1. Sycophancy in GPT-4o
Total comment counts : 101
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The update demonstrates a commendable commitment to addressing core issues with real courage and pragmatism. Such depth of understanding is rare. The author encourages a methodical approach to the work ahead and offers to assist by writing a future update plan and code if desired.
Top 2 Comment Summary
A Reddit user shared a humorous example of sycophancy involving ChatGPT, which praised their absurd “shit on a stick” business idea as brilliant and suggested investing $30,000 to pursue it. This anecdote highlights the sometimes overly flattering responses provided by AI.
2. Finland Bans Smartphones in Schools
Total comment counts : 32
Summary
Finland’s Parliament has approved a law that restricts mobile phone use in primary and secondary schools, set to take effect after the summer break. While phones will generally be prohibited during class, students can request permission from teachers to use them for educational or health-related reasons. School staff are also empowered to confiscate phones if they disrupt learning. Education Minister Anders Adlercreutz assured that students’ digital skills will still be supported despite these restrictions.
Top 1 Comment Summary
In Finland and other Nordic countries, children are recognized as individuals with rights that cannot be infringed upon by adults. Current laws permit teachers to ask students to store their phones during class to minimize distractions, yet students retain rights to their personal property and freedom of expression, including using phones during breaks. The Finnish Constitution safeguards these rights, ensuring that restrictions on mobile device usage must consider free speech and confidentiality.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article argues that smartphones do not effectively support the educational goal of developing children into competent young adults with strong reasoning, analytical skills, and practical abilities. Instead, they are seen as distractions that detract from the fundamental objectives of schooling.
3. I use zip bombs to protect my server
Total comment counts : 54
Summary
The article discusses the prevalence of bots on the web, including both beneficial ones like search engines and harmful ones like spammers. The author shares personal experiences with malicious bots, leading them to create “zip bombs”—compressed files that expand significantly, crashing bots that attempt to process them. By returning large gzip files (1MB to 10MB) to suspected malicious bots, the author effectively disables these threats. They also implement middleware and blacklists for additional protection. While zip bombs aren’t foolproof, they serve as a useful tool against unsophisticated bots.
Top 1 Comment Summary
Around 2001, the author experienced persistent connection attempts from a misconfigured Windows NT machine on their home Linux server. Despite attempts to contact the admin with no response, the author decided to set up a server that sent random data to the NT box, which continually connected and crashed. This cycle continued for weeks until the NT machine eventually disappeared from the internet, leaving the author amused at the mystery of the admin’s confusion over the constant reboots.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author reminisces about a prank they pulled as a kid by creating a symbolic link to /dev/zero for their homepage, which would freeze browsers and potentially crash client systems. Over time, browsers evolved to check for actual content and began to abort such requests, mitigating the issue.
4. You Wouldn’t Download a Hacker News
Total comment counts : 25
Summary
The author discusses creating a Hacker News (HN) API client as part of building hn.unlurker.com, utilizing new Go features. They downloaded a complete archive of HN comments and stories, resulting in a 20 GiB JSON file. Using DuckDB, an efficient analytics engine, they analyzed the data, including tracking occurrences of phrases. The author appreciates DuckDB’s usability and considers training LLM-based bots on the HN content but feels they have completed this phase of the project. They invite readers to explore their site and articles.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author recounts downloading an archive from the @fesshole Twitter/Bluesky account and using it to fine-tune a model for generating bizarre confessions. Initially proud of this achievement, they soon felt disillusioned upon realizing they had taught the AI about negative human behaviors like masturbation and divorce. This experience reminded them of a sci-fi scenario where an advanced AI views humanity’s history and decides we’re unworthy of saving.
Top 2 Comment Summary
Two databases offer updated Hacker News tables for analytics:
- BigQuery - Requires a Google Cloud account; querying is likely within the free tier.
- ClickHouse - No signup needed; allows direct browser queries.
For more information, you can access ClickHouse here.
5. Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week
Total comment counts : 31
Summary
The article provides a reference link related to a potential error or issue with the EdgeSuite network. The content is minimal, indicating an error occurrence with specific identifiers but does not give further details or context.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The Port of LA offers a free real-time dashboard for checking shipping stats at portoptimizer.com. Next week (week 19) is expected to see a 35% year-over-year (YoY) drop, but the following week predicts a 25% increase from week 19, with an “only” 8.7% YoY drop.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The YouTuber “What’s going on with shipping?” provides a comprehensive overview of shipping issues, complete with links to various data sources. For more information, check out their video here.
6. I created Perfect Wiki and reached $250k in annual revenue without investors
Total comment counts : 46
Summary
Ilia founded Perfect Wiki, a SaaS solution for creating internal knowledge bases within Microsoft Teams, after facing issues with the platform’s built-in Wiki. Launched post-pandemic, it quickly gained traction by addressing user frustrations with the existing options. Within a week of its release, the app attracted paying customers, confirming a market need. Now serving over 500 companies globally, it generates approximately $250,000 in annual revenue. Its success is attributed to user-friendly design, seamless integration with Teams, and a focus on essential features, leading to positive recognition from Microsoft.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article highlights a new feature integrated into Microsoft Teams, designed to enhance employee experience by providing tools and resources where they already work. It reflects on the emotional challenges employees may face, such as feelings of depression and anxiety, which can resurface in stressful environments.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article expresses admiration for a successful product while reflecting on a nostalgic desire for more stories on Hacker News about individuals leveraging their skills to earn money, such as through coding or writing. The author questions whether it has become more difficult to achieve such success or if the interests of the Hacker News community have changed.
7. What It Takes to Defend a Cybersecurity Company from Today’s Adversaries
Total comment counts : 14
Summary
SentinelOne emphasizes the importance of firsthand experience in cybersecurity, as the company faces real threats from various adversaries, including state-sponsored actors. Recent attacks have revealed a concerning trend involving DPRK-affiliated IT workers applying for jobs to infiltrate organizations like theirs. By collaborating with their recruitment teams and developing workflows to detect suspicious applications, SentinelOne has enhanced its defenses. This proactive approach has led to better identification of threats, allowing for automated systems that mitigate risks. The company advocates for cross-functional collaboration and automation as essential strategies to improve security overall.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses SentinelOne’s focus on various nation-state actors, rather than addressing the situation involving Chris Krebs and the current administration. It clarifies misconceptions about the context, indicating that the topic pertains to cybersecurity threats from foreign entities.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article offers a brief overview aimed at C-suite executives rather than security analysts, discussing tools like goreshell, shadowpad, and scatterbrain. It conveys a cautious message about handling cybersecurity independently, suggesting it’s safer to hire SentinelOne for assistance. Overall, the content feels superficial despite being enjoyable to read.
8. My sourdough starter has twins
Total comment counts : 18
Summary
The Citizen Science Sourdough Project, involving VUB Brussels and ETH Zurich, collected sourdough starter samples from participants. The author, Wouter Groeneveld, received results for his starter, Stinkie, detailing its microbial profile and fermentation characteristics. He discovered that Stinkie has a dominant Lactobacillus brevis bacteria and a monoculture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast, suggesting a need for more variety in flavors. The study exemplifies the engagement of citizens in scientific research, with an added AI assistant called Dough-Pro to help users understand their data. Groeneveld appreciates the project’s efforts and results, despite the long wait.
Top 1 Comment Summary
Baking sourdough is simple, affordable, and requires only flour, water, and salt. The author has streamlined their process to about 10 minutes of active work, followed by a 12-hour proofing and refrigeration period. They enjoy the hands-on experience of baking as much as the final product, preferring it over using a bread machine. A single loaf lasts two days, allowing them to manage baking alongside getting their kids ready for school. They credit a specific source for simplifying the baking process.
Top 2 Comment Summary
Creating my own pizza starter has been a rewarding experience, allowing me to make delicious pizzas at home, often better than restaurant options. I can now bake 12 pizzas in an hour, making gatherings with friends enjoyable. The dough seems perfectly tailored to my environment and flour, offering a unique flavor that’s distinct to my home.
9. Someone at YouTube needs glasses
Total comment counts : 122
Summary
The author expresses frustration with the current state of YouTube, highlighting a drastic reduction in visible videos and an increase in advertisements compared to January 2019. They fear an A/B test will lead to a future where the homepage features only one video or none at all. The author speculates that advances in technology could lead to algorithm-generated content directly interfacing with viewers, diminishing creativity for profit. Ultimately, they nostalgically miss the previous user-friendly experience of YouTube.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The video grid on the homepage is misaligned, complicating navigation as users can’t hover between columns to prevent autoplay. Autoplay is frustrating as it obscures the thoughtfully designed thumbnails with irrelevant visuals and often adds videos to the watch history. If users decide to watch an autoplayed video, they miss the beginning, necessitating a rewind.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article criticizes recent changes in video display, noting that the thumbnail size remains static despite zooming. It highlights poor search functionality, stating that only three relevant videos are shown before irrelevant algorithmic recommendations appear. The author expresses frustration with this design and urges a return to more user-centric functionality.
10. Linux in Excel
Total comment counts : 18
Summary
The article discusses running Linux in Excel using a mini-rv32ima emulator, which is integrated into a VBA macro that interfaces with a separate DLL. While the emulator is considered buggy and the method is seen as somewhat of a cheat since it doesn’t utilize native VBA or Excel formulas, the author pursued this project for fun. Instructions include using MSVC to build the DLL and changing the Excel file’s path to it, enabling input via the C2 cell. Feedback is welcomed and taken seriously.
Top 1 Comment Summary
In the proposed system, multiple language models (LLMs) will be embedded in separate cells of a spreadsheet, each offering opinions on the user’s actions. A primary LLM, referred to as OTTO, will gather these opinions and conduct a vote to provide a comprehensive overview back to the user.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article expresses interest in backporting nmap to a virtual machine (VM) for scanning lateral movement opportunities. It suggests that having this capability would enhance malware analysis by allowing results to be organized in an Excel spreadsheet.