skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Is it my bad understanding of the language or does the word "target" in headline mislead? I read it as "don't worry, the NSA does only target a minority" while the text starts with "Ordinary Internet users (...) far outnumber legally targeted foreigners in the communications intercepted (...)"

I would have added "legally", so it would read "In NSA-intercepted data, those not legally targeted far outnumber the foreigners who are"
At least the way it's presented it appears as "nothing to see here." The main story is the guy who wants to join Talibans being monitored, including the conversations with his ex-partner who converted to Islam and who today understands that it was reasonable for such communication to be monitored.

Kind of anticlimax for the claimed "a four-month investigation by The Washington Post."

How could the article have been written to make the readers see it as "one of the top five?"
It's bloody-stupid is what it is. If you understood how your own consciousness works on a scientific level, you would know exactly what evidence to check for in other people to know whether they're conscious or not. You could perform a simple medical test to find out if someone's a p-zombie (hint: they definitely aren't).
It's all about precision. To tell someone how to do the dishes seems easy. But give the same instructions to someone who has never done dishes and you quickly see the problem. It goes the other way too. I dare you to try and explain a simple repeating algorithm in prose. No lists or numberings allowed.

Simple recursions work exactly the same as the equivalent iterations. They branch on a condition, execute a step and repeat. How state is handled is the key difference. As Haskell has no concept of a variable, the only way to rebind a name is to recall a function.

I was going to say that a professional in our field who has problems with recursion and the basics of discrete math should take a look in the mirror. But maybe we have managed to raise the abstractions high enough so that one can be productive without knowing the fundamentals of computing. I probably need to broaden my concept of a professional in our field.
No, I'm not a lawyer and/or qualified to do that. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't care to find out by attempting it.
> "Counter-intuitively, Koubeissi's team found that the woman's loss of consciousness was associated with increased synchrony of electrical activity, or brainwaves, in the frontal and parietal regions of the brain that participate in conscious awareness. Although different areas of the brain are thought to synchronise activity to bind different aspects of an experience together, too much synchronisation seems to be bad. The brain can't distinguish one aspect from another, stopping a cohesive experience emerging."

Right, counter-intuitively... As long as we'll be making up reasons based on that piece of data, how about this:

Global synchrony occurs when a brain is recovering from an unknown or detected bad state, and all major parts of the brain say "HLO" to each other to notify for their existence, proper operation and to establish connection. So it's not that it's bad to be synchronous, but the lack of information from critical parts of the brain causes it to repeatedly reboot in order to recover from a bad state forced by electric rods in the brain.

Hey, I'm a scientist!

Seriously though, why aren't we thinking about what the implications of our experimental data would be on a distributed computing system, which our brain is, instead of giving silly "it's like the key in a car" explanations, assigning causality randomly and without merit?
> ... if the population of hat distributions is
> restricted to {all black, all white}, this still
> suffices to show that there is no strategy that
> guarantees all prisoners will go home ...

The strategy given in the submitted article is such that if all prisoners are given the same color hat then they will all go home, so I'm not sure what you're saying here.
I think encryption will remain a better way of jamming XKeyScore for the forseeable future.
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I have been an iPhone/AT&T customer since the first day iPhone was released back in 2007 and I have been paying for an unlimited data plan. Just recently AT&T threatened to throttle my data. Why would they do this to a long time, premium paying customer? I am considering switching service providers, or at least changing my plan, and would like to see what others are doing for data plans for their iPhones. Thanks.
I don't honestly know what people claim TDD does. But where the requirements are clearly specified (albeit changing) and problem space isn't well understood it has its uses.

The example given is one TDD is kinda one of worst case scenarios for it. If for example the goal was to write a novel game that is popular with some audience Norvigs analytical approach would falter. TDD wouldn't fare much better but I believe it would be better than purely analytical problem. I however have little doubts Norvig would adapt to the challenge.

Do note that by TDD I consider only red-green-refactor methodology on clearly specified parts and adding tests on encountered bugs. Rest I consider fluff.

Summary: Tests and test first design is a tool. It can't be used for everything.
It would be nice, if the author would back his claims by specific references. Comparing the upstream tracker reports for GTK+ and Qt shed a different light on ABI compatibility between versions:

http://www.upstream-tracker.org/versions/gtk+.html
http://www.upstream-tracker.org/versions/qt.html

(Yes, yes, Qt does more than just GUI, I know …)
The article repeatedly gives the impression of an abrupt change, by using words like 'switched' and 'stopped', but the description used later makes it sound like a more 'normal', gradual process.

she gradually spoke more quietly or moved less and less until she drifted into unconsciousness.

That part of the process sounds very similar to someone undergoing anesthesia, or simply falling asleep. Though there are obvious differences.

So maybe that's what it feels like? Some people remember the feeling of going under, but maybe not the last few seconds of it.
HOW TO ANNOY PEOPLE ON HACKER NEWS:

* SHOUT AT THEM IN ALL CAPS

* MOUTH PLATITUDES

* SAY NOTHING OF SUBSTANCE
You couldn't rename things because they used AspectJ to bind certain method names to some validation methods. Of course this was well documented on a dark side of planet orbiting Andromeda.

Also the Javascript used #id an suffixes to call JSP fragments. You change the name of the div in that JSP fragment and you have to change any mention of it in any JS or Java files.
Will Dropbox or Google Drive provide limited access to 3rd party apps so that they will have access to only limited folders in my account? I feel nervous when I have to give out my whole Dropbox to some web app.
Following Alex as well.
http://forums.jawbone.com/t5/NEW-ERA/Watch-Djokovic-vs-Feder...
Lots of neurology results are on truly small data sizes. You can't insert electrodes into brains or cut out brain parts at will for ethical reasons, so you have to wait for a patient where you have to insert one in just the right place for other reasons.

So, it may be a while before you see that follow-up study.

On a side note, the combination of antibiotics with fast recovery of injured soldiers has been very beneficial to neurology, as it meant that neurologists saw more living patients with horrific brain injuries.

It is unlikely that anybody would find this in patients with traumatic injuries, though. A projectile damaging this area deep in the brain likely would take out lots of other areas, too, and would be lethal, even if one gets the patient in a hospital within minutes.
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I decided to try this out. It's now been over 5 minutes, and I'm starting to wonder if it's hand-driven or, with my more cynical hat on, simply a novel way to harvest email addresses.

If the former, fair enough, since it will provide a genuine service while assessing whether or not it's worth coding up properly and creating a business. Classic technique for assessing whether an idea has value.

If the latter, a hat tip for the inventiveness, although I'd be a little disappointed.

We'll see.
I made some speakers when I was in high school. The tools I used were a table saw, a whole bunch of long clamps, a screwdriver, and a hand drill. But most important, this book: http://www.amazon.com/Building-Speaker-Systems-2nd-Edition/d... . If you buy it used now you will find it hilarious how they describe using computer software to analyze speaker systems, but no matter: you can stand on the shoulders of giants and design your own boxes without any software at all.

The "D'Appolito array" is covered in that book--a design employed in many store-bought speakers where two mid-woofers flank a tweeter at a specific distance to avoid some of the time alignment concerns raised here. This is a good candidate if you want to build smallish, narrow speakers for home. In the car it usually comes down to "where is there enough room for the drivers I want?"

I think the book also discusses various dual-driver arrangements for subwoofers, which is another interesting area where you can use twin drivers to eliminate undesirable effects. If you put that together with the D'Appolito design in a single cabinet, you will have something like what Infinity used to sell for $1000 each...but doing it well won't save you much money because good drivers are expensive.
Speaking of, I had Mr. Brodal in my algo class. That man thinks in algorithms. He can make it seem so intuitive and easy to understand, when he's explain it at the blackboard. That lasts until you're trying to implement it and get bogged down by details. I miss the algorithm classes.
Depersonalize the key questions
This looks like it?

http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_mn_at_ano_tseft__galileo...
So how do you get into the physics of sound?

I don't think I'll be building speakers anytime soon though, but I'm still very much interested in the details of psychoacoustics and sound reproduction.
Those aren't homemade speakers, they're homemade enclosures. Disappointed as I was expecting something more substantial than "I made a box".
I'm very interested in the Arduino based pre amp. Do you have a page with your design that I can study? I was thinking about maybe integrating a Lightspeed Attenuator.

Most of all, I'd like the pre amp to automatically turn on the power amp (currently a Gainclone) when a signal starts coming in from the connected Airport Express.

http://diyaudioprojects.com/Solid/DIY-Lightspeed-Passive-Att...
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Absolutely, and you cannot build a business upon scraping. Maybe for some seeding, but not to this extend.
I don't see the importance of this study outside of the neuroscience field. They just found another way of making people to stop reacting to external stimuli.

I've come to the conclusion, that science will never be able to even define consciousness, let alone explain it.
It doesn't make sense to say there's an upper and lower bound on the "worst" case. If that were true, the upper bound would be the new worst case, and the lower bound would be some middle case. A best or worst case is inherently always going to be big-theta.
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So out of billions they only "target" (whatever that means) hundreds of million of people? That doesn't make me feel a lot safer. The 9:1 thing is completely out of context and meaningless. Plus, we don't know exactly what a target is and what's a non-target (on which they could still gather data...just not, you know..."target it").
This is a really terrible analogy to be honest.
No problem! Thanks for the awesome time at LA Hacks :D
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exactamondo, but isn't science merely an epiphenomenon of consciousness ? If so isn't this a case of the snake trying to eat it's own tail ?
Yes, this is a very confusing headline, and incorrectly appears to be reassuring. The Guardian's headline is better: "NSA intercepts: ordinary internet users 'far outnumbered' legal targets".
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Why put the scores on top of each other? The team on the left should be on the left, and the team on the right on the right. Many channels use this left-right layout, but they fail to swap it around at half-time, when the teams change sides!
The first step is to understand consciousness and how it works. Once we understand how it works it has a multitude of applications. Not least in computer science (eg. trying to create machines that display consciousness), and neuro-medicine (eg. how do we wake people up that are in a coma).
This just proves that "pure" in this sense is a useless concept.
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>How does one shield oneself from this, i.e., how does one ensure that the binary compiled (say) three years (or months) ago continues to work reasonably?

Static linking should save you from from this hell. I don't know if gtk even supports it, I know glibc does not, whitch is a shame.
A few things to think about:

1. Everything is negotiable, try to work it in your favor to not have to choose. If your going to lead a company, negotiation is a good skill to pick up.

2. I have always felt there is far too much anxiety around technology/startups ... will it be there when I arrive? Will I still be relevant? Urgency is great when you jump in, but rest assure it will be here when you come back, if you choose to take the time off.

3. Do you want to run from regret or follow your heart?

4. Put your degree as a priority unless you are absolutely passionate about what you are postponing it for. As a 30 year old drop-out, sure it's nice when you have money to walk around and look like a genius because your successful, but it brings on additional insecurity and uncertainty when you do not have that paper behind your name on the way up. How much time do you spend climbing vs. time spent at the peak? Prepare yourself for the climb.

5. Take the trip, discuss your flexibility, listen to the idea, take time to evaluate. When an idea connects with you, the question changes from "what should i do?" to "how do i make this happen?"

Lot's of great advice from the others also. Good luck none the less, you have two really exciting paths in front of you, so its already a win-win.
if it comes in some device form I can use it to switch off my consciousness when recovery agents come to my home..
Here's the BBC one for instance:
http://www.aotplaza.com/Files/Sport/Football/Euro%202012%20-...

If there's one part of this you might want to "solve", it's the possible ambiguity with using three letter abbreviations for team names, which is the one thing the redesign doesn't attempt to change.
I'm guessing they care a lot about the network, not just the content. They'll realise you work in IT, tag you as "linux using trouble maker", then mostly ignore you. Unless you work for the NSA, then they'll kick you out, and maybe send some people over to search your home.
I bet a Yo takeover is coming within few months. Buying the company may cost less than hacking it...
That actually can be easily fixed on top of V8 - as V8 already sprinkles stack overflow checks you can make actual fiber stack smaller and expand it on demand.
This is especially useful during the World Cup, when you quickly glance at bits of many games and are unfamiliar with the teams and colours and flags
Apple could market the iWatch as swiss-made
I think this book fits nicely in here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Ego-Tunnel-Science-Mind/dp/0465020...
I got onto the second screen and ragequit.
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http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/02/feature_the_future_l... - has an interesting perspective on speaker design and the human auditory system.
Last chance to play SimCity and Civilization in real life.
I feel like a better way would be to just crawl HN for posts with keywords related to dev.
> It's unfortunate that Linux and/or Linux distributions have not yet solved the problem of supporting parallel versions of dependencies.

They do and they have, but they can't conjure-up libraries that haven't been properly versioned and released upstream.

If the GTK+ team can't maintain an ABI then they need to start releasing versions under different sonames such that programs like wireshark link against "libgtk-3.so.0.1200.2" and not "libgtk-3.so.0", then the package managers will be able to do the right thing.
Just so you know, Ceylon is a name of a country (now known as Sri Lanka). The name is more popular due to the tea which is manufactured in Sri Lanka (Ceylon Tea)
You don't want to eliminate the source of imagination, do you?
Isn't it a problem ?

I'm only looking this field from far, as public interest does, but I kind of remember reading brain can actually reorganize so that impaired zone's functionality are transferred to other ones, to compensate.

If I'm not mistaken here, doesn't this make using a single subject even more of a problem in neuroscience than in other science experiments ?
Guys and Gals, I'm pretty sure this person typing above is a BOT.
> If so isn't this a case of the snake trying to eat it's own tail ?

Pretty much. Consciousness is one level above science in a way, so every attempt to only use science to explain consciousness will fail. Consciousness is a metaphysical concept, "meta" = an abstraction layer above.
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> The first step is to understand consciousness and how it works.

The first thing should be to define consciousness IMO.

> trying to create machines that display consciousness

In other words, trying to create machines that behave like humans? I don't know what "displaying consciousness" means.
Apart from being an increase in knowledge, it could have significant implications for our understanding of the experiences of non-human animals.

It appears that mice have a claustrum, and I would be very interested to see the effect of manipulating that area on their behaviour. If it has little effect, one might conclude that mice don't experience consciousness the way we do, for example, or the reverse.

Edit: here is an open access version of Crick & Koch's paper on the claustrum:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1569501/
Anyone have good before and after examples of Rule 5? That is, a "dumb" data structure with "smart" code refactored to a smart data structure with dumb code?
Can be distilled into a one liner. "NO DRUM SOLOS"
1+1 = skank according to my little cousin
http://www.boston.com/community/forums/sports/mixed-bag/gene...
For starters, if it can be induced externally without shoving wires into your brain, it could conceivably be a safer, more reliable form of surgical anesthesia. Even with "anesthesiologist" being a dedicated career path, botched anesthesia kills more people than we'd like to admit, plus there's the rare-but-horrific surgical awareness cases. Even if it can't be induced by (say) an external magnetic field, a minimally-invasive implant might be provided to a patient who's expected to need repeated surgeries.

Also, as the article points out, reversing the process could potentially be useful in awakening coma patients.

Of course all that's very speculative, and more research is called for, but that's how science is done.
A friend of mine created an online app that helps calculating Loudspeaker Enclosures. The app is completely free, no registration necessary.

http://micka.de/org/en/index.php

Hope that someone finds this useful.
"Rule 5. Data dominates. If you've chosen the right data structures and organized things well, the algorithms will almost always be self-evident. Data structures, not algorithms, are central to programming."

Quite ironic coming from the creator of Go. Algebraic data types, anyone?
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I cannot fail MacBook Pro 13" with Retina display. The 15" variant is a bit too bulky for travelling. I also use Dell 24" external monitor when working from the office.
I now develop excel add in for a customer.the reason they used to it and hard to changed their mindset.what they thinking is cheaper and fast decision making with excel rather then erp itself.
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well they built a system that has a "Modeling Engine that is purpose built to change dynamically".
Well exactly this describes Spreadsheets and that is at the same time their asset and problem.
Because there is no consistent and well thought-out data model, all kind of inconsistence, integration and redundancy problems occur.
Data modeling is no trivial task. Making it change dynamically does not solve this issue, it makes it worse.
My take: poorly designed data models (persistence structures) relying on clever hacks in the program to overcome incorrect ordinality and cardinality rules, data redundancy etc ...
The term of ai is missleading. There are a lotts of different concepts people associate with ai. Classical ai is just some search for the optimal solution in the state space, often represented as a tree. However ai in common sense refers to a system that figures stuff out by it self using supervised, unsupervised or reinforcement learning.
This read like a straight advertisement, yet I didn't hear any real solution other than some sort of "fantastic fix". Frankly, a bit disappointing from Wired. My car seems to come out fine, regardless of the number of spreadsheets involved, thanks.
In which tougher monsters drop better quality loot.
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I don't think it's hand-driven. I quickly glanced over its source code and it seems to use "unfluff" to extract body content.
My solution would be to make two changes. One to the fibbonacci heap and one to the graph that Dijkstra's is being used on.

I would have the pointers in the Dijkstra's graph be pointers to a mutable data structure (we do this to make sure there is only one place that we need to update per node in the fibbonacci heap and to localize our mutability and keep it out of the rest of our code).

I would then need to update the update code in the fibbonacci heap to take a general function which it will run on the nodes that are updated and which gets passed the original and updated nodes pointer. In the Dijkstra case you simply need to write a function which takes these pointers and has the mutable data structure and modifies it accordingly.

Thus you have kept your generality, confined your mutability and solved your problem at the expense of one pointer indirection and an added callback function (and the associated documentation).
Interesting. The DoD funds research which enables them to hack into other systems, which means devices and our communications, and in return we get the tools to hack DRM and everything else.

Not a bad trade.
Great read!

"In Angband, any monster that drops stuff can drop pretty much anything. Monsters have a level, and if they drop loot, it just randomly picks any item near the monsters level."

-> (RPG related) I felt like this was an issue with Diablo 3 compared to Diablo 2. You basically just had to mash around in D3 grinding the top-level monsters and hoping... whereas in Diablo 2 you could make conscious choices over where to farm if your goal was to find a certain item (albeit the drop chances were extremely low, so most people just did Meph runs or Baal runs and traded their way up). Here though the author is doing drops way more realistic than either of those games heh, so that's quite an awesome feat.

Itemization seems really tricky; analyzing Diablo 2 vs Diablo 3 can actually provide some interesting insight into how item systems affect gameplay etc... maybe those devs even tried doing it realistically at some point but found it didn't pan out gameplay-wise?
Steve Novella for the rescue!

fixed link: http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/brain-stimulation-for-th...
Seems like a bug.
Nice work! Looks promising! Can you share how many people are using it?