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The teen mental illness epidemic is international (2023)
Why did mental health fall off a cliff at the same time and in the same way in the USA, The UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? Part 1 of 3.
Topics /
Society, Policy & Culture
The most popular blog posts about society, policy & culture on Hacker News. 244 posts.
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Embezzlers Are Nice People (2017)
We spend a lot of time suing embezzlers. All over the world. Week in and week out. Big embezzlers, small embezzlers, smart embezzlers and very smart embezzlers… That’s right, no dumb embezzlers because almost all the embezzlers we encounter are smart. Some are very smart. Some are brilliant. And, almost always, most…
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In Memory of Stiver
On October 20, the original author of the Fernflower Java decompiler, Stiver, passed away after a long fight against glioblastoma. Stiver was a German programmer of Russian origin, primarily devel
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Ants recognise infected wounds and treat them with antibiotics
The African Matabele ants are often injured in fights with termites. Their conspecifics recognise when the wounds become infected and initiate antibiotic treatment.
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Over the edge: The use of design tactics to undermine browser choice
In order to be able to choose their own browser, people must be free to download it, easily set it to default and to continue using it - all without ...
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Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war
Editor’s note: In keeping with CPJ’s methodology, data will be updated as new information becomes available. See CPJ’s database for the most current data on killed journalists. As of September 24, 2026, CPJ’s preliminary investigations show that at least 247 journalists and media workers are among the more than tens…
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The FCC needs to stop 5G fast lanes
The FCC is set to vote on April 25 to restore its authority over the companies we pay to get online, and reinstate federal net neutrality protections that were jettisoned by the Trump administration in 2017. Net neutrality protections are supposed to ensure that we, not the internet service providers
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Going Dark: The war on encryption is on the rise
After Snowden’s whistleblowing in 2013, large parts of the internet became encrypted, enabling private and secure communication. Not everyone has welcomed this change. Most notably, the FBI and other U.S. government agencies have fought what is often called the “crypto wars”, the war on encryption. In recent years…
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Meta unlawfully ignores the users' right to easily withdraw consent: complaint
If Instagram and Facebook users want to withdraw their consent, they have to buy an expensive subscription
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20 years of Google Scholar
Google Scholar celebrates two decades of breaking down barriers to academic research and making it accessible to everyone, everywhere.
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The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better
It is wrong to think these three statements contradict each other. We need to see that they are all true to see that a better world is possible.
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Decoding the telephony signals in Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'
I'm one of the founders at Corelatus. Our niche is telecom hardware for the E1/T1 and SDH/SONET interfaces. I work with layer 2 signalling, i.e SS7 MTP-2, ATM and frame relay, and the Erlang control system for our embedded hardware.
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Bots, so many bots
Is Product Hunt worth it? Dive into the data to find out.
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U-M finds students with alphabetically lower-ranked names receive lower grades
Knowing your ABCs is essential to academic success, but having a last name starting with A, B or C might also help make the grade.
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Children need risk, fear, and excitement in play
And why adults’ fears put them at risk
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Deterioration of local community a major driver of loss of play-based childhood
Kids growing up in close-knit communities where the social ties are thick are more protected from the harms of the phone-based childhood.
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Posthog is closing their Slack community in favor of forum
One of the great things about being open source is that we’ve grown a vibrant community around the project. Since launch we’ve accepted code from over…
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HPV vaccination: How the world can eliminate cervical cancer
HPV vaccines offer a rare opportunity to effectively eliminate one type of cancer. By taking this opportunity, it’s possible to save hundreds of thousands of women each year.
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Our biggest ever river catch?
Interceptor 006 captured over 250 truckloads of trash – and counting – in just a few hours in the first flood of the year.
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MIT study explains why laws are written in an incomprehensible style
An MIT study on “legalese” suggests this convoluted language acts to convey a sense of authority in legal documents. The researchers also found that even non-lawyers use legalese when asked to write laws.
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Weather forecasts have become more accurate
A four-day forecast today is as accurate as a one-day forecast 30 years ago.
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EFF’s concerns about the UN Cybercrime Convention
Update: This post has been updated to clarify the scope of the compelled assistance provisions and the broad nature of criminalization and electronic evidence gathering. The final version of the draft convention can still be used to expand the reach of repression under the pretext of combating...
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Czech republic sets IPv4 end date
On 17 January 2024, the Government of the Czech Republic approved the material "Restarting the implementation of DNSSEC and IPv6 technologies in the state administration". On the basis of this decision, the Czech state administration will stop providing its services over IPv4 on 6 June 2032. Thus, the Czech Republic…
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Who is Marcellus Williams: Execution in Missouri despite evidence of innocence
Mr. Williams is scheduled to be executed on Sept. 24. Gov. Mike Parson has the power to stop this tragedy now.
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Bluesky signups are now open to the public
Sign up for Bluesky! No invite code required.
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The EdTech Revolution Has Failed
The Case Against Student Use of Computers, Tablets, and Smartphones in the Classroom
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Up to $41B in World Bank climate finance unaccounted for, Oxfam finds
Up to $41 billion in World Bank climate finance —nearly 40 percent of all climate funds disbursed by the Bank over the past seven years— is not being properly tracked due to poor record-keeping practices, reveals a new Oxfam report published today ahead of the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in Washington D.C.
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