MurphyA/hacker-news huggingface dataset:
by IgorPartola | 2025-05-02 21:08:10+00:00
Yeah I mean clients that auto-delete messages are a very useful tool in communicating between people. It’s that they aren’t really meant for anything actually sensitive because (regardless of if they have E2E or not) they can’t guarantee that someone isn’t archiving or exporting the messages. It is the wrong mechanic for anything sensitive.

If you want to make sure nothing is ever archived, there is no software-only solution. If you control the hardware, in theory you can mandate that everything from the OS level-up is a reproducible build and you know for a fact that the messaging client does not allow any export feature. But also, you still have the problem of someone taking a picture of the screen. The real way to do this would be to control the software, hardware, and environment, aka a SCIF. If you want me to see classified war plans, confiscate all my electronics then show me what I need to see in a controlled environment where I can’t make copies. Messaging apps just simply can’t do any of that.
by dragonwriter | 2025-05-02 21:09:00+00:00
> I think the term you're looking for is "unitary executive"

It's not. Unitary executive theory holds that Congress has no power to wall of inherent executive power from the President or to assign powers to the executive branch but deny the President control over them, which is problematic and IMO based on a tendentious (but ag least tenuously defensible) reading of Article II, but it is a far cry from unbound executvie dictatorship.

Which is not to say that there isn't some overlap between people arguing for the unitary executive theory and those actually pursuing unbound executive dictatorship, but they are not the same thing

Those pursuing unitary executive theory I consider political opponents, those seeking executive dictatorship unbound by law are enemies of the Constitution.
by Atreiden | 2025-05-02 21:09:13+00:00
If dummy data ever proposes a "technical risk" to your projects, I might argue you're using the term wrong.

Variable names are different, and I'll give you that, but creating humorous dummy data in lower environments shouldn't ever be an issue. Injecting a little fun legitimately helps overcome despair, and the harder and more difficult your project/company is, the more it needs a dose of lightheartedness.

No matter what the scrum boards that reduce us to story points say, we're all human beings. When everything is very high stakes, you're in a perpetual state of fight or flight. It's literally physiologically bad for you. Blowing off steam helps.

As a test of our new Sev1 alerting system, I created a phony alert "The hordes of Mordor are descending upon our data center".

It was well received by the team.
by stevoski | 2025-05-02 21:10:15+00:00
I find the entire history of improvements to Java’s String class enjoyable to read about.

Over the years, the implementation of Java’s String class has been improved again and again, offering performance improvements and memory usage reduction. And us Java developers get these improvements with no work required other than updating the JRE we use.

All the low-hanging fruit was taken years ago, of course. These days, I’m sure most Java apps would barely get any noticeable improvement from further String improvements, such as the one in the article we’re discussing.
by jonathanstrange | 2025-05-02 21:10:16+00:00
These kind of barriers don't concern end users directly. They're just a huge pain point for developers, especially developers who don't make their software for commercial purposes only. The harder it is to develop, publish, and maintain an app, the less cool projects are being developed and the less innovation you get.

Nobody can quantify how much these practices stifle innovation because there are plenty of app developers and there is no comparison to how the app landscape would look if there were less barriers. Perhaps it's not a big deal but the fact is that nobody knows...
by Ferret7446 | 2025-05-02 21:10:17+00:00
> I want to arrest any misconception that us Tabbers would do anything as nonsensical as using our precious variable-width tab-stop chars for anything like column-aligning identifiers: we don't.

The irony is that this is exactly what tab characters are used for. Have you wondered why they're called tabs? Because they're used for tabulation, making tables. They are intended for aligning columns in a table. Not for indentation.
Show HN: introducing UI-editor, a design to product tool
by _vicky_ | 2025-05-02 21:10:34+00:00
Tell hn.

Hello hn. I made and shared this project five years back here. I lost track on why I started in first place.

Last year, I had to quit my job and continued to work on this.

Nov 2024, I started a company in India.

re built again from scratch in past five months.

Have a look!

Also this is product page www.ui-editor.com

You can have a look on product page as well.

Feedbacks on both project and page is welcomed.

Feedbacks, next steps, details on documentation or tutorials for such projects all welcomed.

There are many things to do, couldn't prioritise them all, and first step is share it across.

Have a nice day.
by int_19h | 2025-05-02 21:10:35+00:00
Speaking as a user, I do find that low number of downloads and reviews for an app strongly correlates with low quality and outright scams. The problem is that you have all those shops cranking out barely functioning apps for trivial things just to get into the listing and hopefully capture a few installs from users who don't have the time or the inclination to do proper vetting. And those apps are so pervasive that they drown out the genuinely useful and well-made new apps.
by bentley | 2025-05-02 21:10:51+00:00
The average American knows that Canada is in North America, as does the average Canadian, the average Englishman, and the average Australian.

The average non‐American is from outside the Anglosphere, and so may be from a culture that considers North America and South America to be a single continent. But continents don’t have an objective definition, only a cultural one, and in the language and culture of the Anglosphere the Americas are distinct continents, America is a country, and Americans are that country’s people.

I’ve never met a Canadian who clamored to be called an American. (Except naturalized citizens!)
by yallpendantools | 2025-05-02 21:10:55+00:00
> not stuff that's going out into the public!

Well, the problem is, in almost all the examples here so far, said stuff was not meant to go out into the public. If your customers end up seeing your product's test data and---heavens above!---variable names, there is an organizational issue that needs to be addressed, cutesy stuff or no cutesy stuff.

Also, isn't the point of QA testing just to throw all and any data to your system? Would you rather have a system that's tested against the eventuality that someone abuses UTF-8 in a textbox or a full SeriousBusiness system with zero whimsy and cutesy stuff? Someone's whimsy cutesy stuff is someone else's street address.

I think you just put a finger on why I absolutely loathe SeriousBusiness Banking Software: they were designed, implemented, and tested in a vacuum that even normal users end up putting a toe out of line that just breaks the assumptions of the spec. You have to be extremely average down to your name to peacefully coexist with them.
by orbital-decay | 2025-05-02 21:11:07+00:00
Sounds unlikely, but it could have malfunctioned. I believe the deceleration chute was designed to deploy after the hot entry phase and be triggered mechanically once crossing the certain deceleration threshold of about 2g (I could be wrong though, take it with a huge grain of salt). It also worked as a pilot chute for the cap protecting the main one.
by w10-1 | 2025-05-02 21:11:08+00:00
Not sure why the title left out the essential term: it matters more for learning programming

I believe the goal is to encourage those (young people) allergic to math but good in languages to realize they could be good at programming. That's worthy and important (though ironic to use a scientific study to do so).

As for the larger question commenters are raising, I notice often programmers reducing programming to problem-solving, and that to modeling, thence to math writ large; then they prove their point by noting that the most significant algorithms have strong and deep roots in math. The argument is: if the pinnacle of programming is math, then the more math-like programming is (in people and style), the better. (Hence: functional programming and provable algorithms are the epitome)

This argument is invariably made only by math experts, and does have the effect of reducing competition and selecting for like-minded persons, so there's at least the possibility of infection with self-interest and bias to the familiar.

I think the real distinction lies in this: with math, once you have a model, you fit things into that, and exclude other things. You do perfectly, but only in your domain. With language, any differance (any difference that makes a difference) starts to be named and tracked and dealt with somehow. It may grow in confusing ways, but it turns out (like architecture) it actually makes much more sense to adapt the structure to the use and relevance than vice-versa.

Sure, some subset of architecture is engineering by necessity, and it's probably even the hardest subset. But that's also the most portable knowledge and practice, and I would argue, thus easier to find and deploy once you've isolated such a need, particularly since mathy stuff fits nicely in a reusable library.

So math is an important but relatively isolated part of programming, and thinking it's ideal for everything is missing the point that programming matters for some purpose.

"attention is all you need" is but one example of the priority of relevance over structure in systems.
by godelski | 2025-05-02 21:11:24+00:00
> most Androids are rootable

I don't have to wipe my computer to gain root nor distro hop.

> So I don't get your rant.

I think you will if you understand my list of examples are non-exhaustive. Similarly if you are willing to admit that needing to hack your device is not a counter-example, it supports my point. I can also "jailbreak" an iPhone. I can install linux on it too. A circumvention method not being known for a current or specific generation is not a counter.

My point has nothing to do with what you "can" do. It has everything to do with the need for such efforts in the first place.
by ghurtado | 2025-05-02 21:11:29+00:00
> Not "coding uses math", I mean it is math

> I mean equivalent in the way mathematicians do

That sounds like you're backing off from your original claim, probably because it is impossible to defend.

That you can use mathematics to describe code doesn't seem very different from using math to describe gravity, or the projected winner in an election, or how sound waves propagate.

Isn't the primary purpose of math to describe the world around us?

Then it shouldn't be surprising that it can also be used to describe programming.

In the real world, however, software engineering has nothing to do with mathematical abstractions 99% of the time
by insane_dreamer | 2025-05-02 21:11:39+00:00
The freight rail network is fairly expansive[0] -- sure not as much as the Interstate road network, but has pretty good coverage.

The reason trucks are so popular and necessary is because they go beyond the interstate highways. Until self-driving trucks handle that portion safely and successfully, they're not much more useful than trains.

[0] https://external-preview.redd.it/VPeHZG0mzsNhJGAHJglxW1jn4Y0...
by crazygringo | 2025-05-02 21:11:56+00:00
Well, individuals and corporations are different.

Individuals are also taxed on all their income, whereas corporations are taxed only on their profit.

Corporations are effectively intermediaries in production chains. Profit is the only meaningful metric, how much value do they add. Individuals are at the "end" of the chain, how much value do they consume.

The proper analogy of a fine being based on income for an individual, is for a fine being based on profit for a corporation.
by 725686 | 2025-05-02 21:12:48+00:00
"The name paternoster ("Our Father", the first two words of the Lord's Prayer in Latin) was originally applied to the device because the elevator is in the form of a loop and is thus similar to rosary beads used as an aid in reciting prayers."

I would have thought the name was related to the users praying before entering to increase their chances of surviving the ordeal.
Ask HN: AI tools to help you learn faster (GitHub, books, PDFs)
by ilmoi | 2025-05-02 21:12:56+00:00
It feels the way to learn in the age of AI should be totally different. Eg I came across https://github.com/AsyncFuncAI/deepwiki-open and it's amazing at helping you quickly understand a repo. What other tools like this exist for github repos / books / PDFs / whitepapers / etc?
by bunderbunder | 2025-05-02 21:12:59+00:00
I would guess that the most expensive part of such an endeavor wouldn't be the launch; it would be developing and building a spacecraft capable of capturing it and bringing it back.

Even the Space Shuttle wasn't necessarily a perfect fit for the job as-is. Hubble was serviced many times, but it was specifically designed for on-orbit capture and servicing by the Shuttle. Before they decommissioned the shuttle they actually had to install an extra piece of hardware to make it feasible to capture and de-orbit using future non-crewed spacecraft. And even then that's just to make sure it crashes in a safe place, not to bring it home intact.

There was also a mission to service a satellite that wasn't designed for the purpose, and they had a really hard time capturing it and very nearly had to give up after days' worth of failed attempts. It finally took simultaneous EVA by three astronauts to coordinate a successful capture (one to grab it by hand, two to get it onto a specialized adapter rig built just for that satellite so that the Canadarm could hold it), which is quite a thing considering that the Shuttle's only designed to allow two people on EVA at a time.

This craft is likely tumbling, which I presume would make it unacceptably dangerous for a crewed mission (and certainly rules out anyone just going out there and grabbing it with their hands), in addition to making successful capture that much more difficult.
by IncreasePosts | 2025-05-02 21:13:09+00:00
From a previous probe:

> Space law required that the space junk be returned to its national owner, but the Soviets denied knowledge or ownership of the satellite.[8] Ownership therefore fell to the farmer upon whose property the satellite fell. The pieces were thoroughly analyzed by New Zealand scientists which determined that they were Soviet in origin because of manufacturing marks and the high-tech welding of the titanium. The scientists concluded that they were probably gas pressure vessels of a kind used in the launching rocket for a satellite or space vehicle and had decayed in the atmosphere.[9]

I wonder how space law works when the national owner (CCCP) no longer exists? Does it go to Russia? Kazakhstan?
by kergonath | 2025-05-02 21:13:46+00:00
> Right, no matter if this is true or not, if the choice is between "Talk to no one, bottle up your feelings" and "Talk to an LLM that doesn't nudge you in a specific direction", I still feel like the better option would be the latter, not the former, considering that it can be a first step, not a 100% health care solution to a complicated psychological problem.

You’re right, I was not clear enough. What would be needed would be a nudge in the right direction. But the LLM is very likely to nudge in another because that’s what most people would need or do, just because that direction was the norm in its training data. It’s ok on average, but particularly harmful to people who are in a situation to have this kind of discussion with a LLM.

Look at the effect of toxic macho influencers for an example of what happens with harmful nudges. These people need help, or at least a role model, but a bad one does not help.

> But to even get out in the world to buy a book (literally or figuratively) about something that acknowledges that you have a problem, can be (at least feel) a really big step that many are not ready to take.

Indeed. It’s something that should be addressed in mainstream education and culture.

> Not sure why you're focusing on social issues,

It’s the crux. If you don’t have problems talking to people, you are much more likely to run into someone who will help you. Social issues are not necessarily the problem, but they are a hurdle in the path to find a solution, and often a limiting one. Besides, if you have friends to talk to and are able to get advice, then a LLM is even less theoretically useful.

> Probably every single human out there struggle with something, and are unable to open up about their problems with others. Even people like us who interact with communities online and offline.

Definitely. It’s not a problem for most people, who either can rationalise their problems themselves with time or with some help. It gets worse if they can’t for one reason or another, and it gets worse still if they are mislead intentionally or not. LLMs are no help here.
by dmurray | 2025-05-02 21:13:50+00:00
Most of the benefit of the Shuttle program, and manned spaceflight in general, has come from R and D on the launch process, or from the prestige and bragging rights of being able to launch humans into space. So once they're up there, you're getting your money's worth (or not) no matter what they do, you may as well do something cool like recover a historic satellite.
by mrguyorama | 2025-05-02 21:14:12+00:00
Which party controls the majority of state's governments, I ask you?

There was immense ratfuckery by those states; purging voter rolls of as many people as they could, trying to kill vote by mail, outright threats of poll workers (which very few people were prosecuted for), illegal politicking at the polls, and a literal phone call to induce a governor to falsify their election results.

170 Republican House reps voted to ignore the election of 2020. We are already past "free and fair" elections.

Donald Trump pardoned all the criminals who were attempting to storm that vote and delay/kill it. That was their intended goal. They tried to have Mike Pence abducted

Christ, the 2000 election was stolen by Republicans! The brook's brother's riot was Roger Stone's baby! Al Gore won the state once the ballots were actually counted.
by manquer | 2025-05-02 21:15:55+00:00
It may not be option to most people in the US (most self driving use case is built around the US market)

In America driving is a economic necessity, from going to work to even the grocery shop needs cars and dependency increases inversely with affluence [1]

Mass public transit is non existent barring very few regions.

So car (for commute) and flight (for long distance) are the only two viable transit options .

People cannot choose to not work because weather is bad, and remote work / work from home applies to only some jobs.

[1] food and other service deserts are more likely less affluent neighborhoods meaning you will need to drive and for longer for food , pharmacy or any other services if you are low income .
by wrboyce | 2025-05-02 21:15:56+00:00
Well it proves that “singular they” is acknowledged by the OED, pretty much the authority of the English language, as being in common use from circa 1300. If you think Websters is older or more authoritative than the OED (or that the OED is new and left-wing) then I suppose we just have to agree to disagree but at that point I would suggest that perhaps you are rejecting any source that doesn’t support your claims and personal beliefs.
by prmph | 2025-05-02 21:16:21+00:00
The point is that linguistic aptitude _is_ math aptitude, and vice versa.

From my experience, my ability to articulate myself well is bound up with my ability to abstract and detect patterns. It is the same thing I apply to crafting software, the same thing I apply to creating visual art.

I think high-cognitive-ability people segregating themselves into artsy vs mathy people has more to do with their experiences in their formative years.
by csunbird | 2025-05-02 21:16:22+00:00
Hannibal was basically in a hostile land, without proper logistics support. There was no way that he can stay still and lay siege, only way he was able to survive so far was his ability to stay mobile and live off the land.

In case of siege, the Romans would not need to fight, they could simply wait until his army slowly died from attrition.
by eh_why_not | 2025-05-02 21:17:38+00:00
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_482

> Its landing module, which weighs 495 kilograms (1,091 lb), is highly likely to reach the surface of Earth in one piece as it was designed to withstand 300 G's of acceleration and 100 atmospheres of pressure.

Awesome! I don't know how you can design for 300 G's of acceleration!
by int_19h | 2025-05-02 21:17:38+00:00
> It also feels a bit like how software people STILL haven't figured out how to deal with a product that has a finite development cycle. Which is to say, a piece of code that is done and doesn't need any changes.

The problem is that platforms these days are in a constant state of slow rug pull. Even if you have absolutely no bugs to fix and no new features to add, you still need to keep things updated just to make it work on the most recent version of the platform (which users are going to be on because that's the only one that receives security fixes). A slightly less damning case is when the app works but doesn't integrate well with the new parts of the platform, or even just its changing look and feel. E.g. old Windows apps often work fine but don't support hi-DPI properly, meaning that they look very ugly on that 4K display.

I don't think it's a problem that can be fully solved, but the impact would be much less severe if platforms stopped churn for the sake of churn. For example, we don't need a "fresh new" UI redesign every 3 years. And when it comes to API stability, Win32 should be considered the exemplary model of that - yes, it is a lot of effort to keep things working 30 years after they first shipped, but that's the only way if we don't want to be an industry that's constantly building castles on sand.
by crazygringo | 2025-05-02 21:18:33+00:00
No -- there's no such thing as Hollywood accounting in tech at the global level.

Yes you can certainly shift things around at the country level. But when you add up all the subsidiaries together in the single global corporation (the publicly traded one when it exists), the numbers are the numbers. Income minus expenses is a single, stable number that you can't fudge.
by mrguyorama | 2025-05-02 21:18:46+00:00
You must understand, the culture war types are so absurdly radical that BEN SHAPIRO's adult cartoon was considered "woke" because it had a gay character who was the butt of every joke, and that was not harsh enough to satisfy them.

They do not want LGBTQ people to be acknowledged in any way, or be allowed to exist.

They would ban the Golden Girls if they could. They WILL try.
by hndamien | 2025-05-02 21:18:52+00:00
This is a Suno generated Alan Watts inspired meditation. Absolutely agree!

https://music.apple.com/au/album/breath-of-the-cosmos/175227...

https://open.spotify.com/track/0mJoJ0XiQZ8HglUdhWhg2F?si=tID...

https://suno.com/s/LHRmE867FslALzz6
by Marazan | 2025-05-02 21:19:23+00:00
This is the same thinking by Google that has ruined the web as everyone chases the perfect SEO optimised page.

A page that presents and answer to your problem in the first sentence as soon as you open the page? Low engagement time, high bounce rate down rank. A page that buries the not actually an answer under 1500 words and 4 images? Perfect page, up rank.