1. How to think in writing
Total comment counts : 25
Summary
This article discusses the connection between writing and refining one’s thinking. The author argues that when ideas are put into writing, they become more precise and complete. Therefore, individuals who have not written about a topic do not have fully formed ideas about it. The article emphasizes that not all types of writing are helpful for thinking, and that writing must be approached in the right way. The author also explores the relationship between writing and mathematics, highlighting how both involve crafting language to express and improve thoughts. The article provides insights into the mental processes involved in thinking through writing and offers guidance for different types of writing. It concludes by explaining how writing enables the observation of thoughts transitioning from fluid to rigid, allowing for the examination and improvement of ideas.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author of the article is torn about the effectiveness of writing in refining thoughts. On one hand, they agree that writing can help in this regard, but on the other hand, they believe that seeking outside feedback is a more efficient way to uncover flaws in one’s thoughts. They mention that the effort put into writing may uncover some flaws, but getting feedback from others can quickly reveal gaps and blind spots. The author shares their personal experience of finding flaws in a friend’s thinking despite his intelligence.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author of the article discusses their practice of writing reflections and examining and cross-examining ideas, which they have been doing for over a decade. They argue that aimless talking, random reading, and making small notes are important parts of the process of noticing and gathering data, despite the potential for confusion and time consumption. The author also points out that this kind of thinking and writing can scare people, as they have experienced when sending an edited analysis to a cofounder who did not understand it as an examination of their startup’s situation but rather as anxiety and uncertainty. The author acknowledges that questioning assumptions can be unsettling.
2. Advantages of incompetent management
Total comment counts : 39
Summary
The article discusses the concept of managerial competence and its implications. It highlights how competent management sets and achieves objectives while organizing and incentivizing work. The article presents a story about an inexperienced VP who voluntarily cuts his equipment budget due to a crisis but later realizes that the budget cut becomes permanent and hinders his ability to achieve objectives. It emphasizes that having a larger budget makes it easier to achieve objectives, while budget cuts or resource relinquishment are seen as losing in the game of resource allocation. The article concludes by highlighting that the cost is a significant factor in decision-making, but it does not affect the math related to achieving objectives.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses an approach called “unit presidency” implemented by a company called Creo. This approach empowered employees to make decisions as if they were the president of the company. The decision-making process was based on “economic thinking” principles, focusing on the return on investment (ROI) of decisions. Consensus was generally used for decision-making, but other methods were occasionally employed. However, the unit presidency approach became less effective after the company was acquired by Kodak, due to cultural differences and the hiring of individuals who were not aligned with the company’s culture. The article highlights that similar approaches have been seen in other companies, such as Intel, where decisions are made by those closest to the situation. For this approach to work well, it is important for management to provide a clear strategy for employees to execute and ensure coordination and structure within the organization.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses how resources, such as money, team size, processor cycles, and memory bytes, work in a way that when you free up resources, someone else can use them instead. A well-managed system measures everyone’s resource usage and sets a budget based on past usage. The article suggests that people often avoid optimizing their code because they want to deploy new functionality and can only do so if they request more resources, which may not always be granted. The article also makes a comparison to water laws in the western US that encourage farmers to waste water to secure future access to it.
3. Against the burden of knowledge
Total comment counts : 19
Summary
The article discusses the concept of the burden of knowledge and its impact on the discovery of new ideas. The burden of knowledge suggests that as knowledge accumulates, it becomes harder to find new ideas because more time is spent learning old ones. The author argues that this concept is intuitive and supported by evidence such as longer encyclopedias, increasing specialization in research teams, and the average age of authors in academic journals. However, the author also points out that the burden of knowledge may not fully explain the divergence between research and productivity growth rates. The article concludes by stating that while the burden of knowledge provides a compelling explanation, there are still limitations and unanswered questions.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses how the accumulation of astronomical observations and measurements led to the transition from the heliocentric to the geocentric system in the scientific community. The author uses the example of Kepler’s career to argue that his understanding of the laws of planetary motion was not a sudden insight, but a result of tireless work and analysis of multiple measurements. The article suggests that both the geocentric and heliocentric systems lacked elegance and were in accordance with observational data, but it was through the collection of better measurements that progress was made and Kepler was able to develop a solution. The article concludes by noting that the perception of scientific theories often simplifies the process, overlooking the accumulated knowledge and collective work of generations of scientists.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article suggests that it is not difficult to come up with new ideas, but rather it is becoming harder to discuss and propose these ideas. The author cites examples in physics, economics, finance, and epistemology where certain ideas are dominating the field while others are ignored. The article argues that knowledge and new ideas are being undermined by influential individuals and even chat bots that spread misinformation.
4. Kivy – a cross platform Python UI framework
Total comment counts : 23
Summary
The article announces the release of Kivy 2.3.0, an open-source Python app development framework. Kivy is compatible with Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows. It is designed to be user-friendly, cross-platform, and efficient. Kivy is released under the MIT License and is free to use. It is supported and maintained by companies and individuals. The article mentions that organizations and individuals can contribute to Kivy starting from $5. The community is available to provide assistance, and the source code is hosted on Github.
Top 1 Comment Summary
This article discusses various projects related to Kivy, a Python framework for developing multi-touch applications. It mentions projects such as python-for-android, which allows for the compilation of Python projects for Android, and Plyer, which provides cross-platform APIs for notifications, hardware, and file chooser. The article also highlights KivyMD, a project that offers Material Design for Kivy-based user interfaces. The author praises the Kivy team and describes the framework as enjoyable to use, particularly noting the usefulness of the descriptive language kv. However, the article mentions some drawbacks, including challenges with cross-compiling, longer app loading times, and missing features like a WebView and accessibility support. Despite these limitations, the author considers Kivy to be a good project that deserves more recognition and usage.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article highlights that the accessibility features of Kivy, a UI framework, are not mentioned on its website. The author found an issue on GitHub indicating that these features have not yet been implemented. Consequently, the article suggests that Kivy may not be a suitable choice for user-facing apps, and expresses frustration that some UI frameworks lack standard accessibility features in the current year.
5. Show HN: BeaconDB – An Alternative to Mozilla Location Services
Total comment counts : 12
Summary
The article discusses the public domain wireless geolocation database known as beaconDB, which is now accepting submissions. Users can help expand coverage in their area by using specific apps on their phones. The data submitted will be aggregated and shared under a public domain license, however, the article advises caution when relying on beaconDB for critical services. Android users can easily try out beaconDB by adjusting their settings. If the database cannot estimate the location using Wi-Fi, it will fall back to cell tower data. Submissions may take at least 5 minutes to become available in the beaconDB API. The article also mentions that beaconDB is not suitable as a default location service for software with a large user base, as its infrastructure cannot handle a high volume of requests. Data dumps are currently not available in order to preserve contributors’ and access point owners’ privacy.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the concept of ethically sourced data collection, particularly in relation to WiFi networks. The author raises a concern about the opt-in nature of this data collection process. They question whether a neighbor scanning their WiFi network and uploading it to a database like BeaconDB counts as opting in. The author points out that the privacy policy suggests users can add “_optout” to their WiFi name as a way to opt out, indicating that the process is more opt-out than opt-in.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article raises questions about the data source for the author’s analysis, as it is unclear whether they have an open-source mobile app or other means to collect data directly from devices. The reader is particularly curious about the origin of the data and whether it was collected with the users’ consent.
6. Show HN: A free minimalist daily habit tracker
Total comment counts : 32
Summary
The article discusses the features of an app that can be used offline without needing an account. It allows users to track their habits and streaks, pause the app when needed, and visualize their progress through a visual map. Users can also sign in with their email to sync data between devices.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author has noticed a problem with consuming online content. They often come across interesting things, leave a comment or save it, but then quickly forget about it due to the overwhelming amount of content coming in. They suggest that an app could help organize content into a daily timeline or mindspace to help combat this reliance on a linear timeline. The author acknowledges that they are not sure how to address this issue.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the author’s experience of creating an activity tracker app using Django, Bootstrap, and HTMX. The author used the app for a few weeks before moving on to other projects, as they found it difficult to consistently use the app themselves. They have recently cleaned up the readme and added a demo video. The author also mentions that the app can be easily set up with Sqlite locally and has been running on Fly.io with a connection to Postgres on a VPS. The author acknowledges that the app is not yet finished but hopes it can inspire someone.
7. Starcraft (A History in Two Acts)
Total comment counts : 25
Summary
The article discusses Blizzard Entertainment’s journey after the success of Warcraft: Orcs and Humans in 1995. Following the release of Warcraft II, Blizzard faced criticism for a thinly reskinned version of the game called Starcraft. As a result, the company decided to focus on only two projects: Diablo and Starcraft. The team working on Starcraft completely revamped the game and poured all their efforts into making it awesome. Blizzard adopted a non-hierarchical structure, allowing everyone to contribute design suggestions. The founders preferred to promote from within rather than hiring outsiders. Despite the long gaps between releases, Blizzard learned that making awesome games would attract a loyal fanbase.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The Blizzard sales team projected that they would sell 4,000 copies of StarCraft in a year in South Korea, so they did not localize the game. However, the first year sales exceeded their expectations by 100 times, surprising everyone at Blizzard.
Top 2 Comment Summary
This article discusses two key aspects of StarCraft that contributed to its enduring popularity. Firstly, the game was highly hackable, allowing players to delve into its code and create plugins for the community. This led to the development of tools that enriched the gaming experience. Secondly, the article highlights the role of the community in maintaining the game’s longevity. Map makers played a crucial part in keeping the game balanced, as Blizzard’s last balance patch was released in 2001. Additionally, various online platforms and tournaments organized by dedicated individuals helped foster a strong and engaged community. The author predicts that StarCraft will continue to be played and followed for many years to come.
8. RISC-V Emulator for Sophgo SG2000 SoC (Pine64 Oz64 / Milk-V Duo S)
Total comment counts : 2
Summary
The article discusses the development and customization of a RISC-V emulator for Ox64 BL808 SBC. The emulator was used for testing the daily build of Apache NuttX RTOS. The article explains how the emulator was modified to support Sophgo SG2000 SoC and Pine64 Oz64 SBC. It also highlights the issues encountered during the process, such as crashes at specific addresses and incorrect boot modes. The article goes on to detail how the memory map was updated, the auipc overflow was fixed, and the 16550 UART Controller was emulated. Overall, the article provides a step-by-step account of the emulator development process and the challenges faced along the way.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the search for a RISCV emulator for the ESP32-C3, which is a new version of the ESP32 that uses the RISCV architecture. The person is wondering how difficult it would be to add support for the ESP32-C3 to QEMU, which already supports SiFive boards.
Top 2 Comment Summary
This article discusses the memory map of a system, specifically the starting and ending addresses of the memory and its size. The author questions the large size of the memory map and expresses confusion about how to calculate its size.
9. YouTube embeds are heavy and it’s fixable
Total comment counts : 31
Summary
The article discusses the size and resource consumption of YouTube embeds on websites and introduces a solution called Web Component. Regular YouTube embeds are about 1.3MB in size and do not share resources between multiple embeds. The component, on the other hand, is smaller (around 100k) and shares resources while maintaining full functionality. The article argues that using the component would improve performance and reduce wasted electricity and carbon output. It also mentions a famous story from YouTube engineers who found that a lighter video page actually increased average load times but allowed more people to use YouTube, ultimately improving the overall user experience. The author suggests using the component as it offers faster performance, efficiency, and default privacy. The recommended approach to using the component is provided in the article.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses how a community forum platform replaces YouTube embeds with proxied thumbnails that only load when clicked. This approach aims to reduce the amount of data and tracking by YouTube that users have to download when visiting the forum.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author argues that a lighter version of YouTube has not been proven to decrease user engagement. However, the reader disagrees and believes that the lighter version does reduce engagement. The reader points out that the lite version of YouTube takes noticeably longer to start playing videos compared to the regular version. The reader emphasizes that even small increases in load time can negatively impact engagement, and in this case, the difference in load time is significant. The article includes a link to the lite-youtube-embed project page for demonstration purposes.
10. Fabric is an open-source framework for augmenting humans using AI
Total comment counts : 17
Summary
The article discusses Fabric, an open-source framework for using AI to solve specific problems. It mentions that Fabric is switching to Go to improve installation and performance. The article also highlights a video by Network Chuck, who explains the benefits of using Fabric for AI applications. Fabric’s goal is to enable people to apply AI to everyday challenges and enhance human creativity. It provides Patterns, which are prompts that can be integrated into various aspects of life and work. The article provides instructions for installing and configuring Fabric and explains how to use it with different servers. It also mentions that Fabric Patterns can be accessed in the /patterns directory. Overall, Fabric aims to make AI applications more accessible and useful for users.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The purpose of technology, specifically AI, should be to help humans thrive. The current discussion around AI often lacks a positive philosophy of how AI can assist and enhance human capabilities rather than replace them. It is not necessary nor desirable to automate everything, and we should focus on using AI to augment human abilities instead.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article criticizes the lack of objective facts and credible references in the facts and references sections of something unspecified. It suggests that unless an automatic fact-checking feature is implemented, the thing remains useless. It also highlights the challenge of knowing which information to trust when attempting to gain wisdom from it.