courtf

5 ms·

1.
by courtf 5y ago
Great comment. As you say, denying the research outright is playing a similar tune to those who would abuse the research to support pre-existing notions about everyone's rightful places in society. We should be extremely skeptical of a
2.
by courtf 5y ago
> The real moral issue is popularizing the idea that it is unfair or the gains ill-gotten if people are successful, that their earnings are like loot that should have been "divvied up". It comes from and breeds jealously, resen
3.
by courtf 5y ago
It only becomes a moral issue if someone who does not happen to stand out along one if the axes that is currently rewarded by society ends up suffering significantly as a result and cannot find ways to succeed in life. Individuals may posse
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by courtf 5y ago
Comparing Bezos to Galileo, what a joke. Back then an equivalent article would have targeted the church, and its author probably would have suffered greatly for doing so, sort of like our friend Galileo... Your obsequiousness, especially pa
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by courtf 5y ago
It reads like a religious sermon intended to ease the fragile consciences of a rapidly dwindling elite, jumping at shadows while they barricade themselves ever further into self-reinforcing fantasy. Complete and utter detachment from realit
6.
by courtf 5y ago
I like the take home tests myself. Whiteboarding and brain teasers are not outside my experience (I did mathletics stuff as a child) but doing them out loud in front of a hostile audience is not a strength of mine. The best work I have done
7.
by courtf 5y ago
It would be easier to listen to concerns about creeping wokeness if the alleged dangers were actually different and worse than the problems that already exist. In many states people are fired from their jobs for not being conservative, for
8.
by courtf 5y ago
It is tragic how we seem to be unable to enjoy peace and prosperity. Blame it on politics, or the media, or perhaps just the national character, but Americans are a restless bunch. Prone to paranoia and rebellion, our reflex is to respond
9.
by courtf 5y ago
Thanks for these names! I will have to look into them. Rebirth is a tricky one for me because it just seems too fantastical, but then many things about our world and our selves remain inexplicable, if not outright fantastical themselves. Re
10.
by courtf 5y ago
That seems reasonable to me, emphasis on "potential." Whether that potentiality can be realized here on earth, in this life, is where I would start to quibble.
11.
by courtf 5y ago
It's always a bit fraught to bring up the upsides of irrationality and potentially dangerous/destructive emotions and impulses. Bukowski didn't win a lot of popularity contests. I agree with what you've said here though.
12.
by courtf 5y ago
> It's important not to judge the world by its effect on your internal state. The world isn't party to your internal state, although you walk around with an illusion of transparency. People are doing things for their own reason
13.
by courtf 5y ago
Counterpoint: enlightenment is overrated and life is meant to be taken personally. In some senses, it is a bit cowardly to run away from the current moment we live in by stepping back and viewing the big picture too often. "Negative&qu
14.
by courtf 5y ago
What is the most impressive programming feat PG ever accomplished? A Lisp dialect maybe? I sort of get the sense that he doesn't realize how many crazy talented (but not famous) programmers there are out there. He's got a micropho
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by courtf 5y ago
I don't really think you or Terry knows what hard work even looks like. We hold this conversation about personal advancement from positions of extreme privilege while billions live without running water. If you want to limit your view
16.
by courtf 5y ago
Is this supposed to be a tale of overcoming adversity, almost failing some exam? The stakes are so low I can barely identify the conflict in the story. Actually failing something of actual importance and then overcoming the odds to succeed
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by courtf 5y ago
I hear slavery is an even bigger competitive advantage. Moritz should chain himself to his desk if he really wants to succeed.
18.
by courtf 5y ago
It's also a lot easier to work hard when you are handed access to every academic resource on the planet before you hit puberty. His life story is the most blatant counterexample to this article imaginable. Sounds like a case of deep de
19.
by courtf 5y ago
This is how I feel as well. I am a pessimist in the sense that without more progress on certain issues, I think life will get worse for future generations. This isn't ignoring the historical arc of progress, and I would argue that pess
20.
by courtf 5y ago
Appreciate this comment, thank you. For many years I had a sort of ruthless determination to get ahead and work hard. It mostly helped me back then, as many obstacles then were the sort that could be brute-forced, and it was addictive in a
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Form Energy reveals the chemistry of its long-duration battery(rechargenews.com)
193 points by courtf 5y ago|136 comments
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by courtf 5y ago
Surprised this didn't get more notice on HN. I thought this could be a really huge advancement.
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by courtf 5y ago
Appreciate this follow-up response, and I apologize for running with what I perceived as a hostility in your earlier response, it's a struggle for sure. 1) Completely agree, the history is important to understand the threads that conti
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by courtf 5y ago
Yes this sort of ironic seesaw across times and places is interesting to behold. Sort of reap what you sow kind of thing where old traumas replay themselves across boundaries between people. The positions change back and forth, but the conf
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by courtf 5y ago
I was responding to a comment that implied these laws were an example of self-determination, and removing them would be an effort to control population growth. My comment makes the point that these laws are actually more foreign in origin t
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by courtf 5y ago
Let me tell you bout the birds and the bees, and the flowers and the trees. There's also adoption.
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by courtf 5y ago
The existing laws against homosexuality in many countries are largely inherited from the era of colonization, which was not an era of self-determination for African nations, to put it mildly. More diverse views of sexuality are likely to be
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by courtf 5y ago
Saying things that might damage the (apparently quite fragile) self-image of the wealthy and powerful is the real outrage, not workers attempting suicide on shift, pissing in bottles or being forced to take welfare and 2nd jobs while alread
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by courtf 5y ago
This is not an appropriate comment for HN.
30.
by courtf 5y ago
Evolution, by definition, occurs over the course of generations. So angry and yet so wrong. If a population lives forever, do you really think they'll continue having kids the entire time? Of course not.

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