skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
I did skim the book, or at least a few chapters. I'm sorry to say, but I find it full of logical falacies and anecdotal evidence. There is a long chapter about pharmaceutical companies, which points out very valid evils of the domain, including marketing of dubious ethics, but when it comes to offering an alternative incentives for developing new, expensive drugs, I couldn't find anything remotely convincing.

Other often used fallacy is: "If patents would be good, this would have happened when country X changed its patent laws". Correlation does not imply causation, and you will forgive me if I do not believe such obvious biased authors chose the most unbalanced cases. Maybe in the rest of the book there is an explanation as to why America (strong copyright) uses so few innovations developed in China (weak copyright). It seems to me it's the other way around.

The book is a very good critique of the evils of the copyright system. I fully agree with most of them. My conclusion is that we need a better system, less open to abuse and with shorter terms. But we still definitely need it.
This is ironic, for me anyway, as Jeff Atwood has since jumped the shark but Spolsky's articles remain relevant.
I know this is old, but I would really love to hear this pop up on the Stack Overflow podcast with Jeff and Joel.
Who cares about it representing a year - C++0x is a cool name all by itself!
He made a bug tracker. With charts!
China: censorship keywords, policies and blacklists for leading search engine Baidu
Exactly.

Ultimately the problem here is extreme centralization. I don't think something as subtle, elusive, and personal as education can be done well via an enormous bureaucracy. The plague of blandness, lack of inspiration and least-common-denominator material extends well beyond textbooks. I think what you describe is the real solution, rather than a point fix for textbooks.
This has been debated again and again, but remember, Joel is a business guy, not a software guy. He clearly knows nothing about type systems, so anything he says about them can be ignored.

(BTW, CL is dynamically-typed, but runs as fast as many statically-typed languages. Typing helps the compiler generate fast code, but if you have machinery to recompile your program as it runs, you can decide on the type at runtime rather than program-authoring time. Ruby is slow because its implementations aren't very good, not due to any intrinsic property of Ruby.)
The difference is, your inbox is yours. Those walls belong to someone, and if they want to turn a profit renting the space to advertisers, that's their business and no-one else's.

edit: Questions of legality aside, I mean.
You can teach math, you can teach computer science, you can teach software engineering. You cannot teach taste.
I hope you realize the implications of handing over your databases to a third party.
The most unintentionally (?) funny thing I've read in awhile:

"...The call center rep had ordered the flowers without checking with a supervisor and billed them to the company. 'At the funeral, the widow told her friends and family about the experience,' Hsieh said, his voice cracking and his eyes tearing up ever so slightly. 'Not only was she a customer for life, but so were those 30 or 40 people at the funeral.'"
I think it would be enlightening if you could provide the textbooks you buy.

Interpreting that as a request to name the textbooks I find useful, I'll do that here.

Elementary mathematics:

Primary Mathematics

http://www.singaporemath.com/Primary_Math_s/21.htm

and

Miquon Math

http://www.keypress.com/x6252.xml

Secondary mathematics:

The Gelfand Correspondence Program series

http://www.amazon.com/Algebra-I-M-Gelfand/dp/0817636773

http://www.amazon.com/Functions-Graphs-Dover-Books-Mathemati...

http://www.amazon.com/Method-Coordinates-I-M-Gelfand/dp/0817...

http://www.amazon.com/Trigonometry-I-M-Gelfand/dp/0817639144...

http://www.amazon.com/Sequences-Combinations-Limits-Library-...

and

Basic Mathematics by Serge Lang

http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Mathematics-Serge-Lang/dp/038796...

and

The Art of Problem Solving expanded series

http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Books/AoPS_B_Texts_FAQ.ph...

When a student has those materials well in hand, it is time to work on AMC and Olympiad style problem solving,

http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Books/AoPS_B_CP_AMC.php

http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Books/AoPS_B_CP_Olympiad....

and also the best calculus textbooks, such as those by Spivak or Apostol.

http://www.amazon.com/Calculus-Michael-Spivak/dp/0914098918/

http://www.amazon.com/Calculus-Vol-One-Variable-Introduction...

http://www.amazon.com/Calculus-Vol-Multi-Variable-Algebra-Ap...

Elementary reading:

By far the best initial reading text is

Let's Read: A Linguistic Approach

http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Linguistic-Approach-Leonard-Bloom...

but there are many other good reading series, including

Primary Phonics

http://www.epsbooks.com/dynamic/catalog/series.asp?seriesonl...

and

Teach Your Child to Read in Ten Minutes a Day

(I devote more time than that to reading instruction, typically, because I use multiple materials)

http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Minutes/dp/14120...

and quite a few others. There is more junk than good stuff among elementary reading materials, alas.
Ask HN: How many programming languages/development frameworks are you currently using?
On my day job, I code in VB.Net. On my side projects, I use Python, Django, and C#.

I'm planning on developing apps on the IPhone and Android soon.

I get confused sometimes when programming (e.g. putting semicolons at the end of the statement (C#) when writing python code).

What's your experience with actively using different languages on a daily basis?
Wish it were true, but I don't buy it. The article has a link to the full text. Close to the end of the next paragraph, you see the following:

"I believe he is a brave and able man, (applause,)"

Looking over the whole text, the use of parantheses as oppposed to brackets is probably meant to indicate that the speaker does not pause, so the audience reaction overlaps. In such situations, commas and semi-colons make more sense. That is, as oppossed to the periods and exclamations that you see terminating the bracketed phrases.

Now back to hacking.
This submission is more Gossip Girl than Hacker News.
I don't mean to single this out in particular, but what's with the articles getting posted with barely a few paragraphs of actual content?
per-capita enrollment payments to schools and a system of general funding to all schools

Isn't that what's done here in the states? I know the charter system caused huge political fights here in Massachusetts because, after being given a few years to get established, they began taking money from the "regular" public schools on a per-student-enrolled basis.

Many of those charter schools were consistently posting state test results that surpassed the "regular" public schools' by a wide margin. We later learned that at least some of those charter schools were exercising their freedom to kick out students for whom they felt the experiment wasn't working by return to the mainstream schools the ones who weren't doing well on their exam preparation.

So, at least here, there is an ugly side too. It is unfortunate, because the ability to experiment and determine what works the best is something we're capable of doing in the US (it's so huge). Within a reasonably short time we could probably come up with a pretty good system. I am still a fan of the charter experiment, by the way, I just have to be careful judging the evidence that I see.
Well Microsoft's success comes from windows and office. I want to see anyone's brilliant innovations in those domains? The original spreadsheet, WYSIWG editing, and powerpoint all found the dominant design early on and have been going through refinement for years.
The cost of acting in the way that some people want could do extensive damage to our economy and could have very little effect on the problem that they are attempting to solve. If individuals feel that there are things that should be done, they are free to start implementing themselves and working with business to make the case. It is only when people assume that the government has to force everyone to do what they want is it a question of what everyone agrees on. You don't need complete consensus if you are willing to put your money where your mouth is.
Wow, anyone know any good curses games, other than nethack?
Stop being afraid of the market and put a price on your applications. It's tempting to give stuff away so you feel like people want your applications, but the real test is whether people will pay for your application. Or maybe deep down you think your code isn't good enough, or you don't want to support it, so you want to keep it free.

'The Economy' is a lousy excuse to not charge for it. Maybe you'll sell 20% less than in boom times, but you'll still sell if your product is good enough. Finish your product (includes documentation and marketing), put a price on it and start charging.
I have to switch languages a lot too, but I've found that I don't have a problem as long as I use each language regularly. It's when I haven't used a certain language for a few weeks / months that I confuse it with other languages.

edit: For the record, I frequently switch between Flex, Java, PHP/SQL, C, Lisp / Clojure, and a couple of other scripting/markup languages.
I think it has to do with a trick they pull, which actually kind of cheapens the effect. I almost always buy shoes on Zappos, just because it has the convenience of buying online without the risk of not being able to return (it's free to ship them back). So I ruined a pair of sneakers, and ordered a new pair from Zappos and something like the next day, even though I asked for the free, standard shipping, they send me an e-mail that Lo and Behold! Your shoes are coming! We love you! It was a nice break from usual online retail, but on the other hand, if they're only pretending that it's a surprise (eg they used to guarantee this kind of service) that interaction was somewhat staged :(

Either way, great store and it's really nice to see a company that cares about making me happy even if they cheat a little at it
"The best thing you can say about string theory is that it's internally consistent"
I like C++, and I don't like my languages forcing anything on me, unless I tell it to. That's why C++ and perl are among my favourites.
My current gateway to modern mathematics - http://mathworld.wolfram.com/

Though I'm always up for a new and independent resource.
"NPA Outdoor operates over 500 street level billboards in NYC ranging in size from approximately 4’x4’ to 50’x12’ all of which are said to be illegal."

If you are making money by breaking the law and annoying people then I have far less sympathy for them than if their legal private property where damaged. IMO, It falls under the category of destroying illegal campaign advertising on public land.
It's interesting because Jeff and Joel have since founded the popular StackOverflow.
MCP math is better IMO. And there is no one singapore math, there are many versions of it, some better than others.
The article was posted on Sept 11, 2006. Let's let it go.
Not to get into an argument not medically qualified, but as some who has extensive experience with both recreational and clinical drug use, asciilifeform makes some good points here.

Yes, it's absurd that psychiatry often doesn't involve any blood tests, which really makes to hard to take seriously as a medical discipline. I've had both good and bad psychiatrists, but it's hard to escape the conclusion that 'fill this prescription, tell me how it's working in a month' is not much more than licensed drug dealing. SSRIs and suchlike are designed to build up their effect over time rather than supplying instant chemical gratification, which is a good idea, but as medical tools I think they're fairly half-assed.

Between study, experience, and practice at observing my reactions, I feel moderately competent to monitor my own brain chemistry, at least as well as any lay person can. Mapping out the metabolic curve of a drug in the body isn't so terribly hard and SSRIs feel very much like the chemical equivalent of treating the symptom rather than the cause. In short, they seem to flatten affect, such that the amplitude of yuor mood swings is reduced and you don't care how you're feeling to the same degree as normal. On several occasions I've taken a course, been quit disappointed, and come off them - subsequent improvement, if any, has more to do with increased self-regard for having taken action to address the problem.

I do feel, strongly, that dopamine deficiency is part of my particular problem - and as pointed out, the clinical options there are somewhat limited. It's on reason I still smkoe; nicotine is a very effective dopamine agonist. Unfortunately, it's brought me to first-stage emphysema and every time I light up my lungs ask me why there isn't a better way. Although I have been diagnosed with moderately several Adult ADHD (via interviews and tests...another example of the medical catching-up psychiatry needs), my doctor's been rather reluctant to break out the Adderall or suchlike because he worries there might be a potential for abuse. At his hourly rate, I don't argue, but frankly I'm OK with it because it can hardly be worse than tarring my lungs. My past experience with illegal stimulants like cocaine is that they're quite enjoyable but don't exercise any significant compulsion on me. I took the latter semi-regularly for a while but got bored with staying in and having the same wired conversation with my roommate, so I just dropped it.

Just my anecdotal perspective. I find it depressingly easy to understand why so many people wind up 'on drugs'. They work, but it's infra dig to start your clinical approach from there.
>>> Update: Seems like Wolfram Alpha is having major issues. So they may have taken it back offline.<<<

Not anymore.
Fingers or fists? (the choice of decimal or binary representation)
Exactly what I was going to write! :P
I find it really easy to tune out to music I've heard before, But it has to be to a good rhythm if there is too much irregularity I'll get put off
Using Pulp Fiction To Max Out Your Brand
What's your rationale for saying the other series is better?

After edit: yes, I am aware there are a few different textbook series under the title "Primary Mathematics" from Singapore publishers, but I haven't noted any significant differences among them. I still use the old third edition Primary Mathematics series adopted in Singapore rather than the new United States edition, for example.
Looking for Django/Rails expert to join a YC funded startup this summer
We're a YC team of 2 looking for a Django/Rails whiz to build our web app. We are offering founder's equity (some cash is negotiable). You'll also get to experience YC and utilize all of its resources.

Location in SF/Bay area is preferred but by no means required.

Required skills: if you're a good hacker, specific requirements aren't always necessary, but we are looking for a Django/Rails guy

Send inquiries to: djangorails.yc@gmail.com
For work, ignoring side fun things:

Perl, Smalltalk, Ruby, SQL, bash, make, xhtml, css, Seaside

Dips into python and C from time to time
This is a pretty good page ("What Works Clearinghouse") for keeping up with "what works" in education. I'm linking this particular result here because of the "Singapore Math" connection, but their focus is on classroom use, not homeschool. They don't test things themselves, they just act as bullshit detectors.

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/reports/middle_math/singaporemath...
There are so many uses a bigger and more interactive form factor could be used for:

House Remote Control, Magazines, Catalog, Classified Ads (Craigslist! If I were Amazon, I'd partner with them and just put Craigslist on the DX.)
Wow @ "We desperately need to fund more research to head off a forecast doubling the UK population living with dementia."
After reading the headline, I was expecting something about the One True Courses App (federated applications destroyed Courses, since there are too many and no one knew which one to pick). I still miss making new connections with people in my college courses.
No state in the United States has the pervasive freedom to form new schools and immediately obtain equal funding that one finds in the Netherlands.

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordD...
I had this problem (putting or forgetting semicolons) for a while, but it looks to be gone with experience. I constantly switch from Python to Javascript to C to Ruby.
I had read 'The Last Question' but not this one. Thank you
Gah, can someone explain how the first png in the article (pyramid.png) came to be well over 1 megabyte? Simply opening it and resaving in gimp brings it down to 83kb and running it through optipng will bring it down to 45kb.
"- If the discussion is sorted by something else than the counter, karma for instance, it isn't quite as easy."
ORDER BY karma?
The more you code in each language, the less severe a problem is. I find that as soon as you lay down a few lines of code in a certain language, your mind switches context to that language and the habits you picked up in that language come back fairly soon. Once you get in the swing of things, it should be straightforward.
Interesting fact that, despite spending more money on public schools every year, we get steadily declining results.
I've designed my solution from a student's financial perspective. If you can build ideas with software and are passionate about this subject drop me a line. Rails only thanks.

builderwanted@gmail.com
coz you can't expect anyone using PHP to, you know, write a proper parser...
Microsoft to turn .Net Micro Framework code, support over to the community
Looking for Django/Rails expert to join a YC funded startup this summer
That's all true. But nobody says 'oh, you're addicted to blood pressure regulators or (other medication for chronic conditions)'. Informally, my experience is unhealthy levels of dependence seem to manifest in people who don't have a deficiency in the first place. Unless one's neurological deficiency is really severe, one often develops a methodology to live with it. Absent that know-how, it's a lot easier to overdo it and end up in the ditch.
How the Kindle DX will revolutionize reading
Many analysts suggest that the Kindle DX is just a “larger” version of the Kindle 2. For those who do not know about the Kindle DX, let me enlighten you on the features that are involved . In order to allow you to recognize the fresh features, they will be listed below the normal attributes:

• 9.7-inch E-Ink 1200 x 824 screen including 16 shades of grey.
• One third of an inch thick, now 10.4″ x 7.2″ x 0.38″.
• 4GB Storage allowing for 3500 books, which previously was 1500.
• More battery life.
• Navigation buttons located on the right hand side.
• EVDO to allow 60-second book transfers.

• Native PDF support using the built-in reader
• Automatic landscape/portrait text rotation
• Line length adjustments in order to conclude how wide the text on-screen is....
Texas makes up for the lack of income tax with fairly sizable property taxes. School funding is based off that which led to the "Robin Hood" approach in equalization (aka districts in wealthier/larger tax-base areas help finance tax-poor districts).
Your last line got me thinking: aka Rabid speculation time.

What if the Apple 'Media Tablet' that is supposed to launch with Verizon service had this same feature? It's got an internal 3G connection but it can also broadcast a Wifi hotspot with Bonjour!

That would be an amazing gadget.
Diamondback Ruby Interview
This RRW article about the Mifi hardware says it runs linux and is capable of hosting applications.

Very cool: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/watch_out_wifi_here_com...
$8,600 Saved Riding Out Rough Economy using Public Transportation
"The apex of the pyramid measures how many things the code does, and how reliable it is."

This is at the end of the article as the 5th "vertex". Nothing more on this. The approach is interesting but without clear understanding of how you measure this 5th vertex or how you contain the other 4 while scaling into the 5th, you have a half-baked pyramid.
Making Math Meaningful - not sure if it's still around - was what my mother used when I was homeschooled. It introduced concepts like variables from the very beginning, but without letters: one problem might be 1 + 1 = [ ]. A week later, you might see 1 + [ ] = 2. Eventually it just becomes intuitive what the missing box should be. Unfortunately, because I knew the theorums behind why you could do it intuitively instead of discretely, I had a hard time when I ended up in public school...
Fuel for deep space exploration running low
I agree that being a leader in the field does offer flexibility and choice. But I don't think that's always (or even mostly) why people work to that position. They do it because they LIKE writing and speaking, or because networking is a key part of their responsibilities.

I'm a nuts and bolts, head and shoulders deep in code kind of guy. The stuff that gets my crank going never requires an audience. TOP-of-field is my career ambition. Being so good at what I want to do that people will pay me to do it.
Right now I regularly use PHP, perl, and lua.

I've been learning Common Lisp and Python for a while, though because my company uses those languages above, and because I haven't started any new projects yet for new languages, and because PHP has been my primary language for 5 years now, I think in PHP.

I have to broaden my horizons.

I've got some fun ideas for projects to tinker with that would use some other languages (recently bought books on Erlang, Haskell, Clojure, and Ruby). And though they likely wouldn't generate much if any revenue, it's worth doing something practical just to learn some new languages.

Back when I used to do PHP on my own, and VP ASP for my employer, I was regularly messing up if and loop syntaxes, and <? and <%, and either forgetting or adding semicolons.
This would be a simple iPhone app, if Apple and AT&T would allow it. You can do this by jailbreaking your phone, but it's a complicated ordeal.
2 options: Specifically ask for a half-sized portion, or eat half and take the rest away for lunch tomorrow.
pg says "Make Something People Want"

I'd go one step further, "Make Something People are Asking For"

If you're making something people want, but don't yet know they want, you might be tempted to raise investment first.

If you're making something people are already asking for, you won't have much time for VCs. You'll be too busy fulfilling the customers who are knocking your doors down.

Sometimes it's nice to see someone say something that oughta go without saying.
I haven't; I work as a producer - in practice, a manager - for a small TV show that's currently on hiatus due to money problems. I'm not a business person or an entrepreneur, and pretty terrible at making money (just don't have the instinct for chasing it), so the only business I've 'launched' is my freelance work. My skillset is rapid technical ability, creative communications (ranging from manuals to PR copy to video editing), and crisis management. I get lost or cause trouble in big organizations, am a valuable catalyst/trauma specialist in startups, and do best at assembling things where the pieces are lying on the floor and everyone else is confused about what to do next.

tl;dr - unworldly troubleshooter.
Striving for leadership seemed like a path of diminishing, even negative returns for me in a corporate job. Those at the top worked twice as hard (at least) for maybe 10% more pay and were just as subject to layoffs as I was. The economics dictated that I just go with the flow.

There's also a risk in the corporate world. Bad managers see leaders as threats and terminate them. I've seen it happen too many times in my careeer.

Now I'm on an different path, where leadership is demanded and rewarded (startups), so my attitude is very different. I have a long ways to go.