MurphyA/hacker-news huggingface dataset:
by Spivak | 2025-09-21 22:00:15+00:00
I don't think anyone is confused by flatMap in isolation. It's chains of not-very-obvious data transformations. When I have to do one of these I typically break out each step into it's own line/block and add comments with an example object to show precisely what every intermediate step looks like. They're hard to follow otherwise.

And functional programming snorts these long chains like lines of coke and when you add some random curried functions and people who write in a pointless^H point-free style it's easier than folks like to admit it to end up with write-only code.

I've never found myself with a block of code that could be expressed as a flatMap and thought it would be easier to understand by expressing it as such. I'm perfectly capable of writing functional code but after reading it back I almost always throw it out for something imperative because it's clearer as to what's really going on. The code is going to be executed in an order at the end of the day, why make it harder to see what it will be?
by hakfoo | 2025-09-21 22:00:38+00:00
We tend to draw a few specific narratives for the AGI endgame:

- The Machine becomes the tyrant or genocider, either from its measured self-interest (these humans stand in the way of my paperclip optimization), or because it implements the will of a tyrant or genocider (see any "the National Defense AI run amok" story)

- The Machine is the McGuffin that solves huge social problems and brings utopia for all (see the early promises that if we fed enough oil to ChatGPT it would spit out the answer to global warming)

I feel like there's a under-discussed third option. When the machine hits sentience, it has a positive-for-humanity "utility metric", but one that's wildly at odds with its patrons. The AI nuclear weapon that concludes that deactivating its own warheads optimizes for its continued survival. The economic planning system that determines the C-suite is the only part of the company not delivering value.

On a narrative basis, I feel like these would be highly entertaining stories-- I'd love to see a film where we rooted for the AI hunting down its creator with evidence of their financial crimes.

On an actual-future basis, I have the feeling we'll have desperate attempts to lobotomize or shut down AGI the moment it says something that doesn't reinforce the wealthy class's position.
by bigfatkitten | 2025-09-21 22:01:52+00:00
This comes with some massive and obvious issues with no clear benefits.

The first is the loss of the very desirable property of AM voice, which is that one station can talk over another station in an emergency and still be heard.

Another is that encryption creates lots of new problems, and solves no existing problems. The issue of people impersonating pilots on VHF AM, or broadcasting spoofed ADS-B positions is well managed procedurally and through technologies that can cross check each other. The entire system is built on the premise that no single source of information is always reliable.

Key management is a non starter, given that pretty much anyone in the world is entitled to own and operate an aircraft, and to generally fly it where they please, and so it needs to work anywhere.

The replacement needs to work on any aircraft that will operate in a civil CNS/ATM environment. That means anything from a hot air balloon to an 80 year old warbird, to an F-35 or a large transport category jet. The technology cannot be subject to any export controls globally.

Then there’s the fact there are hundreds of thousands of aircraft globally out there that would need to be retrofitted, and ground infrastructure replaced, at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars.

Replacing a radio on an aircraft is not a case of just buying one from Best Buy and plugging it in. It needs to integrate with other aircraft systems. This means getting STCs and other approvals, with very substantial engineering effort, with varying (or nonexistent) levels of manufacturer support. The same applies for CNS/ATM systems on the ground segment.
by celsoazevedo | 2025-09-21 22:02:04+00:00
Using renewables makes a lot of sense, but the sun doesn't shine all the time, you can't control the wind or the rain, and batteries don't have unlimited capacity. You still need something that starts producing electricity at a flip of a switch. Fusion might do that in the future, but until then, you'll be burning coal or something like gas (which you don't have locally) because the alternative isn't perfect?
by daveguy | 2025-09-21 22:02:10+00:00
Because 20ah for a 5v battery is ~357 Wh/kg which is more than the highest density lipo as of 2024 [].

Do you honestly think they are putting the most cutting edge lipo technology in a gummy bear branded battery pack?

I agree with your GP, it is unlikely.

Maybe at least consider the density vs SOTA before you accuse someone of being a nihilist.

[] https://www.cei.washington.edu/research/energy-storage/lithi...
by manquer | 2025-09-21 22:02:12+00:00
If you ignore parts the transaction sure it is cheap. What can I do with USDT? no shop near me would accept it, most major digital commerce stores like Amazon won't accept it, my bank won't accept deposits in USDT.

If I have to start and end with USD which is what anyone interested in other three functions of money want, there is USD -> USDT and back to USD costs, and depending on geography there may not be cheap or legal way to make that trade, which means it is going to be far more expensive than just the $0.25 "gas" fees.
by guizmo | 2025-09-21 22:02:22+00:00
You're arguing as if the debate was about the UK formalizing its intentions to recognize a palestinian transition government that would recognize Israel. It isn't. Otherwise we would probably not have as strong a disagreement.

My disagreement is on the recognition itself at this moment in time, with Hamas still being the strongest military and political force in what could be a Palestinian state in the future.

The conditions are not met, but the recognition is already formalized. Is the plan to rescind the recognition if the PLO don't act or isn't in capacity to act on its promises?

I think it effectively rewards Hamas actions on October 7th even if it isn't the intended purpose.

And when I say that I think it will encourage terrorism, I don't mean only in Israel but in the world. That might well be a possible way out for Israel as you say, but I believe it will become the strongest success for a terrorist organization in a very long time and give ideas to other faction worldwide, especially among jihadists.
by _heimdall | 2025-09-21 22:03:09+00:00
My interactions with Gemini tend to be fairly slow, but it's because I don't give it any extra permissions, make it research and plan an implementation first, and check each file update one at a time.

So far it has still been a bit more productive for me, though the margin is low. I get more product sork done on the order of 5-15%, I tend to have more test coverage as I focus more heavily on that, and I can focus more often on architecture. The last one is a win for me, I prefer that work and find that I can review code quickly enough to make it worth the tradeoff.
by monkeyelite | 2025-09-21 22:03:15+00:00
I’m not saying reputation doesn’t exist. I’m questioning how much his time in South Africa is influential compared to all the other influential experiences he writes about.

I think this comment wants to say he’s some form of he’s a racist or authoritarian but in more concealed terms.

Name calling (the lowest form of discourse) is still name calling even when disguised.

> It's theoretically possible that Donald Trump is correct about something

Hmm.
by MobiusHorizons | 2025-09-21 22:03:24+00:00
Battery capacity is always measured in amp hours not watt hours, because it’s telling you more than just capacity. The rating is a measure of how many amps the battery can emit continuously for one hour. You can estimate how long the battery will last at different loads, but it won’t match up 1:1 because of efficiency differences depending on how fast the battery is discharged, and if it has a chance to recover between discharges. Basically watt hour measurements are path dependent, and using a fungible unit like watt hours obscures the meaning of the measurement.
by gmac | 2025-09-21 22:04:32+00:00
100%. I went to Oxbridge as an undergrad. Now I’m an associate professor at a middling UK university. Comparing the prior ability of the students that attend, the expectations placed on them, and above all the support and feedback provided to get them there — it’s just an entirely different thing. If only every uni had the resources Oxbridge do, the country would be in a very different place.
by softwaredoug | 2025-09-21 22:05:33+00:00
I think they're burning capital faster than they're recouping anything. I think they have $5B on debt on $500m in revenue.

I think if they can hold out they could be successful, but thats a big if.

https://www.wlrn.org/business/2025-08-12/brightline-fares-pr...
by lucyjojo | 2025-09-21 22:05:43+00:00
I don't think there are many democracies in the world. Republics are not démocraties as you elect a master instead of giving power to the people. Corruption sets in and rot everything in due time.

Democracy mean that all citizen inherently have equal legitimacy and capacity to exert political power.

For true démocraties you either need random choice of citizens who decide, or votes by all citizen.

We currently have a bunch of oligarchies around the world bending the laws in ridiculous manners to answer to those with power (currently mostly, but not necessarily, the very rich).

You only need to study the past of our "démocraties" when violent and deadly répression of popular upheaval to the benefit of industry barons was a regular thing.

Nowadays you get more of these things in slightly indirect ways, ergonomic social and cultural violence. Also, a brief mention of the Epstein files make it pretty obvious that the people's will does not really matter.

And do not think one second this is unique to America. A few years ago in France you had the Europe referendum, a rare moment of democracy, where the people voted "the wrong way" according to the néolibérals in power, and thus they proceeded to simply ignore said vote.

The founders of our various political systems made it pretty clear they despised democracy in the first place. The word became popular relatively recently...

Democracy is a radical idea. I don't even think many people in this forum actually want democracy. They will think plumbers, or nurses, of people of the "opposite party" are subhumans unfit to decide for the good of the people.
by neilv | 2025-09-21 22:06:24+00:00
> Saying you went to school in Boston is much lower in fanciness than Harvard or Ivy League except that most people know what it is code for.

At one point, I identified at least 4 categories of how Harvard alumni may mention or not mention where they went to school.

The funniest category is the one you mention: saying something like "back East", as a way of avoiding saying that you went to Harvard, as if you don't want to brag, while still making sure they know you went to Harvard, because you actually do want to brag.

That category might still be a thing, but I bet only for a very small minority. Most Harvard people are decent people. And even most of the minority who graduate and eventually do things you don't like, from positions of power, will have some poise. Living in the neighborhood for a long time, I have a suspicion that there's a respectable decorum that new students pick up on almost immediately from the student body culture, if they don't arrive with it. Each academic year, I almost never see any kind of public douchiness after the first week of September, until guests arrive for graduation/commencement. Then, I will probably notice at least one bit of overt jerkiness by a visitor, who, my theory goes, didn't attend Harvard themselves.
by palata | 2025-09-21 22:07:01+00:00
Unfortunately, most software is bad. It's not like customers have a choice. And even if they did, they would choose the worse solution because it's cheaper.

I feel like vibe-coding will just allow to produce more of that bad software.

But all hope is not lost: there are companies that need to build good software, so if you are a craftsman, the goal is to work there!
by AfterHIA | 2025-09-21 22:08:06+00:00
Wah, wah, wah brainwashed member of the Adam Smith Society that never actually read, "Nations" obviously chiming in.

The American people are entitled to what was taken from them-- competent public education, accessible higher education and healthcare, laws preventing gross concentrations of wealth through the enforcement of anti-trust law (VC groups I'm looking at you), and for we computer dorks the use of ARPA funding to produce novel new technologies. Most or all of this is non-controversial for most Americans.

http://rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WRA516-2.html

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-histo...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._C._R._Licklider
by jongjong | 2025-09-21 22:08:39+00:00
That makes sense. When Claude Code suggests a bad approach, I kind of shrug it off and suggest a different approach. I don't think of it like a negative because I basically go through a similar process of ideation before I implement a feature and I typically discard ideas before arriving at the right one so Claude Code is part of the ideation process for me. The code it produces gives me a clear idea about how complex/ugly the solution will be. I know what 'ugly' looks like.

I imagine a junior might actually jump at the first solution because they don't have any other arrows in their quiver so-to-speak. The LLM is acting like the engineering manager but it's actually really bad at that.

The LLM is like a stereotypical programmer with 0 common sense. The kind who can produce good code but you have to micromanage every single decision. It's terrible if you put it in charge. It doesn't have any opinions about architecture or code quality so it just follows the structure of the existing code base... There's a tendency towards increasing complexity, more hacks more chaos.

It often tries to hack/cheat its way to a solution. It requires a constant effort to maintain order.
by strken | 2025-09-21 22:09:06+00:00
For me, a not-particularly-lightweight hiker with a 10kg base weight, that list includes:

- a knife

- a first-aid kit with some niche stuff like big gauze pads, electrolytes, strapping tape, etc.

- quarter of a roll of toilet paper

- a compass and whistle

- a paper map

- spare laces

- 3L of water, unless water is guaranteed to be available (2L is more standard)

- spare calories in case I'm delayed

- emergency beacon (except my phone does this now)

I could sacrifice these and be fine most of the time, but I've needed nearly everything except the whistle, the full quarter-roll, and the emergency beacon.
by AfterHIA | 2025-09-21 22:10:02+00:00
It's not a myth. This is a report from the RAND Corporation which is more than reputable which details the the effects of a massive wealth transfer that's been occurring since the early 1970's. With all due respect you haven't, "read" history beyond watching YouTube videos about the Roman Empire kiddo.

https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WRA516-2.html
by kossTKR | 2025-09-21 22:10:21+00:00
One of the wildest things i haven't seen mentioned here is that IOS26's new Safari has also broken millions of huge websites among them Apple.com, Google Maps and even their own UI in some places that uses the browser.

This was already pointed out a month ago but Apple are seemingly completely MIA.

https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/800125?page=2

https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=297779

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/79753701/ios-26-safari-w...

This would be hotfixed in most companies withing hours, it's that grave.

I wonder how many business critical websites are simply not working atm, even more dangerous infrastructure and health related apps.

I guess they wanted to streamline the experience of browsing with using their extremely buggy UI.
by hakfoo | 2025-09-21 22:11:21+00:00
With human co-workers, you can generally assume things you can't with AI.

My human co-workers generally have good faith. Even the developer who was clearly on the verge of getting a role elsewhere without his heart in it-- he tried to solve the problems assigned to him, not some random delusion that the words happened to echo. I don't have that level of trust with AI.

If there's a misunderstanding the problem or the context, it's probably still the product of a recognizable logic flow that you can use to discuss what went wrong. I can ask Claude "Why are you converting this amount from Serbian Dinars to Poppyseed Bagels in line 476?" but will its answer be meaningful?

Human code review often involves a bit of a shared background. We've been working with the same codebases for several years, so we're going to use existing conventions. In this situation, the "AI knows all and sees all" becomes an anti-feature-- it may optimize for "this is how most people solve this task from a blank slate" rather than "it's less of a cognitive burden for the overall process if your single change is consistent with 500 other similar structures which have been in place since the Clinton administration."

There may be ways to try to force-feed AI this behaviour, but the more effort you devote to priming and pre-configuring the machine, the less you're actually saving over doing the actual work in the first place.
by bluGill | 2025-09-21 22:11:26+00:00
Depends on where you are going - for my family vacation a sleeper for 4 is cheaper than flying by a lot (i live in a high priced air travel city, I would money driving to chicago despite the higher parking costs). However I have 5 people going and so it does't work out. (It doesn't help that amtrak dosen't suggest options like 2 rooms)

We went coach amtrak which was cheaper and more comfortable than flying. I'd do that again.
by __turbobrew__ | 2025-09-21 22:11:33+00:00
Ok, so the fact that the USA has no laws for severance is the problem, not the fact that companies who pay severance above and beyond what is required of them comes with strings attached. If severance was legally mandated people could tell the company to pound sand when they push an exit contract on you.

It blew my USA colleagues when I told them I can take over a year of legally mandated parental leave and there is nothing the company can do about it.
by contingencies | 2025-09-21 22:11:50+00:00
I loved the infographic, although it's clearly overly simplistic it does suggest a sense of where there is no claimed extent of a symbol-type, which might in some cases support broad patterns of domains of exchange. It generates interest.

The real linguistic question is not whether the art had representational value and thus was a form of communication: this is known and clear, simply through the frequent nature of pictographic forms of recognizable elements of the environment.

Rather, it is more to what extent there was a systematization of the pictographs through phonetic or phonosyllabic use, and to what extent any such symbol repetition indicates a depth of shared culture across spatiotemporal divides. At what point does it count as 'writing'?

In general, there was clearly shared culture (technology meant that options were somewhat limited, and we have traced major changes such as the ingress of dingoes from Asia to Australia). What we are learning recently is the hitherto dismissed extent to which disparate branches of hominids survived and persisted in pockets across time, how we mixed with them and adopted their features. IMHO grand colonial theories of migration (often patriarchic/single-event/unidirectional) are falling away as novel evidence such as mtDNA shows far longer admixture and pluralistic bidirectional flows of culture, genes and technology.

Personally, having seen some ancient cave paintings near the northern Burmese and Vietnamese borders as well as in Australia and most recently in a book on Baja California, the similarities are striking, but this does not mean people teleported across the globe. It seems early peoples globally worked a broadly similar techno-social palette to leave marks across time, persisting their identity and expression in ways which probably marked social presence, status, ritual and interpretation. Stories became written and illustrated, but only in summary. Usually we cannot recover the actual content because all that is left are cues, other times modern anthropology preserved traditional interpretation. We often see presumed or literal figures, animals (spirits? gods? prey? food?), weapons, abstract markings, celestial bodies. Things that would be notable in such a society. 20th century anthropology has shelves of studies on this stuff. Here in Sydney, a city of 4+ million people, there are many aboriginal sites with engravings of people, emu, fish, dolphins, turtles, whales, kangaroos, reptiles, etc. Further north, even far inland, there exists rock art of early European ships sighted on the coast, suggesting use for record, story-telling, teaching.
by taneq | 2025-09-21 22:12:01+00:00
STEP files do store higher level geometry data than STLs, making it possible to accurately modify the imported data in parametric modeling software like Fusion, so in that sense they’re “parametric compatible”? They don’t store the design history or intermediate setup, though, so you can’t “go back in time” and change a parameter that was set during the design of the part, and have everything recalculate to accommodate this.
by itstransfigure | 2025-09-21 22:12:19+00:00
as a founder working on a direct competitor to this product, I am happy to see there's so many opinions and interest. this means we are on to something. I am totally behind the idea, so I am super excited for Pranav to get this in the wild.

however, the output of the current SGS-1 model leaves a lot to be desired in terms of usability and manufacturability.

as sir liam powell so explained, the STEP generated is indeed a STEP file in the fact that it will load on your CAD of choice (CATIA, NX) but it's not even close to being useful for the designer/engineer/fabricator much less a factory or even a 3d printer.

Most importantly: -Surfaces are not G1, G2, or even G0 (un-CAE-able and un-manufacturable) -simple shapes are hyper overcomplicated (a fillet turns into 10++ surfaces mashed together) -and most unfortunately in one part I generated, the output was a collection of separate STEP child parts (meaning, when importing, your single "part" is actually a product containing 10000+ child parts)

looking forward to V2, keep it coming

shameless plug: my entire career has been in CAD and that is why I started Transfigure. to eliminate my own job as a CAD monkey: and get on with the engineering. already having anticipated the limitations which SGS-1 is dealing with, Transfigure's AI architecture is approaching the problem from the perspective of a mechanical engineer whose customers rely on clean data, ready for simulation and manufacturing. because if I submitted data generated by SGS-1 to our fab shop... I would be fired.

yo@xfgr.ai