methods for age adjustment are described elsewhere.

<comment><USER17> Yes, I read this sentence.

This is a problem with common ways of doing age adjustments.

The issue is somewhat subtle: if you partition people into age bands (45-56), at different times in history, the average person who is in that age group may be older or younger, because different years had higher or lower birth rates. This was a particularly strong effect when the baby boomers were in the 45-56 age range.

My initial comment was that this paper didn't make clear whether they addressed the issue. Having now followed through to the CDC link they have, it looks like it also uses somewhat coarse age bands.</comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN: Can a one person startup/side project implement lean method? - <AUTHOR>

<comment><USER2> I don't see why not. You would have to make your time count whenever you developed you application or project, since you would also probably be working to fund this project. Good luck!</comment>


The Wolfram Language Image Identification Project - <AUTHOR> https://www.imageidentify.com/ <comment><USER2> I hate to be negative, but I found the announcement post suspiciously devoid of any acknowledgement of the huge work that has been done in this field over the last few years. Wolfram's post seems to be written in the tone as if he's suddenly discovered a way to do this, when it's old hat. No mention of the results and ILSVRC (Large Scale Visual Recognition Challenge) contests held every year. Or ImageNet and all of the associated projects.

<comment><USER3> Here's a [biased] bit on Wolfram, the person: [http://chem.tufts.edu/science/Shermer/E-Skeptic/SkepticsOnWo...](http://chem.tufts.edu/science/Shermer/E-Skeptic/SkepticsOnWolfram.html)

TL;DR [quote] Although it is clear that Wolfram is no crank, not someone skeptics would label a pseudoscientist, skeptics will notice that, despite his flawless credentials, staggering intelligence, and depth of knowledge, Wolfram possesses many attributes of a pseudoscientist: (1) he makes grandiose claims, (2) works in isolation, (3) did not go through the normal peer-review process, (4) published his own book, (5) does not adequately acknowledge his predecessors, and (6) rejects a well-established theory of at least one famous scientist. [/quote]

<comment><USER4> While not applicable for this post, I really like: > (5) does not adequately acknowledge his predecessors

as a huge indicator of PR-driven news article rather than a news-driven news article.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> You know the old saying "can't see the forest for the trees?" [1] [2]

1: [https://www.google.com/search?q=can%27t+see+the+forest+for+t...](https://www.google.com/search?q=can%27t+see+the+forest+for+the+trees)

2: [https://www.imageidentify.com/result/1whslg106cfcp](https://www.imageidentify.com/result/1whslg106cfcp)

<comment><USER6> It supposed to identify one item, so the fact that it got "tree" seems to be a correct response to me.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> Everything I uploaded resulted in a ridiculously inaccurate response.

Here is a much better example of this type of classification engine: [http://www.clarifai.com/#demo](http://www.clarifai.com/#demo)

<comment><USER8> Just tried it out with the same pics I used for Wolfram. For one of the previously wrongly identified pics, Clarifai produced better results. For another, it miscategorized it with the same tags as Wolfram.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> I tried with the sample pictures on my computer, and it recognized all of them - some with uncanny accuracy.

I uploaded some photos which I took recently. It recognized them to fairly well.

Changing the orientation of an image, even if the orientation is provided in the metadata, seems to trip it up though.

Overall, amazing. Considering that it is from the Wolfram stable, not much of a surprise!

<comment><USER10> Yup, we're aware of and working on the orientation issue! Thanks for trying it!

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> Impressed to see that it doesn't necessarily get all the sample images provided on the site right - obviously would be tempting in a tool like this to pick images there that are guaranteed to be correct, but for example the image of a bicycle wheel disc brake gets classified as a 'bicycle chain', and the typewriter as a 'computer keyboard'. Good to demonstrate the failure modes, rather than attempt to project complete infallibility.

I also like the secondary classification it does of people, looking for a 'notable person' match.

</comment><comment><USER12> Inserting absurd images seem to throw it off: [https://cdn.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/blogs/39...](https://cdn.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/blogs/3994/2011/05/64577-54968.jpg)

I mean, how could I not try this?

<comment><USER10> [https://www.imageidentify.com/result/1f5oz7ogn6g8g](https://www.imageidentify.com/result/1f5oz7ogn6g8g)

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> R, Python and open software applications are going to be a very fierce contender in machine learning, image recognition, data mining and statistics. I wonder if close source is going to compete with the 5000 packages available in R and in the future more and more people are going to be able to improve on the shoulder of giants.

<comment><USER12> Well, the philosophy for the Wolfram language is different. Basically, their approach seems to be "put everything imaginable in the standard library", which is kinda awesome, actually.

Should be more coherent and discoverable.

<comment><USER14> Discoverability of functionality in the system, and common ways to put things together, is an important topic. We (I'm an employee) are constantly improving our documentation system to make it easier to see what's there. With over a hundred thousand examples there's a lot of ground covered but more initiatives in this area are rolling out.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> I find it pretty cool to see sensible failures. I gave it a Charizard, and if you squint you can sort of see why it came up with jack-o'-lantern.

[https://www.imageidentify.com/result/12gdvqqz1w0vd](https://www.imageidentify.com/result/12gdvqqz1w0vd)

</comment><comment><USER10> Some of the underlying details (mostly non-technical): [https://www.imageidentify.com/about/how-it- works](https://www.imageidentify.com/about/how-it-works)

The function in the Wolfram Language is called ImageIdentify (obviously): [http://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ImageIdentify.html](http://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ImageIdentify.html)

A blogpost from Stephen Wolfram about this site and related topics: [http://blog.stephenwolfram.com/2015/05/wolfram-language- arti...](http://blog.stephenwolfram.com/2015/05/wolfram-language-artificial- intelligence-the-image-identification-project/)

</comment><comment><USER16> Interesting.

I gave it a pic of me, and it returned "person" \- good.

I gave it a pic of my wife at a White House dinner, and it returned "construction" \- a definite "What the heck?". I suppose this could have been a subtle political comment, but whoosh, I don't get it...

I gave it a pic I took of an F22 in a 9g turn (in afterburner) and it returned "afterburner" \- surprised me that it ID'ed the aircraft's propulsion regime rather than calling it an aircraft, but nonetheless impressive. How do they get it to key on Mach diamonds?

Bookmarked. I'll check in occasionally to see how it's doing in its ascent to sentience.

<comment><USER17> _I 'll check in occasionally to see how it's doing in its ascent to sentience._

Turing Test: Pair it up with a chat-bot algorithm on Skype and see if it can start conversations with random users based on their home decor. "Nice red leather couch you've got there."

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Interesting. Tried out a few pics from my desktop and it got some right and a couple wrong but I could see why in one case (ottoman cushions identified as "containers", probably based on shape).

It would be really cool to see a refined use case for artifacts, i.e. detailed scanning and identification of sculpture by style and origin.

</comment><comment><USER18> It seems like it doesn't work with illustrations (i.e cartoons, logos, etc). Also, lights seems to confuse the model; for instance, a picture of my son with candle on a birthday cake was identified as "instrumentation" and a picture of me with a light source in the back was tagged as light bulb.

</comment><comment><USER13> I have tried with two images, one a book in Spanish entitle: Lo mejor de "Fantasy & Science Fiction", another with my watch. In the first one it classified as a machine or something like that, the second is a device. Nothing fancy and very far from what they say in the blog.

</comment><comment><USER19> Help Mr. Wolfram train his engine for free.

</comment><comment><USER20> Well, it's not ENTIRELY wrong [https://www.imageidentify.com/result/0j627xm37r6yl](https://www.imageidentify.com/result/0j627xm37r6yl)

<comment><USER21> I used the same image and it did not guess it at all. It said "oblate"...

<comment><USER20> Interesting. Did you use the original high-res image?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> Really cool, I tried with a few photos and it did surprisingly well. I provided training info on the ones it got wrong, hopefully it keeps getting better.

Very impressive and I don't mind helping train it.

</comment><comment><USER23> A photo of my wife and toddler daughter yields "instrumentation". I'm not sure what to think about that.

<comment><USER24> An image I found of a heartbleed logo with the word "heartbleed" superimposed indicated the same response -- "instrumentation."

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> It couldn't identify smoke [https://t.co/jlK6yswXGT](https://t.co/jlK6yswXGT)

<comment><USER26> It got Bill Gates though -[https://www.imageidentify.com/result/06eboar58u4rw](https://www.imageidentify.com/result/06eboar58u4rw)

</comment></comment><comment><USER27> needs to improve before i'll be asking it to automatically order my dessert ...

[https://www.imageidentify.com/result/0fmiowetw4u07](https://www.imageidentify.com/result/0fmiowetw4u07)

</comment><comment><USER28> Gave it a pic of tip-off of a basketball game. It offered "Instrumentation".

</comment><comment><USER29> Whoa that's awesome! NKS!</comment>


Transparent OLEDs - <AUTHOR> https://oled.com/oleds/transparent-oleds-toleds/ <comment><USER2> I'm excited for transparent OLED's simply so that laptops and monitors will be able to put the webcam behind the display, ~1/3 from the top.

Then videoconferencing software can automatically move the image of the person you're talking to so their eyes are roughly centered on that point.

And finally everyone gets to make direct eye contact again!

<comment><USER3> I'm curious why software can't correct this now? Messenger can make me look like a sheep, can't it move my gaze?

<comment><USER2> It can, I've tried gaze correction software, but it has the unfortunate side effect of making the speaker look possessed. Total uncanny valley.

We humans are sensitive to every tiny detail of the eye, because we express so much emotion through it. It's no joke that the "eye is the window to the soul". Gaze correction software literally winds up looking like it messes with your soul.

Maybe someday we'll invent gaze correction that actually looks realistic -- but because it involves not just moving the eyeball, but opening/closing the eyelid (the eyelid moves as our eyes move vertically, like for a webcam), therefore moving the eyelashes, involving compensation with the lower eyelid, and more... it's going to be really hard.

<comment><USER4> I recall once having a conversation with someone working on computer vision at Facebook, and they mentioned that the company had spent a considerable amount of talent & resources trying to get this feature to work cleanly and they did not get past the uncanny valley problems.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> For a long long time, science fiction movies have used transparent displays to seem more "futuristic." However, _actual_ transparent displays have been underwhelming in practice.

This technology is being use by Xaomi to make a "transparent TV"[1] which in theory you will be able to buy. (I realize that not all of these sorts of announcements survive until actual product shipment).

It will be interesting to see one of these "in the flesh" as it were, I'm at a loss what you'd have behind it that wouldn't make it really really annoying to watch, but the cool factor could be right up there.

[1] [https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/11/21363861/xiaomi-oled- tv-t...](https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/11/21363861/xiaomi-oled-tv- transparent-mi-lux-china-specs-price-release)

<comment><USER5> Well for one it would be great to place on mirrors to "try on" clothes, or any kind of augmented reality like that. They can also be placed on your windshield for directions and other info like your speed. Gaming monitors with "designer" internals so that when your screen is off you can see the cool inside, similar to some watches with exposed gears.

<comment><USER6> You can already do the first one, just put a mirror in front of a regular display. The light from the display will be visible through the mirror.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Well, this would be another method for achieving heads up displays. Here's an application that I think would be really cool: HUD retrofits for cars. Take a transparent plastic film, stick it to the inside of your windshield in a similar manner like you would apply a tint film to the side and rear windows. Then, take the connector dangling from the corner of the film and connect it to the supplied box which connects to the ODB port, or some other standardized connector which connects it to the necessary vehicle systems.

I could also totally see Tesla or one of the older luxury car brands doing something similar, where the HUD in the front windows is integrated into the car systems.

IMO, the harder part will be not integrating the technology in this article (or something similar), but designing the HUD to be something actually useful and informative to the vehicle operator, affording them better, more informed control of their vehicle, instead of being some distracting thing that you can't disable.

<comment><USER8> That would be cool for aftermarket HUDs. As far as making a useful HUD goes, some carmakers are already doing that. I have a 2019 Mazda CX-5 and it has a HUD that is projected on to the windshield. It tells me my current speed, the current speed limit of the road I am on, if there is a stop sign ahead, and if I run the GPS system it displays the next cross street, and arrow symbols for upcoming turns.

I personally find it super useful! I don't need to look down at my instrument panel as my current speed gets sort of projected on road ahead of me. It's small and a barebones design but it works.

<comment><USER9> The thing you describe works by passing an image through lenses, and reflecting it off the windscreen. That way, you can focus on it and the road at the same time. For transparent OLED-based systems, you'd have to stare at the windscreen to look at them – so you wouldn't see them on the road; they'd look much nearer.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Transparent OLED on subway video

[https://en.oledspace.com/a-closer-look-into-beijings- futuris...](https://en.oledspace.com/a-closer-look-into-beijings-futuristic- subway/)

<comment><USER11> I can't tell if it's a feature of the screen or just the very dark nature of subway tunnels, but I really like the fact that the screen goes completely opaque on the bright blue screens.

Transparent screens could be useful in all sorts of scenarios, but I think tech demos too often ignore the fact that, most of the time, you want the image to be as clear as possible, which means opaque.

<comment><USER12> I wonder why no one suggested putting a very thin, transparent monochrome LCD behind one of these. It would allow darkening the background, as opposed to OLED's ability to emit light but not block it from passing through. Basically, you'd use two display technologies to complement each other.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Would this have anything to do with XioMi's announcement for their own transparent TV?

[https://blog.mi.com/en/2020/08/11/turning-moment-for-tv- indu...](https://blog.mi.com/en/2020/08/11/turning-moment-for-tv-industry- xiaomi-unveils-mi-tv-lux-oled-transparent-edition/)

<comment><USER14> You bet.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> Xiaomi just released their transparent OLED TV. It looks surreal:

[https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/11/21363861/xiaomi-oled- tv-t...](https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/11/21363861/xiaomi-oled-tv- transparent-mi-lux-china-specs-price-release)

<comment><USER16> They did the same thing with bezel free phones: early adoption of Korean (LG) or Japanese (Sharp) display tech. I'm not sure what their angle is, but these early adopter products seem like one offs.

<comment><USER15> Yea it certainly takes courage.

Their Xiaomi Mi Alpha bezel free phone was just as crazy! [https://i.imgur.com/CYHISoC.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/CYHISoC.jpg)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> If you put your webcam behind your video chat window, you can achieve better eye contact with your remote participants. I wonder how well a webcam can see through these screens and/or how much of a hole would be required in the rendered image to avoid obstructing the camera.

<comment><USER18> With the right level of integration the camera could subtract the image that is in front of it. That would requires having a pretty good model of the point spread function, perfect synchronization etc.

OLEDs have a fast response... I wonder if it would be possible to put the camera shutter and the oled out of phase enough to substantially dim it.

Perhaps polarization could be used to get better isolation.

With all the engineering required to do it, it might be much less expensive to have three or four cameras at the edges of the display, then extract a depth map and resynthesize an view from the perspective of the centre of the screen. :)

Plus that would give you bonus features like being able to automatically blur our or heavily denoise the background. :)

<comment><USER19> > I wonder if it would be possible to put the camera shutter and the oled out > of phase enough to substantially dim it.

That's a neat idea. It reminds me of the early fighter planes that fired bullets between the propeller blades by having the gun driven off the engine, timed so that the bullet passes through the plane of the propeller while the blades are not in the way.

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

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> I had an idea recently about creating slight-3D displays by stacking layer of LCD panels that give some impression of depth when moving your head, this might make that feasible.

<comment><USER21> You might find "tensor displays" interesting.

[https://web.media.mit.edu/~gordonw/TensorDisplays/](https://web.media.mit.edu/~gordonw/TensorDisplays/)

<comment><USER20> Thank you, it's not what I was thinking of but looks interesting. Seems like there is some history of multi-layer displays that I wasn't aware of, not that I took the idea any further than a "wouldn't it be cool if..." scenario.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> World's first transparent OLED TV

[https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/11/21363861/xiaomi-oled- tv-t...](https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/11/21363861/xiaomi-oled-tv- transparent-mi-lux-china-specs-price-release)

</comment><comment><USER23> Could you make voxels by stacking them?

</comment><comment><USER24> how do they do the black?

<comment><USER25> My first thought was "well of course they don't," but their concept renders do indeed have opaque black.

I'm guessing these are just technically uninformed renders with no basis in actually-proposed applications, but it seems at least plausible that one could combine transparent OLED with a transparent LCD backing (sort of the inversion of a backlight) to create a variable-transparency screen.

<comment><USER26> Pardon my ignorance but wouldn't LCD need polarized light to perform the darkening? Maybe a transparent pixelated electrochromic display layer might work

<comment><USER27> The backlight of an LCD isn't itself polarized. A TN LCD display is made of two orthogonal polarization filters with the liquid crystals in between. In their relaxed (twisted) state, the crystals rotate the polarization of the light so that it can pass the second filter. When a voltage is applied, the crystals straighten and the second filter blocks the light.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER28> Isn't a transparent monitor just a window with a HUD? My first thought was that this could have exciting use-cases in vehicles. However, aside from nighttime driving, the relatively poor brightness would likely quickly rule it out. Anyway, for a fun thought experiment, if I were thoroughly reviewing it for use I'd be most curious about its visual clarity when off (and perhaps durability, but to a lesser extent). How exactly does one measure contrast ratios when you have no idea what you're contrasting against?

</comment><comment><USER29> You could put an eInk display behind it, and have sort of a dual mode of interaction. If both can be constructed flexibly/foldable (with or without a hinge) I can see some very interesting designs. The ability of eInk to switch to black, or just display semi-permanent information with amazing readability and low power usage, while still having portions of the screen be high refresh rate and full color would be amazing.

</comment><comment><USER30> Would this be useful for augmented-reality headsets?

<comment><USER31> Assuming the transparency (article says 70-80%) can be improved for clarity and the pixels small enough then it could be great.

However you'd have to keep in mind that others looking at your face could see the same image. So don't go running that "X-RAY:make them appear naked!" app...

<comment><USER32> Sunglasses block much more than 30% though. And can have a mirrored surface so others can't see your eyes, or your creepy app notifications :)

<comment><USER31> Fair point re: sunglasses! Not sure "mirrored" would stop light being projected back through but may well help disguise it. Maybe a simple black LCD layer to block the outgoing light might help.

Also, I don't want the creepy Xray app.

But porn has this way of working into society/technology so I don't doubt for a second some form of that app will exist if it doesn't already.

<comment><USER32> I definitely would want smart glasses that don't obviously look like smart glasses!

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER33> Can transparent oled be used to shade house windows? Ie you output black color which block sunlight.

<comment><USER34> You can already do that with smart glass: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_glass](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_glass)

</comment></comment><comment><USER35> Henry Danger, a show on nickelodeon has featured transparent phones and tablets for years. Seems like they were right that this was the future:

[https://opera.news/ng/en/technology/6a64c11b10e73b1e7f76cd12...](https://opera.news/ng/en/technology/6a64c11b10e73b1e7f76cd12e0802a32?news_entry_id=s59219b5c200620en_ng)

[https://nickalive.blogspot.com/2015/11/sneak-peek-of-new- hen...](https://nickalive.blogspot.com/2015/11/sneak-peek-of-new-henry-danger- episode_21.html?m=0)

[http://nickalive.blogspot.com/2015/11/sneak-peek-of-new- henr...](http://nickalive.blogspot.com/2015/11/sneak-peek-of-new-henry-danger- episode_21.html)

<comment><USER36> Phones in The Expanse as well.

</comment></comment><comment><USER37> I really hope at some point they will have some pane available by the unit with normal retailer. I foresee some really cool HUD interface possible with a RPI :)

</comment><comment><USER38> I can't wait for this to be used in vehicles

[https://imgur.com/F2VHfjs](https://imgur.com/F2VHfjs)

</comment><comment><USER39> This sounds like it'll be good for sharper versions of the "magic mirror", a staple for maker projects.

</comment><comment><USER40> Now make 80% reversible OLED so that the screen is powered and semi passive through ambient light.

</comment><comment><USER14> Do they emit light in all directions?

</comment><comment><USER41> Are we finally going to get the transparent displays from sci-fi movies?

</comment><comment><USER42> > _Transparent OLEDs (TOLEDs)_

This looks like a missed opportunity for TROLEDs :)</comment>