jthacker | 1 year ago | on: Adobe's new image rotation tool is one of the most impressive AI tools seen
jthacker's comments
jthacker | 3 years ago | on: American tech giants are making life tough for startups (2018)
jthacker | 4 years ago | on: Hidden Interfaces for Ambient Computing
It’s still a debate how animals sense the earths magnetic field. However, all theories rely on special adaptions and not on the extremely weak magnetic properties of blood.
jthacker | 7 years ago | on: Ask HN: Who is hiring? (June 2018)
We developed our low-cost, pre-pay enabled, smart metering system as a solution for electric utilities in developing countries to serve low-income customers. Our metering system is being widely adopted by utilities serving customers in rural parts of Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
SparkMeter is a great group of smart people with a mission. Message me if you want to chat about these roles!
jthacker | 8 years ago | on: Paternoster Lifts: Cyclic Chain Elevators with No Buttons, Doors or Stops (2016)
jthacker | 9 years ago | on: A Compiler for 3D Machine Knitting
jthacker | 9 years ago | on: Book of Proof – An introduction to the methods of proving mathematical theorems
jthacker | 9 years ago | on: The Mistrust of Science
The main argument of this piece is how "an understanding of what real truth-seeking looks like" can allow you to reject claims when they are scientifically proven to be false. While he does not directly state that one should be skeptical of the scientific community he also never states that there should be unquestioning acceptance of it either. It is however made clear that skepticism is a key trait of being a scientist.
He begins by pointing out the seeming contradiction of being a scientist who is "supposed to have skepticism and imagination, but not too much" while "gathering facts and testing your predictions" before you "either affirm or reject the ideas at hand". Even then you still must "accept that nothing is ever completely settled, that all knowledge is just probable knowledge." Establishing early on that a scientist must be willing to accept that "a contradictory piece of evidence can always emerge" while still advancing our collective understanding.
"Knowledge has become too vast and complex for any one person [...] to convincingly master more than corners of it". You therefore must rely on the collective of scientific knowledge and those who practice it, the "scientific community". He points out the difference between this group and one of pseudoscientific thought is that the claims of the latter can be demonstrably rejected using the scientific method.
A scientist must remain skeptical, but in order to be productive you also need to rely on your community, no one person can verify all claims. Being skeptical is inherit in being a scientist, and therefore part of the scientific community. Relying on the scientific community is not akin to unquestioning acceptance. Questioning established beliefs while backing it with scientific evidence is the key difference between the scientific community and the pseudoscientific one.
jthacker | 11 years ago | on: Lego Calendar
That being said, I would still like to see a pick-n-place managed version of this that stays in sync with google calendar.
jthacker | 12 years ago | on: Show HN: Birth Control As A Service
99.6% is the method-effectiveness (i.e. the efficacy if used properly) or 0.4 unintended pregnancies per 100 "women years" (13 cycles)
Other interesting results from the study: - the method-effectiveness rate found for this method is comparable to oral contraceptive - 9.2% stopped using the method due to dissatisfaction - Couples that had intercourse during the fertile period had an increased pregnancy rate of 7.5% - This study was done in European countries and the pregnancy rate was lower than similar studies performed in developing countries
jthacker | 12 years ago | on: 2048 x 2 = 4096
I suppose the next step is to make it endless and see how high you can go.