Hacker News: Sir_Twist

New comment by Sir_Twist in "Google Has Removed MV2 Extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Including UBO"

Sir_Twist — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 22:24:17 +0000

Would Chrome, Android, and YouTube be viable companies without the money-printing engine that is Google’s ad business? I’m for less consolidation in the tech industry, but I wonder whether a good balance could be struck between great services like these versus how they actually make money.

New comment by Sir_Twist in "Apple caught off guard by AI demand for Mac Mini and Mac Studio"

Sir_Twist — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 18:16:00 +0000

I feel like iOS 27 is a step in this direction, in terms of sanding off the rough edges of iOS 26.

Com Lag: Slow Media, & the Occupation of Online Time (2012)

Sir_Twist — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 18:45:25 +0000

Article URL: https://thequietus.com/opinion-and-essays/black-sky-thinking/com-lag-slow-art-occupation-online-time/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49424165

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

I dream of quieter computing

Sir_Twist — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 02:33:22 +0000

Article URL: https://henry.codes/writing/i-dream-of-quieter-computing/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49405682

Points: 129

# Comments: 121

Carr-Benkler Wager Revisited (2012)

Sir_Twist — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 23:03:11 +0000

Article URL: https://archive.blogs.harvard.edu/ybenkler/2012/05/07/on-the-carr-benkler-wager/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49338891

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by Sir_Twist in "Six years perfecting maps on watchOS"

Sir_Twist — Sat, 02 May 2026 23:49:18 +0000

Not a developer, but I feel like Apple improving the defaults has been good for the ecosystem. The Reminders app is an example of this, because as it has gotten better over the years, the baseline for a good iOS to-do app has been raised, without reducing the market.

The Church Rock Uranium Mill Spill

Sir_Twist — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:13:26 +0000

Article URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Rock_uranium_mill_spill

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47939158

Points: 113

# Comments: 6

New comment by Sir_Twist in "Men who stare at walls"

Sir_Twist — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 17:23:36 +0000

I remember first hearing about this from the book Deep Work: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_restoration_theory

New comment by Sir_Twist in "US special forces soldier arrested after allegedly winning $400k on Maduro raid"

Sir_Twist — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:19:08 +0000

I wonder how much of this has to do with seeing someone you are close to work as a doctor makes being a doctor (or military recruit, SWE, etc.) seem real and achievable to you. When I was little I wanted to be a firefighter purely because my father was a firefighter; it wouldn’t surprise me if the same goes for a lot of other people.

Optimism (2009)

Sir_Twist — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 22:02:06 +0000

Article URL: https://github.com/raganwald-deprecated/homoiconic/blob/master/2009-05-01/optimism.md

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47882698

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by Sir_Twist in "Claude Design"

Sir_Twist — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 16:24:22 +0000

I could see there being an 80/20-style argument for this sort of tool being used for more generic usecases, with "good designers" using Figma et al. for programs where the UI itself is a selling point.

New comment by Sir_Twist in "New Apple Silicon M4 and M5 HiDPI Limitation on 4K External Displays"

Sir_Twist — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 05:27:19 +0000

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17477526

This reminds me of this comment, which I feel is a somewhat unsatisfying explanation, given that despite these difficulties, Windows somehow makes it work.

iOS 27 Rumored to Feature All-New Siri App with 'Extensions' Feature

Sir_Twist — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 15:23:32 +0000

Article URL: https://www.macrumors.com/2026/03/29/ios-27-siri-app-with-extensions-rumor/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47563934

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by Sir_Twist in "Meta and YouTube found negligent in landmark social media addiction case"

Sir_Twist — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:04:18 +0000

I feel like people use the word “addiction” to refer to both chemical addiction and behavioral addiction, and that people understand that the latter is (usually) far less serious than the former.

New comment by Sir_Twist in "Goodbye to Sora"

Sir_Twist — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 21:14:51 +0000

> OpenAI launched Sora last September, aiming to expand its dominance among consumers by creating a TikTok-style social feed that allowed users to share AI-generated content with one another.

I never understood what this app was about. TikTok (and I would argue most modern social media platforms) isn’t really about sharing things with friends, it’s about entertainment. Most people watch TikToks and YouTube videos because they are entertaining. Beyond the initial 2-3 minutes of novelty, what do AI generated videos really have to offer when there is no shortage of people making professional, high quality content on competing platforms?

New comment by Sir_Twist in "Effects of escitalopram on synaptic density in the healthy human brain (2023)"

Sir_Twist — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 17:18:08 +0000

From the abstract:

> Our findings suggest that brain synaptic plasticity evolves over 3–5 weeks in healthy humans following daily intake of escitalopram. This is the first in vivo evidence to support the hypothesis of neuroplasticity as a mechanism of action for SSRIs in humans and it offers a plausible biological explanation for the delayed treatment response commonly observed in patients treated with SSRIs.

Read about this study in an article and I thought it was interesting. I’m not a doctor, and my understanding the topic is purely based on my reading about it for curiosity’s sake. But I’ve always been curious about how SSRI’s work and how they are, seemingly, still pretty mysterious. It is fascinating to me that we’ve managed to make something that (save for the roughly 30% of people for whom they have no effect) works, yet we don’t quite know why.

I also think the neuroplasticity hypothesis is really interesting, and makes me wonder about how these drugs may change the way someone thinks in general, outside the specific realm of depression / anxiety.

Effects of escitalopram on synaptic density in the healthy human brain (2023)

Sir_Twist — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 17:05:48 +0000

Article URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-023-02285-8

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47479615

Points: 3

# Comments: 1

Google Working on Native Gemini AI App for Mac

Sir_Twist — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 00:37:10 +0000

Article URL: https://www.macrumors.com/2026/03/19/google-native-gemini-mac-app/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47448653

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

What can we remove? (2024)

Sir_Twist — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 17:50:14 +0000

Article URL: https://stephango.com/remove

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47415939

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by Sir_Twist in "Kagi Translate now supports LinkedIn Speak as an output language"

Sir_Twist — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 07:28:18 +0000

Input: I changed a lightbulb.

Output: I am thrilled to announce that I have successfully spearheaded a critical infrastructure upgrade by single-handedly managing the end-to-end replacement of a mission-critical illumination unit. By identifying a single point of failure and implementing a high-impact solution, I’ve ensured 100% uptime for environmental visibility and optimized workspace productivity. Always striving for continuous improvement and leading the way toward a brighter future! #Leadership #Innovation #Infrastructure #ProblemSolver