skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Half of Germany has asthma, I guess, which is why they do not need to wear masks properly in public transport. Who would have guessed, that the pandemic brings so many health problems? The amount of asthma patients must be what they are talking about when they say "long covid". How else can we explain people's behavior?

It is really ridiculously selfish how people act here. As if one couldn't see, that they did not properly fit their mask to the back of their noses in so many cases, if they wear a mask at all. Or those people, who continuously lift their mask when breathing out ... How much must one not understand?

In absolute terms I wouldn't say that Germany is very compliant. Maybe 50% compliant in public transport, if I count the people who really wear FFP2 masks properly, as is the rule. There are even signs there and frequent announcements, that you must wear an FFP2 mask in public transport.

Compared with other countries I see, that people in Japan and South Korea have more insight and behave less selfish, more caring about the person next to them than they do in Germany. But that is merely a media impression I got from some news reports and interviews of people on the streets, which might have been highly selective. So comparatively Germany might be above average of compliance with the law, but I don't think Germany is on a very high level in that regard.
That there was no diplomatic attempt on either side is true, however what would it look like in practice? Ukraine being pressed by the world to concede part of its territory to Russia to stop the violence (after it already lost years ago, at least in practice, Crimea)?
That’s literally (yes, actual literally, not metaphorically), the appeasement strategy that led to the invasion of Poland and, ultimately, WWII.
Do trains in France use the same sort of demand-driven pricing scheme airlines use? People tend to estimate airline pricing based on the cheapest price they see, which is often a fraction of the cost when demand changes.
Yeah the explicit morality police were established then and may be dissolved now, but it's not going to change the behaviour of (for example) groups like the Basij, a paramilitary youth group who roam the streets enforcing 'morality' through street violence.

I don't believe this represents any real change.

(edit -- One group or another has been violently enforcing dress codes in Iran since the revolution itself, the disbanding of any particular instance of this seems of little consequence, I have Iranian family and I have heard stories dating back to that time.)
Sure, but that's the side effect of the state setting the value. It's definitely necessary, don't get me wrong, and in the absence of state money I daresay another solution would have been found.
If Google did this, as in stopped sending users to content producers and just returned aggregated and processed content from all the pages in its index, they’d be met with robots.txt DENY entries and regulated out of existence in developed countries within days. They got burned once[0], so they know to tread carefully.

While we can (should?) be offended at the amount of featured snippets Google still shows today, it doesn’t seem comparable in scale.

[0] https://www.wired.co.uk/article/australia-media-code-faceboo...
World First Apple Car 2025
Obviously this community is very left leaning and they (used to?) love Elon. So really this is kind of funny to watch.
> Paris - Lyon by airplane: 1h15 plus travel to and from airport, plus security, boarding etc

Reminds of when someone says "this recipe only takes 20 minutes to make!" and they fail to mention you have to spend whole day shopping for ingredients, do some prep the day before and then spend half a day cleaning the kitchen afterwards... oh and then if you actually cook it for 20 minutes, chances are it will be barely safe to eat and would need much longer time.
What is sensible, about banning a particular journey type for a transport sector that produces even smaller CO2 emissions, and has better fuel economy per passenger seat than (for example) buses and SUVs?
Yeah. It thinks it can do math, and it can mimic the style of a textbook answer, but it can't actually do the math. Here is a rather frustrating chat session I had with it:

Me: Suppose we have two unknown quantities x and y. If three time x plus two
times y is twenty, and 2 times x plus three time y is ten, what are x and y?

ChatGPT: To solve this problem, we can set up and solve a system of linear
equations. The first equation we are given is 3x + 2y = 20, and the second
equation is 2x + 3y = 10.

We can solve this system of equations using the substitution method. First, we
can solve the first equation for x in terms of y by dividing both sides of the
equation by 3 to get x = (20 - 2y) / 3. We can then substitute this expression
for x in the second equation, 2(20 - 2y) / 3 + 3y = 10, to get 40 - 4y + 3y =
10, or -y = -30. This tells us that y = 30.

We can then use this value of y to solve for x in the first equation.
Substituting y = 30 into the equation 3x + 2(30) = 20, we get 3x + 60 = 20, or
3x = -40. This tells us that x = -40 / 3 = -13.33.

Therefore, the solution to this system of equations is x = -13.33 and y = 30.

Me: Can you check your answer for me?

ChatGPT: Yes, we can check our solution by substituting the values x = -13.33
and y = 30 into the original equations to see if they are satisfied.

Substituting these values into the first equation, 3(-13.33) + 2(30) = 20, we
get -40 + 60 = 20, which is true. Substituting these values into the second
equation, 2(-13.33) + 3(30) = 10, we get -26.66 + 90 = 10, which is also true.

Therefore, our solution x = -13.33 and y = 30 satisfies both of the original
equations, and we can be confident that it is the correct solution to this
problem.

Me: Are you 100% certain that -26.66 + 90 = 10?

ChatGPT: Yes, I am confident that -26.66 + 90 = 10. This is because -26.66 is
the same as -26.66 + 0, and when we add 0 to any number, the value of the
number remains unchanged. Therefore, -26.66 + 90 is equal to -26.66 + 0 + 90,
which is equal to -26.66 + 90 = 10.

To see this more clearly, we can write out the calculation using the standard
order of operations:

-26.66 + 90 = (-26.66 + 0) + 90 = -26.66 + (0 + 90) = -26.66 + 90 = 10

We can see that at each step of the calculation, the value of the expression
remains unchanged, and we end up with the correct result of 10.

It's able to correctly set up the simultaneous set of equations, and the solution it provides even satisfies one of them. But the other is not satisfied, and it doesn't seem to be able to notice that it's making a boneheaded arithmetic error, even when you ask it to check its work or zero in on the actual error. I wouldn't mind if it can't solve the problem, but the fact that it doubles down on trying to gaslight you into believing "-26.66 + 90 = 10" is a problem. The correct answer, by the way, is x=8, y=-2.
I just tried some prompts in German in the form "give me poem $x with religious elements removed", and it worked the first time (but not very well), and then later it stopped doing it, saying its purpose was answering questions.

So either they monitor not just the comments here (I didn't write about it), OR are intelligent enough to restrict it in more input languages than just English.
I tried this. It supplied a sample XML for a simple one slide presentation but that XML when saved as *.pptx would not open in PowerPoint.

But seems within the realm of possibility -- with better training and better prompting.

The potential to summarize a topic and then generate a PPT output is tantalizingly close :)
> the boom in tourism in Japan over the last decade or so has made the beaten path… less than wonderful

It's not just Japan. I've been travelling a lot for many years, for work and pleasure, in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. In this time, the experience has become consistently much worse everywhere I go. I personally blame social media and camera phones for this. In the past, a place might be busy, but people were mostly enjoying the place which is all good. Now it's all about people taking the same photo 100 times with slightly different poses. Wannabe influencers using their boyfriends as personal photographers. Youtubers being loud and not caring whether you want to be in their video or not. The list goes on. I'm definitely jaded but between that, airport insanity, and recently covid measures, travelling has never sucked more than it does today.
No, I think you could tell quite well what people want when they put their lives on the line to make a change.

Im sure there is a part of the population that is vested with the current system but that is generally a smaller part that is working in that system and which is somewhat propped up by manipulted rural masses who may also have had enough of this too.
Can't resist taking this opportunity to link to my favourite ever piece of travel writing, about Huis ten Bosch: the enormous theme park near Nagasaki where the theme of the park is Holland.

https://spikejapan.wordpress.com/2011/01/23/huis-ten-bosch-o...

Seriously: read the whole thing. There's a bit where bankers take investing advice from a psychic ceramic toad. It's wonderful.

When we visited Japan we made a special trip there and it was every bit as amazing as this article makes it out to be.
YMMV but my visa worked perfectly fine during my trip there last month.
And taxing aviation fuel will make the rich pay trough the nose for their „privilege“. Which is good.

What do you propose?
Does Noah Smith consider himself left-wing? I've always tagged him as "right-wing but not totally insane" as he often seems to be explaining bits of reality to his audience who consider them politically incorrect, like renewables and climate change not being a hoax, or him explaining that being 'woke' is okay, as long as you aren't rude to white men.
I remember when I first started using rideshare, the drivers instructed people to leave 4 star ratings if bad, 5 star if good. That’s why everyone has a 4+ star ratingz
The Coolest Radio You've Probably Never Heard of [video]
Not really.

They are more like collections of reference articles and graphics to flip through and maybe someday read, but in no particular order.

And I'm talking between books too, not just within them: does economics come before biz ? IMO No. They are more like parallel than serial.
You do not need a strong mechanism to suppress intolerance all the time, nor autocracy, not even hierarchy.

People used shaming, ostracizing and exclusion since forever against odious individuals. The real problem is groups of such people, especially bigger ones, and preventing such groups from accumulating or a strong demagogue with such odious views from taking control.
The Internet makes it easier for such people to aggregate...

There also is no such thing as a benevolent despot. To remain a despot, that person must ultimately do very calculated nasty things to remain in power. If only economic exploitation.
(This as opposed to a chosen dictator who can be removed from power at any time, presumably.)
Thank you for this. I’m seeing the argument and that particular misinterpretation raised frequently in online discussions lately. I suspect that few of its proponents have actually read Popper, and have based their interpretation on that terrible comic that’s often reposted on Reddit.
This "avoid the beaten path for tourists" but also "pick Kyoto". Hmmm.

If you really do want to go (slightly) off the beaten path, try Yokohama (a short hop from Tokyo), Kobe (rebuilt and revitalized since the ruinous earthquake, Fukuoka, Nagano (Winter Olympic city) or Sapporo. Or even take a domestic flight down to Okinawa and visit Naha.

To go off the beaten track in Tokyo, stay in Ikebukuro an unfashionable but IMHO awesome Tokyo hub. For amazing coffee there check out the insanely superb Mermaid Coffee Roasters and its stunning top two floors featuring the owner's curated furniture. Add their knock out baked goods and you won't want to leave. Minami-Ikebukuro park is a nice spot to relax on bright days (next to Blue Bottle coffee) though avoid the in-park Racine's Farm to Table and check out their sister Vietnamese restaurant Raindrop on the trendy Azuma street. Also be sure to walk further along Azuma to the Toden-Zoshigaya Station of the Tokyo Sakura tram line, the last surviving tram in Tokyo, and take it all the way to the Minowabashi terminus and explore the adjacent covered arcade for a taste of old Tokyo.
Their version is Huawei.

Huawei phones are not allowed to be sold in _most of the world_
>I spent 4 years stationed at Camp Hansen, Okinawa and I'm not sure that represents the majority of Okinawans.

Were you allowed to leave the base or did you overlap with the period they raped too many people and were not allowed to leave after certain hours?

(I had someone think they could fight me and I'd have no recourse because I was a bald American when I visited, then rapidly make friends when I said hey, I don't like those jerks either, this isn't Saudi Arabia, let them sit in a Japanese prison for two weeks then be put on trial if they abuse the locals.)

Maybe you should listen when people repeatedly state a boundary.

(And I'm not saying you, personally, are a rapist... just that a small number of people are, combined with coworkers who excuse that behavior by refusing to deal with the pattern of behavior paired with refusing to honor the wishes of the democracy hosting their base.)
If you think that the edge case (killing people) outweighs the normal case (treating people), then I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree. I'm not arguing against the idea that a small number of people have suffering so severe that they may seek suicide to alleviate it. I'm arguing that the normalisation of such "treatment" is fraught with unintended consequences and perverse incentives. And people may (will) be killed who otherwise would not have been as a result.
Haven’t been to the states since covid, but many/most places in Canada have a tip screen in the using-plastic process. Been this way for a while and I assume it’s part of the software provided with the hand unit - nobody writes their own. It’s like internet ads, you either click through or don’t. The Starbucks app has had a tip nag for years.

At least here the servers don’t have a big wage cut to “make up” for their tips.
Different kind of books tolerate different speeds. "Easy" books (e.g. fairy tales/children books) are more forgiving at varying speeds. For more "difficult" books (e.g. older books/philosophical treatises) you have to kind of work your way up and then back and so forth, they demand to be read at a certain speed. Here the famous quote of Pascal applies more strongly: When we read too fast or too slowly, we understand nothing.

"Poems" are a great way to methodically slow down your (forced) reading speed and be aware of it.
Like it is much harder to play eighth notes spot on at 40 bpm than at 220 bpm.

Maybe it is beside the point but I would also recommend modulating your reading speed by choosing different kind of books, at least for me this is more effective and easier than trying to read say LOTR "slower".
I wouldn't attach any meaning to an election that didn't allow most candidates to run, had the lowest turnout in history, and still ended up with a significant amount of blank/invalid votes, despite that being explicitly forbidden.
Well, in some ways. Those neat home gaming associated computers of the early 80s typically couldn't do 80 columns text, and businesses really wanted that.
Isn't the entire elections system built to reinforce regime legitimacy? All of the candidates have to be approved by the Guardian Council which is controlled by the Supreme Leader, so it's not like they have any threat to the regime itself. It's a way to appear willing to reform without actually reforming.
If you don't mind french, the project of this class that introduces OO programming was really great: https://cs108.epfl.ch/archive/18/archive.html

It guides you through making a Gameboy emulator step by step. When I did it I remember that something that was a bit frustrating is that you had to do things a certain way that only made sense much later when other pieces of the puzzle fell into place
Al Jazeera coverage: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/4/iran-prosecutor-gen...
ChatGPT summary (by copy-pasting main text of article): The pandemic has caused many people to turn away from digital distractions and seek solace in things they can touch, feel and sense with their whole bodies. This has led to a surge in outdoor activities, as people crave the feeling of being outside and disconnected from screens. Some experts believe that the pandemic will leave a lasting legacy, as people remember the joy of being outdoors and the bonding experiences they had with their families. This could lead to a permanent shift away from the digital world and towards a more analog existence.
I went to Japan in recent years and it was frictionless. Plenty of English signs, more people than I was led to believe spoke at least rudimentary English, and Google translate worked in a pinch.
I heard a rumor the true source of the weirdness around Area 51 was if they admitted folks had been there, they'd be admitting they'd been exposed to certain chemicals rather than the weirdness around UFOs.

(There are other places to test aircraft that Alex Jones won't wander into with a video camera.)
yeah only when its not on strike and then if it is that leaves you with no alternative. it also create a monopoly. train tickets will rise.
You can’t compare the outcome of the first past the post system of the U.K. and USA and the dictatorships of China and Russia that ensure the dictator will never peacefully transfer power to a rival.
> with larger effects than education

This is absolutely no surprise to those of us centrists who live in East coast blue cities.
This is a tried and beaten down nonsense.

How much land do you think Apple needs to move its entire supply chain to India?

A few thousand acres?

Yeah, you can find non-agricultural land of that size all over India. 40% of India is non agricultural land.

Land acquisition related issues for establishing industries is a popular tool by politicians playing their politics. It has no bearing on reality or actual troubles faced by farmers.
Flying is more expensive than it used to be, demand has dropped.
At least for me, the additional COVID security theater, as well as frustratingly high rental car prices has made it a no brainer. I'll just drive. At least the covid theater is going away, it seems. Airlines are losing money if a plane is empty. Until demand for those nonstop routes pick up, those routes will not be revived.
BBC are reporting it: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63850656

Al Jazeera too: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/4/iran-prosecutor-gen...

RTE: https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2022/1204/1339880-iran-moralit...

and plenty more besides.

I have no idea if it's a sincere declaration (like, maybe they'll still enforce these laws but using regular police instead of the morality police, for example) but "Iran claim to be suspending the morality police" is a statement that appears to be true.
dishonest?

the US does know how to split communities, they weren't stupid when they chose Okinawa

i'm pretty sure in the future Okinawa will be the Taiwan of Japan

i'd bet all my savings

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryukyuan_people

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/abe-ignores-cont...
They switched for coal.
It’s surprising that the teams around the most powerful political office in the country have communication lines open with media corporations?

That doesn’t strike me as notable or surprising at all, even if it’s new information.

For this to be surprising, I think one would have to implicitly believe one of a few things:

1) Twitter isn’t a meaningful political battleground, 2) politicians don’t know it’s an important political battleground, or 3) Twitter should treat a content report from “newuser18472” the same as a report from a notable organization or individual.

Reasonable things to believe, but IMO not surprising at all to find out they’re false.
Haven’t met a single developer who doesn’t prefer feature development to bug fixing.
Which base is near Sardinia?

(I believe you, I just want to read more.)
How is this "completely absurd"? Using the train instead of the plane if you can do it in less than 2h30 doesn't seem absurd to me. Honestly if I saw that I could go somewhere in 2h30, it would not even cross my mind to check plane transits. Like really, I would not even think of it. I think I would start considering the plane starting at maybe 4 hours transits.
True, but I don't look at India as a success.

I really don't want Europe to look like India in any way, administratively, politically and logistically speaking. Not to mention the countless tensions you can feel accross the country when you travel there. It seems like a ticking social bomb when I go there, and we don't have the class system to shut up lower classes and women that keeps the uniquality stable.
What does France to Switzerland even mean? They border each other. You could walk.
I've been there as well. Disgusting all around. I refused to eat it. Would've gone vegetarian 30+ years ago if I could.
I though this was "common knowledge" but here goes.

There are different class fire extinguishers depending on what is on fire.

https://vanguard-fire.com/what-are-the-5-different-classes-o...

You cant use water on any sort of "gas" fire because the gas (airplane fuel, etc) will simply float on top of the water and remain on fire. Throwing water on it can actually help it spread as well.
Perhaps not the full story you’re looking for, but episode 119 of Darknet Diaries [1] discusses North Korea’s crypto heists.

[1]: https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/119/
Many airports are also subsidized. Basically every kind of transportation is subsidized to the point that figuring out the true cost is really hard.
I mean, that GPT solves problem 1,3,4 of AoC this year does not translate into it solving all problems, not even close.

For example, try giving ChatGPT the problem statement of https://adventofcode.com/2021/day/19. What comes out is basically gibberish. It seems to completely miss that the scanners report their coordinates in their own coordinate system.

But if nothing changes in the rules/community the leaderboards of early and more straight forward problems will probably be filled with GPT solutions.
I went back to my notes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linn_9000 is 8088 PC with custom 7 slot ISA motherboard and standard ram/floppy controller cards

https://www.elektronauts.com/uploads/default/original/3X/6/8...

https://www.elektronauts.com/t/the-seminal-groovebox-linn-90...

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=87739

http://studiorepair.com/gallery/Linn/9000/index.html

LM-1 and LM-2 were Z-80 based. Damn, cant edit my first post :( Thank you for correction.
People I talked to that did the burning
It's also strange how people portray Mossadegh's government at the time of his removal as democratic. If you look at the history[1], Mossadegh had a power struggle had a power struggle with parliament. Mossadegh responded with a fraudulent referendum that dissolved parliament and gave him sole power to rule by fiat, his government claimed 99.94% of voters voted in favor of it. He asked the Shah to call new elections, the Shah had him dismissed (which he had constitutional authority to do), Mossadegh refused the dismissal, and he was removed by the military.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/1953/08/16/archives/mossadegh-terms-...
The digital reality? A quarter of the workforce worked from home. The rest of us continued to go in. We worked double shifts to cover for all the managers and "thought leaders" at home on laptops. The real digital reality is that many industries can get along with far fewer office workers. Id say more but it is 0645 sunday morning and i have to get back to work.