MurphyA/hacker-news huggingface dataset:
by ivanb | 2026-02-25 12:22:50+00:00
It is not easy to tell because lparallel's documentation website has rotted away just the same as cl-user.net. Does anyone remember this beautiful wiki of CL libraries?

Anyway, it looks like lparallel is nice and has some very useful concurrency primitives, but it doesn't have lightweight scheduling, unlike Go. So no cheap async work with many open sockets, cheap context switching, better cache utilisation, simple language constructs and mental model for async tasks. Besides, Go has M:N scheduler. It has all these async benefits but in addition all the threading benefits. Such things can only be properly done by the implementation.
by maxglute | 2026-02-25 12:22:52+00:00
They did. Developmental state for huge country = phases measured in generations. 1.4B can't get away with building a few industries like other tigers, JP/SKR/TW/SG who can capture a few highend and do fine per capita.

TLDR timeline

50s-70s was soviet engineers / knowledge transfer from post war wreckage. Built basic industry, 80s-10s was relentlessly building out every industrial chain for every sector except leading edge because lack talent. Talent pipeline was 90s-00s building out academic system, 2010s-20s was brrrting tertiary talent. Couldn't brrrt tertiary talent without teaching peasants literacy in 60s, and then having literate parents in 80s family planning (i.e. one child policy) which filtered generations of 1-2 kid households where surplus went towards education/tertiary. All the recent highend progress recently was result from that, step by step building on generational phase/timescale. PRC only passed US in total STEM a few years ago, now they on trend to talent inflection point 2x-3x STEM vs US in next 20 years. People mock one child policy, but it was exactly choreographed for this outcome, one of few cases of generational peasant to phd planning, though 50 year foresight to build up greatest high skill demographic dividend in human history, not 100 year foresight because cost is shit TFR in the next 50 years.
by apothegm | 2026-02-25 12:22:54+00:00
Concern about proprietary tools. Preferring tools written in the language they’re for. Comfort level. Not feeling they need anything uv offers over poetry. Not bought in to aspects of its architecture (ex: centralized deps). Already having infrastructure and tooling built on poetry. Not perceiving meaningful ROI in learning entirely new tooling for incremental gains.

Poetry is still quite useful. Heck, pipenv is still quite useful. For 95% of use cases, so long as you’re using one of those instead of plain old venv + requirements.txt, you’ll be fine.
by epic_ai | 2026-02-25 12:22:54+00:00
When we first started building our AI tool, we followed the standard playbook: we took our user data, chunked it, embedded it into an expensive Vector Database, and fed massive context windows into the LLM for every single user query.
It worked beautifully. It was also completely unsustainable.
Within weeks, our API bills hit $1,200/month just from early beta users. Worse, our average response latency was hovering around 3 seconds because we were sending 6,000+ tokens per request just to give the LLM enough context to answer basic questions.
We realized we had over-engineered the problem. We assumed every user query required deep semantic understanding, but when we actually looked at the logs, 70% of the queries were just users looking for highly specific keywords, exact phrases, or repeating the same common questions.
So, we ripped out the expensive Vector DB and went back to the stone age. Here is what we did instead:
1. We brought back BM25 (Standard Keyword Search)
Instead of semantic search for everything, we moved our data into standard Postgres and used its built-in full-text search (which is basically BM25, an algorithm from the 70s/80s). Now, when a user searches, we hit Postgres first. It costs $0 in API fees and takes 50ms.
2. The "Dumb" Semantic Router
If Postgres finds an exact, high-confidence keyword match, we return the data immediately or use a pre-cached AI summary. The LLM is never even triggered.
3. Shrinking the Context Window
If the query does require the LLM to synthesize an answer, we use the dumb Postgres search to grab only the 3 most relevant paragraphs, rather than dumping the whole document into the prompt.
The Results:
* Prompt size: Dropped from ~6,000 tokens to ~500 tokens.
* Cost: Cut our LLM API bill by over 80%.
* Latency: Dropped from 3 seconds to ~600ms for most queries.
We had to figure this out purely out of survival mode while bootstrapping
by taylorp661 | 2026-02-25 12:23:02+00:00
Hi HN, I've been building MolBuilder -- a pure-Python molecular engineering toolkit that covers the full pipeline from molecular structure through retrosynthesis, reactor selection, safety assessment, cost estimation, and scale-up analysis.

Latest feature: substrate-aware condition prediction. It analyzes steric/electronic properties of your molecule and ranks compatible reaction templates with optimized conditions.

The install story is the differentiator: pip install molbuilder vs. RDKit's conda/C++ compilation. It's not trying to replace RDKit's computational accuracy -- it's solving a different problem: going from "I have a molecule" to "here's how to make it at scale."

1,280+ tests, Apache 2.0 license, Python 3.11+. Also available as a REST API.

- PyPI: pip install molbuilder
- Tutorials: https://github.com/Taylor-C-Powell/Molecule_Builder/tree/main/tutorials

Happy to answer questions about the implementation or design choices.
by Keyframe | 2026-02-25 12:23:16+00:00
I don't have to - it's called image branding and is a well-known and established marketing discipline. Not direct ROI like hard sell techniques, but it lands you with higher margins, lower customer acqusition costs, longer customer lifetime value, etc. Apple was a master at that, Nike, and in this particular example LEGO regularly responds to children mail, Nintendo built a whole business channel around it with Nintendo Power and I'm sure I could pull out many more examples. Not everything is a hard sell technique.
by arscan | 2026-02-25 12:23:20+00:00
Reminds me of the “Google AI Challenge” in 2011 called Ants [1], except the ‘AI’ is implemented using ‘AI’ now instead of human programmers.

I was proud for getting the highest-ranked JavaScript-based implementation, but got absolutely crushed by the eventual winner.

1. https://github.com/aichallenge/aichallenge
by dTal | 2026-02-25 12:24:04+00:00
Yes - for a certain narrow definition of "task" - but the reality is much more nuanced and comparing brains to single core processors is oversimplifying to the point of inaccuracy. A human brain has tons of "subsystems", and a given task might use some but not all of them. So some combinations of task are perfectly compatible and do not entail performance drop, while others are fairly impossible to do at the same time. Most people have no problem walking and talking at the same time - but talking and typing different things at the same time invariably results in crossed wires.

If I were to offer a tech analogy - the human brain is like an Amiga, with many specialized helper chips coordinated by a central executive which can sequentially multitask but offers no memory isolation between processes...
by teekert | 2026-02-25 12:24:05+00:00
I do like this news, but I wonder why they choose LibreOffice. It's the most widely known MS alternative, but things like OnlyOffice [0] and Nextcloud Office [1] (which is based on Collabora Online [2], which in turn is based on LibreOffice) offer much more compelling collaborative features, imho. Just plain office (like it's 1997) is quite a step back, no?

Especially OnlyOffice looks extremely similar to MS Office, I have it on all our Linux laptops at home so the kids don't feel much difference between home and school envs. I think document interoperability (as in: Looks similar) is also better.

[0] https://www.onlyoffice.com/

[1] https://nextcloud.com/office/

[2] https://www.collaboraonline.com/
by inglor_cz | 2026-02-25 12:24:09+00:00
This is not really true.

This administration spends a lot of effort on cultivating a visibly hostile image to its former allies and emphasizing the role of force over diplomacy.

If there was any sort of tacit understanding that certain American power possibilites will only be used in relatively rare contexts (going after terrorists), it is gone. Nowadays the expectation is that the US will use various tools at their disposal even over relatively minor disagreements and conflicts.
by solarkraft | 2026-02-25 12:24:12+00:00
What issues are you facing with OpenCode?

I looked a bit into the reasoning for Pi’s design (https://mariozechner.at/posts/2025-11-30-pi-coding-agent/#to...) and, while it does seem to do a lot of things very well around extensibility, I do miss support for permissions, MCP and perhaps Todos and a server mode. OpenCode seems a lot more complete in that regard, but I can well imagine that people have adapted Pi for these use cases (OpenClaw seems to have all of these). So it’s definitely not out of the race yet, but I still appreciate OpenCodes relative seeming completeness in comparison.
by surgical_fire | 2026-02-25 12:24:23+00:00
> Overall you have shown what I feel is extreme skepticism in something that is obvious.

I think you show extreme faith in something that is very obscure.

For me to believe in the analysis I would need to trust the numbers that the analysis is based upon. I see no reason why I should trust this. What sort of regulatory body or neutral third party inspects those numbers to ensure they are not a fabrication?

But you can claim I am a hater if it justifies your worldview. Skepticism is sinful for the believer.
by tacone | 2026-02-25 12:24:33+00:00
For Claude the most pollution usually comes from Claude itself.

It's worth noting thet just by setting the right tone of voice, choosing the right words, and instructing it to be concise, surgical in what it says and writes, things change drastically - like night and day.

It then starts obeying, CRITICALs are barely needed anymore and the docs it produces are tidy and pretty.
by berkes | 2026-02-25 12:25:21+00:00
> This is symbolism

It is probably unintentional. I work and worked in such projects (in The Netherlands), and the process is -rightfully- chaotic.

Governments typically don't have a central single team that builds all their android apps. They usually write a tender with loads of requirements and app-agencies will then build it. Or freelancers. Or volunteer teams. Or all of that. So there's no central team governed by one minister who can dictate what should happen today. There's hundreds of companies, teams, freelancers, interims, running around trying to make deadlines

Between writing a spec and the delivered app, there's chasms: could be a year between the specs are written and the first app pushed onto a phone. In a (trump)year a lot can change. But also between how specs are requirements or wishes in real life. "No user data may ever reach a google server" (actual specs are far vaguer and broader) may sound good, but will conflict directly with "user must receive push notifications of Foo and Bar". Or "passport NFC data must be attested for login", requiring a non-rooted, android, signed-by-google hardware attestation thingymajick.

So no, this is not malice. Nor incompetence. This is a sad reality, where we've allowed the monopoly to dictate what we, and users, expect, and to have that monopoly be the only option to provide those expectations.
by kakacik | 2026-02-25 12:25:42+00:00
For some reason, non-trivial amount of people prefer living in freedom instead of oppression, heck even risk their lives to have a better future for themselves and their children. russia offers none of that even to core russians, its a neonazi oligarch mafia state that treats its own citizens like disposable garbage, the minorities in far regions even much worse. I've grown up during communism in one of their subjugated vasal states, and we were basically in concentration camp - no movement outside the borders even within eastern bloc unless approved by regime, no freedom of thought or expression, any dissent was crushed brutally. Their troops in our country were around 5% of our population by numbers just to make sure there are no funky freedom ideas happening.

If you ever cared about history you can trivially find absolutely horrible things russians/soviets (always coming from moscow which always sets the tone) did consistently to Ukraine. If you ever care about facts you could trivially check how russian oppressors behave on conquered ukrainian territories these days - mass executions of civilians, torture chambers in every second home, old grannies shot in the back of their head from point blank range with hands tied behind their backs, lying in mass graves - the stories around 2023when Ukraine managed to free up some territory were pretty consistent.

So no, you are incorrect, if you ever cared about the topic you would know it pretty well. Or you know it and try to make some soft influence on the topic. Unfortunately russia is such a horrible actor these days, at this point universally and globally despised so that it became an insult to be called russian or associated with it in most places around the world. Their own doing, and when facing ridiculous defeat and humiliation they just double down in that clown theatre.

The fact that most russians still support invasion and random independent polls end up with consistent strong support for war and all ridiculous russian claims, leaves practically no hope for their future. Cancer of the humanity at this point, its easier to have more respect for North Korea regime.
by somenameforme | 2026-02-25 12:26:00+00:00
I'm speaking of math majors, or fields with a heavy math requirement, of course. Diff eq is not required anywhere, as far as I know at least, for non-technical majors. As for the army, I wouldn't just hand-wave away soldiering. You're talking about people being put in high pressure situations with ever-shifting dynamics, potentially against a human adversary, where lives are at stake. And they think everybody except the bottom ~32% of society is capable of excelling here.

I'd certainly expect an average person who pursues mathematics to end up with a higher than average IQ largely because while IQ is a useful measure, it's not a g factor or whatever. Studying mathematics is going to absolutely help train your brain in many areas that are also beneficial for performance in IQ exams. So for instance, some studies have shown that each additional year of education, relative to a fixed base, can causally contribute 1-5 additional IQ points. [1] If we take an average person who ends up dedicating his entire life to math, we'd almost certainly expect to see a significant and measurable IQ increase.

And FWIW I'm rather on the opposite extreme of those who argue for some sort of tabula rasa. I fully acknowledge dramatic innate differences between individuals, but I'm largely arguing that such differences only become major factors for people who approach their genetic potential in something, which most people will never get even remotely near, simply because the amount of dedication and sacrifice it takes is something that very few people are willing to accept.

[1] - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6088505
by hermanzegerman | 2026-02-25 12:26:00+00:00
Well the State of Schleswig Holstein is ditching Microsoft completely.
But it's a difficult political uphill battle, because some Users won't change their habits and cry about it.

The Minister shut this up with "Software is a decision by the employer, the employee has to accept it"

Which then got blown up by the tabloid media, which ran BS Headlines like "OMG Courts and Police not working (because they're childish and refuse to learn another E-Mail Client)

Also Microsoft is playing dirty and lobbying very hard behind the scenes to obstruct it, in Munich they changed their German HQs to Munich and started to pay Taxes there. So suddenly the city changed back to MS

TL;Dr: It's a thankless and tough battle for politicians, because they face lobbying and media pressure against them. Also they will be blamed for any roadblocks, and there is no real upside for them in it, as no one except for a few nerds cares about this
by foxes | 2026-02-25 12:27:00+00:00
Notation is invented to be useful. A lot of mathematicians and physicists write stuff like

f = g + O(h)

and then proceed to do a bunch of manipulations without getting bogged down in set theory syntax.

Also equality isnt just defined on sets, usually people start by defining it as like a formal thing satisfying a bunch of rules as a part of their logic, and going from there.
by Valakas_ | 2026-02-25 12:27:18+00:00
And what makes them being "stupid" and "greedy"?
One's intelligence is determined by genes, and greediness is a trait that natural selection has favored for millennia. This is just natural selection taking its course, and it might lead to our end.

If you want to blame something, blame math. Math has determined the physical constants and equations that determine the chemistry and ultimately biology laws that has resulted in humans being the way they are.
by Moomoomoo309 | 2026-02-25 12:27:22+00:00
Did you actually read the articles he made going through the finances of these companies? He definitely has a bone to pick, but his numbers don't lie. The amount of return these AIs need to give due to the amount of spend is so ridiculous that unless they really do automate most jobs, they're screwed. There's a reason these companies only post AI revenue now, not profit.
by Izmaki | 2026-02-25 12:28:44+00:00
The “that’s nice but Denmark is small” comment is getting tiresome. Whether the country had 6 million or 60 million the bureaucracy is the same. It’s not about the size or the economics, it’s about the message.

It won’t be long until the rest of the public sectors follow along. There has already been plenty of consideration and desire to follow through. What’s holding them back typically is not the desire to stay with Microsoft et. al., but the investment needed to make the switch away from a live system.
by iainharper | 2026-02-25 12:29:30+00:00
A detailed breakdown of why AI-generated prose feels so “uncanny”and flat. The argument is that because LLMs calculate probability distributions, they naturally gravitate toward the center of human expression, stripping away the “burstiness”and eccentricity of human writing. There’s a section on how RLHF essentially enforces a cautious, “middle-management” tone—and the unintended linguistic footprint of outsourced annotators popularising words like “delve”. Curious to hear what others think about the concept of “semantic ablation” mentioned here.
by teekert | 2026-02-25 12:29:33+00:00
As someone in the Netherlands, and also with a company in this space, could you point me to some relevant resources (like ongoing projects)? I'd love to help our country get more sovereign (in small steps).

Btw, NRC has a nice podcast series on the topic. One thing hampering the sovereignty effort is the enormous amounts of Azure/AWS/GCP certified people. Their career is build on these platforms.
by amluto | 2026-02-25 12:29:44+00:00
The code examples are confusing. The show the code that takes the locks, but they don’t show any of the data structures involved. The rwlock variant clones the Arc (makes sense), but the mutex variant does not (is it hidden inside inner.get)?

In any case, optimizing this well would require a lot more knowledge of what’s going on under the hood. What are the keys? Can the entire map be split into several maps? Can a reader hold the rwlock across multiple lookups? Is a data structure using something like RCU an option?
by bux93 | 2026-02-25 12:30:45+00:00
The IRS can issue Private Letter Rulings (which are anoymized but public so you could check if they treat a company preferentially - although not which company) and Advance Pricing Agreements.

Rulings from different countries are typically used to ensure no taxes are paid. E.g. get a ruling from the US that some activity is taxable in Luxembourg, and then get a ruling from Luxembourg that it's taxable in the US. Like McDonald's did. Either country will then say "well, it's up to the other country to tax that, I'm not policing that". Mostly after a while, multiple companies get clued in and it all gets exposed and the "loophole" is closed. E.g. a uble Irish with a Dutch Sandwich. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Irish_arrangement

This can be an honest error by one or both tax services, a strategic move (to be a "tax paradise" and prevent other taxable activities from leaving the country), or - one would speculate, allegedly - for political or personal gain.
by anthony_d | 2026-02-25 12:31:12+00:00
This is no different from the lawyers at any large organization telling individual teams not to use a specific vendor. It happens all the time.

Anthropic wants to dictate what the DoD can do with its product. The DoD said that means you’re not fit for purpose. Really not a big deal.

It’s just not reasonable to think the DoD will start doing license audits of individual missions so Anthropic can virtue signal.
by kzahel | 2026-02-25 12:31:32+00:00
Same. When I can't be at my desk, my projects don't stop -- I just do the tasks that work well enough on the phone. Brainstorming, planning, etc. Or tasks that the agent can easily verify.

Having access to my local repository and my whole home folder is much easier than dealing with Claude or ChatGPT on the web. (Lots of manual markdown shuffling, passing in zipfiles of repositories, etc).
by ahf8Aithaex7Nai | 2026-02-25 12:31:38+00:00
I want to live. And if you threaten my life, I will defend myself with whatever means I have at my disposal. It makes no difference whether you threaten me by taking away my livelihood or by withholding it from me. You therefore have a choice. Either you value my life as you value your own, or there will be war between us. And that is a war you will not win, because you are not only waging it against me, but against all people whose right to life you wish to deny.