Hacker News: atakan_gurkan

AI Chatbots: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [video]

atakan_gurkan — Tue, 05 May 2026 13:23:36 +0000

Article URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykvf3MunGf8

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48022227

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

I Was an Enthusiastic Early Adopter of AI Scribes. Here's Why I Stopped

atakan_gurkan — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 09:26:28 +0000

Article URL: https://benngooch.substack.com/p/i-was-an-enthusiastic-early-adopter

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47790679

Points: 4

# Comments: 0

New comment by atakan_gurkan in "Italy blocks US use of Sicily air base for Middle East war"

atakan_gurkan — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 17:18:09 +0000

I really wish that people would distinguish between "Americans" and "the US government" (and between the latter and the Trump regime) more clearly. I am Turkish and when I am associated with the behaviour of the Turkish government (which happens when I am abroad), it is very unpleasant. I lived in the States for 7 years and have many friends there. I am guessing they would similarly find this association unpleasant.

Tool Shaped Objects

atakan_gurkan — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 19:04:03 +0000

Article URL: https://twitter.com/WillManidis/status/2021655191901155534

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47038874

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by atakan_gurkan in "Is particle physics dead, dying, or just hard?"

atakan_gurkan — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 05:58:26 +0000

I disagree, but maybe only because we are using different definitions. For example, we have neutrino oscillations, this requires neutrino mass, which is not part of the standard model of particle physics. In cosmology, there is "lithium problem" (amongst others), which cannot be explained by Lambda-CDM. We know our physical theories are incomplete not only because our mathematical frameworks (GR & QFT) are incompatible (similar to the incompatibility of Maxwell's equations and the Galilean transformations that form the basis of Newtonian mechanics), but also there are these unexplained phenomena, much like the blackbody radiation at the turn of previous century.

New comment by atakan_gurkan in "AI coding assistants are getting worse?"

atakan_gurkan — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 08:04:37 +0000

Yes, this happens quite often. So often that I wonder if it is among the symptoms of some psychiatric or neurological disorder.

New comment by atakan_gurkan in "Ask HN: Retro Games for Kids"

atakan_gurkan — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 05:53:30 +0000

I am interested, and this could be the next step. I'll check it out. Thanks! I had forgotten about "Skate or Die", I'll check that out, too :-)

Ask HN: Retro Games for Kids

atakan_gurkan — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 05:26:08 +0000

I grew up with a Commodore 128. I used it mostly in C64 mode and spent a lot of time playing games, even though I only had a datasette. Now I have two kids (8 and 6) and after beginning elementary school the older one is asking for a game console :-) We will eventually get one, but in the meantime I thought of installing a C64 emulator on my old laptop and use a semi broken PS joystick to let them play some retro games. I am planning to install Pit Stop II, Boulder Dash, Great Giana Sisters, Crackout, International Karate and probably more. While doing this, it occurred to me that I am not restricted to C64, I can install an Amiga simulator (I envied Amiga when I was a kid, but could not afford one) and have access to a lot more games, with much better sound and graphics (I don't mean to start a war).

Do you have game recommendations or other tips for such a project? I am willing to install other simulators as well, if it can be done via RetroArch on Debian.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46522926

Points: 1

# Comments: 4

Breakdowns of the Year

atakan_gurkan — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 09:33:23 +0000

Article URL: https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aee8012

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46343495

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by atakan_gurkan in "Approaching 50 Years of String Theory"

atakan_gurkan — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 07:49:48 +0000

No, I am simply stating what is expected of a good scientific theory in physics. Such a theory should have power to explain things as well as make new, testable predictions. It is valuable to collect our present information under one umbrella, but if everything falls under that umbrella, it may as well not exist. String theory does not have predictive power (mostly because of energy scales mentioned elsewhere in this discussion, unless someone comes up with an ingenious way to probe its domain with low energy experiments), and its explanatory power is not very useful since it explains both reality and things out of reality, indiscriminately.

Everyone is free to pursue what they want. I did not comment on that at all. You click on whatever part of the tech tree you want. However, my expectation is that the string theory does not have the qualities of a scientific theory that improves one's knowledge about universe.

New comment by atakan_gurkan in "Approaching 50 Years of String Theory"

atakan_gurkan — Sat, 20 Dec 2025 14:24:51 +0000

To make this valuable, it should produce a limited set including standard model. If you produce pretty much everything one can dream of, that does not carry predictive power.

What does string theory predict that (1) is within experimental reach in, say, 5 years (2) if not found, would prove it wrong. Was there ever anything satisfying these two simultaneously? AFAIK,the answer is "no".

New comment by atakan_gurkan in "AI will make formal verification go mainstream"

atakan_gurkan — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 07:55:56 +0000

This sounds very interesting. Do you have a reference?

Marco Rubio: No more woke fonts

atakan_gurkan — Sat, 13 Dec 2025 05:30:06 +0000

Article URL: https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/2025/12/marco-rubio-woke-font-calibri/685212/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46252276

Points: 16

# Comments: 3

Porsche Owners in Russia Unable to Start Cars After System Failure

atakan_gurkan — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 16:33:17 +0000

Article URL: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/12/02/hundreds-of-porsche-owners-in-russia-unable-to-start-cars-after-system-failure-a91302

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46149489

Points: 14

# Comments: 1

New comment by atakan_gurkan in "Bring bathroom doors back to hotels"

atakan_gurkan — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 07:07:50 +0000

I first thought this is nonsense, but then it made a lot sense. It might be an exception to the rule "never attribute to malice, that which can be explained by stupidity."

New comment by atakan_gurkan in "Building more with GPT-5.1-Codex-Max"

atakan_gurkan — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 06:02:09 +0000

I suggest you take a look at Bayes's theorem in probability.

New comment by atakan_gurkan in "Show HN: Play abstract strategy board games online with friends or against bots"

atakan_gurkan — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 11:23:35 +0000

I understand where you are coming from, but I hope you realize this is very subjective. The things you mentioned and other elements of the fantasy genre do not become irrelevant for many people through their life, well into adult life as well. In fact, they may become irrelevant and become relevant again.

Just to make it clear (and perhaps to state the obvious), you are not believing in these when you play these games or read these books, you are voluntarily suspending disbelief.

Some Thoughts on Tuesday's Child – Greg Egan

atakan_gurkan — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 19:30:39 +0000

Article URL: https://www.gregegan.net/ESSAYS/TUESDAY/Tuesday.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45674010

Points: 5

# Comments: 0

New comment by atakan_gurkan in "If you are harassed by lasers"

atakan_gurkan — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 13:49:15 +0000

Umm, but didn't you already "casually violate a social convention" and perhaps a law or local ordinance when your green led shined through your neighbour's kitchen window? Then perhaps you should not complain, since you forfeited the benefit of civility by your own terms.

Living in a tiny electric van for three years

atakan_gurkan — Sat, 13 Sep 2025 07:44:15 +0000

Article URL: https://philsturgeon.com/living-in-a-tiny-electric-van-for-three-years/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45230140

Points: 3

# Comments: 0