1
Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier
The Wirecutter’s review of the IKEA air purifier is a mishmash of scientific errors, shoddy testing, and self-contradictory logic.
Dynomight
science and existential angst
- Popular posts
- 53
- Total points
- 17,272
- HN comments
- 14,434
- Rank
- #34 personal
Visit dynomight.net → RSS feedOn Hacker News Feb 2021 – Jul 2026
Life, Learning & Writing 35Science & Space 29Society, Policy & Culture 18Tools & Productivity 7History & Retro Computing 3AI & Machine Learning 3
2
My 16-month theanine self-experiment
randomized and blinded, N=1
3
The health benefits of better air
Why the air you breathe matters, and what to do about it.
4
New colors without shooting lasers into your eyes
Can optical illusions take you outside the human color gamut?
5
So Much Blood
but how much exactly?
6
Experiments on a $50 DIY air purifier (2020)
You can make a DIY air purifier in 30s. To test if it works, I generated smoke, and measured how well it removes tiny particles.
7
The worthlessness of Vitamin D is mildly exaggerated
Some skepticism of vitamin D skepticism
8
Thoughts on the potato diet
Nine observations about what happens when you eat only potatoes
9
Does creatine make you smarter?
And why does the brain use creatine anyway?
10
A review of correlations between big five personality types and life outcomes
People with the same big five personality types tend to be more happy, successful, intelligent, creative, and popular. Why aren’t there more tradeoffs?
11
Test scores are not irrelevant
Some claims that test scores don’t predict college success don’t add up.
12
The big alcohol study that didn't happen
Why did a huge alcohol RCT get cancelled? A strange story of science, academia, bureaucratic maneuvering, ambition, politics, capitalism, the deep state, secret emails, and slippery ethical slopes.
13
The main thing about Phenylacetone meth is that there's so much of it
Since around 2009, methamphetamines have been made with phenylacetone (P2P). Is there a chemical different causing schizophrenia?
14
The Cuboid: A DIY air purifier that's better than a box fan
Designs for a quieter, more energy efficient purifier, and data proving it really works.
15
What I learned trying to classify abortion access across the rich world
Rich countries are not monolithic. However, outside the US and a few microstates, they vary in a limited range.
16
Is "colorectal cancer" rising in "young people"?
(Yes, but.)
17
Who exactly needs to get approval from an institutional review board (IRB)?
IRB you kidding me?
18
Maybe there's a pattern here?
Inventors and impacts
19
Re-using the heat in bathwater in Britain
FROM BEING A WASTE TO THE BATHER AND COUNTRY, AND FOR MAKING IT BENEFICIAL TO THE PUBLICK
20
Aspartame: Once More Unto the Breach
Like it or not, there’s a clear scientific consensus
21
My stupid noise journey (2023)
A tale of bad choices
22
What caused the hallucinations of the Oracle of Delphi?
Why did the oracle of Delphi go into a trance state? Does it have anything to do with ethylene?
23
Can I take ducks home from the park?
16 queries and 6 language models
24
Alcohol, health, and the ruthless logic of the Asian flush
Why did the Asian flush evolve? What does this say about alcoholism? What does this have to do with Odysseus?
25
In Defense of Myers Briggs (2020)
examines claims that the big five personality traits is more scientifically valid than the myers briggs personality indicator
26
Two conspiracy theories about cola
Does cola contain a drug to prevent you from throwing up from the sugar? And is Mexican Coke somehow better than American Coke?
27
WHO aspartame brouhaha
the territory under dispute
28
So you want to use plants to reduce CO₂
You face certain challenges
29
Heritability of human life span is ~50% when heritability is redefined
ratios will be ratios