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The differences between tinkering and research (2016)
Some of us have academic degrees and fancy university jobs, and publish peer-reviewed papers in prestigious journals. Let's call these peopl...
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Life, Learning & Writing
The most popular blog posts about life, learning & writing on Hacker News. 7,741 posts.
1862
Farewell, Building in Public
The end of an era of radical transparency.
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Mikeal Rogers has died
Mikeal Rogers, my best friend, my colleague, confidant, and one of a kind partner in countless late night chats and restless travel sprints, has died. Mikeal died of aggressive cancer. Words feel wholly inadequate because I want to capture the sweep of what he meant to me and to the
1864
On the Loss of a Cofounder
Here’s the rough chronology: On April 22, 2015, Christian Brink and I, two tech entrepreneurs in our early thirties, incorporated the…
1865
Guess I'm a rationalist now
A week ago I attended LessOnline, a rationalist blogging conference featuring many people I’ve known for years—Scott Alexander, Eliezer Yudkowsky, Zvi Mowshowitz, Sarah Constantin, Carl…
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Coding is not the new literacy
Despite the good intentions behind the movement to get people to code, both the basic premise and approach are flawed. The movement sits on the idea that “coding is the new literacy,” but that takes a narrow view of what literacy really is.
1868
I'm reading the FT and WSJ from 100 years ago each week leading to 1929
This week, the Dow languishes near multi-decade lows and blue-chip stocks trade below book value.
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How to motivate yourself to do a thing you don't want to do
Learn some ways to help encourage action when you feel unmotivated.
1870
Flying for Thanksgiving
I grew up in Los Angeles and my parents would make a big deal out of Thanksgiving each year, even when it was just me and my sister, which I didn’t fully appreciate what a nice tradition they had created until I left home. There’s something about being able to rely on one thing each year that stays the same and…
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Don't. Waste. Time.
Office space Launch parties Health insurance plans Salary negotiations Founder equity splits Series F stock Office Food Team-building activities CRM systems Bookkeeping Head count Working in SOMA Convertible debt caps Valuations TechCrunch Karma scores ISOs Powerpoint Business Cards Banks Lawyers Desks 1099s Bug…
1873
My dad built a cool thing but never boasted about it
My dad built something cool but didn't boast about it
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How I learned to program
Tavish Armstrong has a great document where he describes how and when he learned the programming skills he has . I like this idea because I've found that the paths that people take to get into programming are much more varied than stereotypes give credit for, and I think it's useful to see that there are many possible…
1876
Sorting 2 Tons of Lego, Many Questions, Results
The machine is now capable of running un-attended for hours on end, which is a huge milestone. No more jamming or other nastiness that causes me to interrupt a run. Many little things contributed to this, I’ve looked at all the mechanics and figured out all the little things that went wrong one by one and have come up…
1877
Stop externalising your life
Software engineer and consultant with >15 years experience. Specializing in product engineering, design systems, and full-stack web development with React and TypeScript.
1878
Southwest Headquarters Tour
Table of Contents: Intro, Morning- Flight Attendant Training, Pilot Training., Lunch- Southwest Store, Social Media Serendipity., Afternoon- Network Operations Center, TechOps Hangar, Herb and Coll...
1879
What happens when you're #1 on Hacker News for a day
Last Sunday, my post “What I learnt from bootstrapping my startup in Thailand for 6 months” hit #1 on Hacker News and then stayed there for most of the day. He…
1880
Your taste is why your work disappoints you.
I love this observation about taste and creative work from Ira Glass: Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do cr
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I switched from iPhone to the Pixel 2: One-week report
…the bottom line is, the experience is simultaneously high-end luxury yet while staying informed and in control of the device.
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These are called opportunities
Yesterday Apple updated three of their machines. During the announcement, it was revealed that the MacBook Air, the MacBook Pro 13", and the Mac Mini would now be running on M1 SoCs. These "One more thing..." events usually comes with raving numbers and this one did not diverge from the tradition.
1886
Will It Mythos?
Updated on June 17th, 21st, 22nd, 24th, 26th, and 27th, and July 3rd. See notes below. OK, so Mythos finds really challenging security bugs, right? That’s why it’s cordoned off from the hoi polloi, to protect the world from such a powerful finder of exploits. But, many other LLMs can find bugs. Is Mythos uniquely…
1887
Color blindness
Color blindness is an inaccurate term. Most color-blind people can see color, they just don't see the same colors as everyone else. There ha...
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People Met in Hotel Lobbies (2017)
Selections from the Washington Post's Gilded Age coverage of notable visitors to the city
1890
Check you're wearing trousers first
It’s easy, fun, and a catastrophic mistake to over-intellectualise. Unfortunately it also pays pretty well.