MurphyA/hacker-news huggingface dataset:
by magic_hamster | 2025-12-06 13:53:30+00:00
Since we're discussing impressive PC games from the 80s, I want to bring up Alley Cat. Besides being a very entertaining game that still holds up (well, if you can bare the PC Speaker beeps and boops), it is also a PC booter like the games mentioned in the post (ported from Atari).

Alley Cat had a very neat trick on the PC: it implemented its own clock independent of the CPU cycles. At the time, many games relied on counting CPU cycles to tell the time. This caused a problem when the next generation of PCs came out with a faster CPU (XT with 286 if I recall), because now the cycles went by much faster, making the games run insanely fast so it was impossible to play (fun sidequest: the Turbo button was supposed to help in this sort of situation). Alley Cat had no such issue since it implemented its own clock, and it can still run today at normal speed just as it did over 40 years ago.
by onionisafruit | 2025-12-06 13:54:11+00:00
In the NixOS scenario you described, what keeps you from finding an unrelated thing stopped working three days later and having to find what changed?

I’m asking because you spoke to me when you said “because I'm simply not good at documenting my changes in parallel with making them”, and I want to understand if NixOS is something I should look into. There are all kinds of things like immich that I don’t use because I don’t want the personal tech debt of maintaining them.
by sailingparrot | 2025-12-06 13:55:00+00:00
> Throughout time, people have complained that technology is ruining the world. Before AI it was the internet, and before that it was TV, nuclear power, and so on.

What if throughout time they have been right ? Any proof thst while tech brought longer lifes and more material wealth, we haven’t just spiraled down for a while in term of mental wellbeing, sense of meaning, sense of belonging etc ?

That’s obviously not true of every piece of tech (I.e. it’s hard to imagine how antibiotics or replacing a coal plant by a nuclear power plant could have negative impact of people’s mental wellbeing) but it could be true about technology in general. It’s not a stretch to believe that technologies that radically transform what a day in the life of a human being looks like, can also have an impact on said human beings life.

Our bodies and mind, have been finetuned for living in nature and hunting gathering, with a small group consisting of our families and friends for millions of years. Now we live a sedentary life, for many away from family and without any sense of community, in large, noisy, devoid of nature cities having to do day in day out the same job that is more and more compartimentalized and less and less concrete and meaningful, only to go home and sit in front of a tv to be bombarded by ads trying to induce fomo, or god forbid, doom scrolling on tik tok for hours.

If it just so happened that those two modes of life generate the exact same levels and qualities of stress in our little brains, that would be quite the coincidence.

Look at every stat around mental health: anxiety, depression, sense of meaning etc. They are all getting worse over decades. And if you think it’s caused by people just complaining more than before, look at how the rate of people willing to kill themselves, that’s the ultimate truth. All worsening.
by alexfoo | 2025-12-06 13:56:00+00:00
> I find all these conversation around neuro-divergence extremely weird, for the simple reason that I have a never seen a proper definition of what a "normal" person actually is, and for good and obvious reasons:

The problem is that no-one can easily understand how their brain works compared to other people. People on both sides don't talk about it enough or openly enough. If you look at the science it quickly descends in to endless confusing/impenetrable psychiatric terminology.

You can study things like anaemia as you can objectively measure the red blood cell count of a patient's blood. You can't objectively measure a patient's "focus" or "motivation". It's really hard to even get a good subjective measure of those things.

For example, it's just one aspect, but prior to diagnosis and taking methylphenidate (Ritalin/Concerta) I thought everyone had hundreds of competing thoughts running through their head all the time. I thought everyone just had better ways of dealing with it than I did. I had no idea that's not the case. I'd got to 50+ years old, got several degrees, married and had a family, had a successful career, not quite FAANG but earning more than 6 figures, all in spite of how my brain works. Surely there can't be anything "wrong" with me.

But when the medication first kicked in I was simply astounded how quiet my brain became and how clearly I could think about just one thing (it may not be the thing I actually wanted to focus on at that time but that's another facet of the fun). How the hell did I manage to get by all this time without this? It's only then in speaking to other people do I find out that, no, most other people don't have hundreds of competing thoughts running through their head all the time snapping at their focus.

> On that premise, the whole idea of neuro-divergence and the idea that you can classify people in arbitrary categories such as ADHD, Autism, etc ... and that this classification will lead to a way to "fix them" is complete and utter BS.

I agree with point about broad classifications, but medicine is far from the exact science that people believe it is. Got these symptoms? Does medication A improve them? Can you live with the side effects of medication A? Does medication B help with the side effects of medication A and not interfere with the improvements given my medication A? etc...
by H8crilA | 2025-12-06 13:56:32+00:00
Yep. Psychiatry (or most of medicine really) is not trying to bring everyone up to the top 10% of the population, or even the top 50% along some dimension of interest. Psychiatry is mainly trying to move people from the bottom ~5% (what we call a "disorder") to the top ~95% of the population - which is then considered normal variability. So, if you take for example extraversion/social skills, then many "psychiatry-healthy" people will not be good at this at all, will make fewer connections, will not ask for raises, will be skipped for promotion, will have weak social support structures if shit hits the fan, etc. That's just normal trait variation.

I think a really good example of this is self-diagnosing with bipolar disorder (and thus mania). Let's forget for a second that mania must last at least a few days non stop; most people do not notice this part somehow :). If you read the DSM criteria you may think that you actually fit them sometimes: elevated/irritable mood, highly talkative, distractible, flight of ideas, ... . However, you probably don't, and it is mainly a matter of understanding the scale of the problem. Most people do not know just how wide the range of "mood" is in humans, and what does it mean to be on either of the far ends of it.

(percentages are much more illustrative than accurate)
by UniverseHacker | 2025-12-06 13:56:50+00:00
While it is a contributing factor, physical dependence- withdrawal is not anymore considered necessary or sufficient for addiction. The author there is using an outdated pre-DSM5 definition of addiction which failed to recognize that there are two separate but related phenomena here. Things like gambling and sex addiction obviously cause no withdrawal symptoms from chemical dependence at all, but can be almost impossible to quit and serious enough to destroy someone’s life.

Severity of withdrawal symptoms from caffeine also varies substantially from person to person. It’s probably not directly killing anyone, but for some people it can be brutally unpleasant and disabling for at least several days.
by jbstack | 2025-12-06 13:57:10+00:00
"Just" write your own module?

Have you seen how bad the Nix documentation is and how challenging Nix (the language) is? Not to mention that you have to learn Yet Another Language just for this corner case, which you will not use for anything else. At least Guix uses a lisp variant so that some of the skills you gain are transferable (e.g. to Emacs, or even to a GP language like Common Lisp or Racket).

Don't get me wrong, I love the concept of Nix and the way it handles dependency management and declarative configuration. But I don't think we can pretend that it's easy.
by tiborsaas | 2025-12-06 13:57:37+00:00
You should also think before you call people stupid. If you google autism test, you'll find this:

https://www.clinical-partners.co.uk/for-adults/autism-and-as...

"I prefer to do things on my own, rather than with others."

"I prefer doing things the same way - for instance my morning routine or trip to the supermarket"

"I find myself becoming strongly absorbed in something – even obsessional"

These are all questions everybody living in a modern society can relate to.

Of course autism is a real condition, but modern society somewhat requires people to be machine like and that can easily look like someone is on the spectrum.
by grim_io | 2025-12-06 13:58:26+00:00
> I don't want to sound grumpy

Well, you didn't try very hard :)

If you think that every model behaves the same way in terms of programming, you don't have a lot of experience with them.

I find it useful to see how other people use all kinds of tools. AI is no different.

It's like getting upset when someone compares how it's like using bun vs deno vs node.
by LVB | 2025-12-06 13:59:33+00:00
I think a core reason (besides not knowing jj exists), is the framing that there is a choice that has to be made, or a switch that has to occur. It is, instead, additive. I have Sublime Merge (GUI git client) and jj both looking at my git repo all day. Zed's git stuff is watching it too.

jj is sort of a bag of git tricks for me that I use when needed. It's no different than some things being easier with the git CLI vs others being easier in Sublime. I'll be at a stage where my committing/branching/rearranging wants are something that jj nails perfectly, and I do those there. As far at the other tools are concerned, I just did a bunch of sophisticated git operations.

The "colocated with git" capability of jj is probably it's most amazing feature tbh, and is key to any sort of adoption.
by raw_anon_1111 | 2025-12-06 13:59:48+00:00
While I have a personal career document and have had one for years where I have all of my major accomplishments in STAR format. This seems a bit much.

When I was at BigTech, there was an internal system where you recorded your major accomplishments and the impact they had.

But I would never write it up on a public blog post like this. I am assuming the author of the post must be someone well known in the industry for it to make it to the front page of Hacker News. If his intent was to promote himself so he could get another job, I’m sure that he has a network where a few messages would lead him to one.

Even in my little niche of the world where in the grand scheme of things I’m a nobody, I was able to lean on my network at 50 after being Amazoned in 2023 and have three offers that were at least a lateral move within two weeks.

I had one fall into my lap last year too that I accepted based on my network.
by baransel | 2025-12-06 14:00:48+00:00
Hey guys, I wanted to share something I’ve been working on for the last months because it came directly from my own training routine.

I lost 45 kg over the past couple of years, and along the way I started using a lot of daily supplements — creatine, vitamins, omega-3, etc. The annoying part was that I constantly forgot whether I took them or not. Some days I took stuff twice, some days not at all.

So I built my own supplement tracker app with a clean, minimal interface.

No ads, no clutter, no over-complicated habit tracker stuff.

Just: * See your supplements for the day * Tap to mark them * Custom reminders * Simple daily timeline

It’s called GymDose and I decided to publish it since it helped me stay consistent: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gymdose-supplement-tracker/id6...

If anyone here wants to try premium for free, just ask for it — I can generate promo codes. I’m a solo dev and this started as a personal project, so I’m happy to share it.

If you have any feedback, features you’d like added, or just want to roast my UI, go for it Stay consistent.
by maverick98 | 2025-12-06 14:01:39+00:00
I found this article very interesting, because I feel that I fall in the category of people that think they have it, although I probably don't. My psychiatrist who is not an expert on autism told me I display autistic traits but that doesn't necessarily put me on the spectrum. Also my RAADS-R scores fall into the autistic spectrum but on the low end. Another psychiatrist diagnosed me with OCD. I am in my late 20s and I don't see how I could ever know for sure or if I am autistic or not, but nowadays most people in my country would say "we are all somewhat autistic in some way or another"
Show HN: PyTorch-World v0.1.0: Build & Train World Models
by paramthakkar | 2025-12-06 14:03:11+00:00
I’m Param Thakkar, and my research interests center around Generative Modeling and World Models. Over the past months, I’ve been developing a PyTorch-based library aimed at making it dramatically easier to learn about world models, experiment with them, and build new ones. My goal is to create the most accessible, flexible, and extensible toolkit for anyone working in this space—from beginners exploring model-based RL to researchers pushing new architectures.

After releasing v0.0.1, which introduced initial support for the PlaNet world model, I’m excited to announce v0.1.0. This update expands the library significantly, introducing:

Broader environment support, including DMControl, OpenAI Gym, the Arcade Learning Environments, and more.

Full implementations of DreamerV1 and DreamerV2, with DreamerV3 currently in development.

Ongoing work to add additional world models, reusable components, and advanced environments such as Isaac Gym, ManiSkill3, and DeepMind Lab.

This release brings the project another step closer to a unified ecosystem for world-model research—one that accelerates innovation, lowers barriers to entry, and empowers the community to explore the frontier of model-based learning.

If this project interests you, consider starring the repository and joining me in contributing to its growth!
by wakawaka28 | 2025-12-06 14:03:16+00:00
I'm not going to argue the point that the man is perfectly impartial on everything. But of the people who reported the story of the Twitter Files, I trust him the most. He doesn't need to be perfectly impartial to convey what you need to know.

Nobody is actually free of bias. That absurd pretense of impartiality is only in the conversation because "fact-checkers" claim to have it, and that claim is used to promote censorship. Though it matters when journalists are biased by personal views and their funding sources, that is inescapable and consistent with their rights to free speech. Censorship is not.
by raw_anon_1111 | 2025-12-06 14:04:29+00:00
As a senior employee. This is just the opposite of what I would expect.

(I’m not the author of this)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46146451

As a senior employee first at a startup from 2018-2020 and then as a staff engineer at a consulting company for the last year (with a 4 year at BigTech detour between), no one really micromanages me.

Even at the consulting company, when I am on a project, I just put 40 hours in Salesforce with the project I’m assigned to - with no details - or put “bench” - again with no details.

Why would my company care? The customer is happy, the project is managed through Jira (where I as the lead create the tasks) and my company gets paid when the project is done.

I am sure I ask for feedback after every project in our peer review system.
by armchairhacker | 2025-12-06 14:04:31+00:00
What's the difference between a simulation and a non-simulation? Nothing, except where the simulation can be broken.

Can we accurately simulate a smaller universe in this universe? If I understand correctly, according to this paper the answer is "no". Except how do we determine the simulation is inaccurate, without either knowing what is accurate (and thus having a correct simulation), or being unable to distinguish the inaccuracy from randomness (the simulation already won't perfectly predict a small part of the real universe due to such randomness, so you can't point to a discrepancy)? What does it mean for a simulation to be “inaccurate”?

Also, you don't need to simulate the entire universe to effectively simulate it for one person, e.g. put them in a VR world. From that person's perspective, both scenarios are the same.
by reactordev | 2025-12-06 14:05:04+00:00
There’s so many layers to this. First, there’s history: Coka-cola (originally made from a Kola nut and cocaine) was told they couldn’t put cocaine in their “medicine” anymore so they just sold it as a “soft-drink” without the cocaine.

Then there’s the beverage industry who pointed out there’s caffeine in tea leaves and other plant material and that it’s not a threat: (1) US vs 40 barrels and 20 kegs of Coka-cola. Ultimately reducing the amount of caffeine in soft-drinks.

Round and round we go allowing companies to use chemicals to keep us buying their consumables.

(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Forty_Barrels...
by d-lisp | 2025-12-06 14:06:24+00:00
Eye contact makes me very uncomfortable.”

“I suck at small talk.”

“I have rigid routines.”

“I hyper-focus on my hobbies.”

“I am always fidgeting.”

“Social interaction exhausts me.”

“I really bad at making friends.”

“I don’t fit in; people find me weird.”

I never considered it althought I'm ticking all the buttons (bad gear ? [0])

[0] https://youtube.com/@audiopilz?si=g6iGJK3ygnCWESWW
by baubino | 2025-12-06 14:07:29+00:00
> Global poverty at 100-year lows, US murder rate half the 90s, you’re more likely to die from obesity than starvation or violence. Objectively the cushiest moment in human history.

Averages are just that - averages. They say nothing about any given individual’s experience. And probabilities aren’t assurances of a particular outcome. Just because the average person is more likely to face obesity than starvation doesn’t mean that there aren’t millions of people facing starvation in the world. Your argument is based on an incorrect use of statistics.
by salawat | 2025-12-06 14:07:33+00:00
Reporting. I try to solve problems just to get them solved. I don't seek to enrich myself. By the way, living in your world of profit-seeking-at-all-costs maximalism is the cruelest fate imaginable, but assholes normalizing maximized greed are a dime a dozen, ruining things for everyone else.

Sorry to burst your bubble.
by tolerance | 2025-12-06 14:07:37+00:00
I’m beginning to wonder whether one can qualify simply as an “eccentric” is a function of social + economic standing. Or whether whatever people think you are, or what you think of yourself are determined by these factors.

Often times it seems like the “soft diagnosis” of a condition can be used to hedge against less-than-desirable personality traits if the person is held in high enough esteem. If they aren’t held in popular regard to some extent or if there’s other factors that can be used to explain their behavior (e.g. the stereotypical “German coldness” or whatever) then they don’t get those benefits. Characteristics like their political views may also negatively affect the likelihood of this “psychiatric hedging”.

At what point do idiosyncrasies become subject to pathology.
by Libidinalecon | 2025-12-06 14:07:43+00:00
Zeihan is wonderful if read as a post-modern, historical fiction novelist.

The characters and plots are obviously all exaggerations and fabrications of reality but there are many interesting themes in his novels.

Of course, reading him like he is Edward Gibbon would be pretty foolish but The End of the World is just the Beginning is a great book.
by wakawaka28 | 2025-12-06 14:08:04+00:00
I think you're right about people having trouble with `git reset` but it's really not that hard. There is also the newer `git restore` command which is somewhat easier. There are many individual functions which have an inverse, so the word "undo" might not be a good choice for git. You could make a `git undo` that does the `jj undo` logic with the reflog very easily. I'm not sold on the simplifications yet but to be fair I'm not trying to learn it either lol.
by Noaidi | 2025-12-06 14:08:14+00:00
As some on with Schizoaffective Disorder, OCD, and Panic Disoder, I know why people want to have an Autism diagnosis. It is because people with Autism are more studied, get more assistance, and are get more sympathy from the general public.

Someone with Autism can act out and people will be like "That's OK, he has Autism". But when I act out, there is no understanding.

What is missing in the article is there does exist overlap in these condiations, not only symptomatically, but also genetically. As far as genetics, just take a look at the calcium channel gene CACNA1C:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31805042/

I would probably had an Asperger's diagnosis when I was a kid, but most of my Autism was beaten out of my by my older brother's and kids in school. I mean, I was so deep into astronomy when I was 10 and I would not let go if it even though everyone teased me about it and I talked about it all the time anyway.

I am in my early 60's now, homeless, living in a Minivan, driving around, researching my genetics obsessively to the point where I communicate with some leading specialists in the United States, but still no one cares.

So yeah, do I wish I could say I had clinical Asperger's? Yes. Yes. Only so I can be accepted for my neurodivergence.
by ifh-hn | 2025-12-06 14:08:27+00:00
I know it's a thing.

That was just my reaction reading the OP.

First paragraph: reasonable, if ignoring that access it not likely to be unrestricted willy-nilly.

Second paragraph: not as reasonable given that Amazon likely comply without issue with us intelligence, and sell the data to third parties, which the police could just buy (similar has been done) to avoid consent or legal obstacles.

Third paragraph: out of nowhere, focus on police. No mention of intelligence agency staff or say Amazon staff doing the same thing.

I just had a wee chuckle to myself was all.
by reactordev | 2025-12-06 14:08:51+00:00
This chemical dependence is learned behavior in some cases, chemically induced in others.

I get what you’re saying. Dopamine withdrawal is real though and if you no longer get dopamine from an action or you physically prevent yourself from receiving that dopamine, it can be just as debilitating as cigarette withdrawal or kicking a (soft) drug habit.

Then there’s the opioids…
by redohmy | 2025-12-06 14:09:13+00:00
Is this really offering something new compared to smart glasses? Many advanced smart glasses can already record, transcribe, and assist with memory or focus. I’m curious whether this pendant brings any unique advantages—like better privacy, always-on functionality, or improved AI integration—or if it’s just another form factor for similar tech. Either way, Meta shifting more resources from the metaverse into AI wearables is an interesting move.
by harryyansu4 | 2025-12-06 14:09:51+00:00
Nano Banana Pro has been insanely popular lately, so I switched my AI model and upgraded the Travel Avatar feature. It now lets you generate a travel photo of yourself anywhere in the world — all without leaving home.

Here’s how it works: First, pick a place you’re interested in on the map and drop a pin, or you can directly enter the latitude and longitude to locate it. Then, upload a photo of yourself and adjust a few settings. Finally, just hit “Generate.”

It’s a fun little feature, though there are still plenty of issues and things to improve. What do you think about it?