https://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-w...

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-many-test-users/

I'm certainly glad I have my good programming job right now. I'm not sure where the field is going, but it certainly ain't 2017 anymore. I will say: like the sibling comment mentioned, nursing (or PA?) can still be a very independent job, especially as an APRN or flight nurse. But I wish you luck!

Even though where I live a lot of firefighters are just EMRs... the fire services are a lot more willing to take you if you already have your EMT (since you're not gonna abuse the program to get free EMT training).

EMT really is the fastest way to become any first responder.

Maintaining the certificate also requires ~40hrs of continuing medical education every 2 yrs, which I accomplish via short 1hr courses every few weeks.

> How do you balance keeping the skills sharp while working another job full time?

I don't! I've been volunteering with my current service for ~2yrs, and I still don't feel like a very "smart" EMT. It's coming, but slowly. And I'm trying to do more shifts (e.g. every week).

I simply try to "manage" my stupidity. I usually ride with a more experienced EMT, and any very-big calls will get a medic; I focus on learning & asking questions when it's appropriate; I try to drill _something_ every shift. If I really wanted to learn quickly, I'd take a few weeks off and run with AMR in a city... that definitely gets the calls.

> Also, I’m 38, so I tend to feel too old.

That's one of the biggest reasons I delayed. I felt too old at 29 & worried I would be out of place. FWIW, I think the class after us had an average age of ~35, so you might fit in more than you expect.

I resonate with wanting to be good, though. I think about it every time I get a call. My counterargument is (a) that 1 month of training is 1 month more than most folks have, and (b) in an emergency, you're always part of a team.

Even if you just fetch the stairchair.

Because worst-case, you might enjoy it.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49947631

Points: 255

# Comments: 122

So it helps to choose a drill brand with the ecosystem you like, not just one that's a serviceable drill.

(Or you could argue that a language's ecosystem is part of the dang language. Which I agree with).

Humans can perceive much smaller latencies.

If you look at the Card & Miller reference, at least some humans can perceive differences in ~50ms vs 100ms latencies when typing (in my limited testing, it’s likely you can!). There’s some newer research I don’t have handy that I believe found error rates decreased and NSAT improved until around at least 30ms (if not 20ms).

On that note, humans can definitely distinguish 60hz vs 120hz reliably (about 8ms faster per frame).

Even faster: with a reference (eg when dragging on a touchscreen), humans can distinguish down to at least 1ms vs 10ms of latency: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vOvQCPLkPt4

And you can probably distinguish metronomes that are off by about 1-2ms. Much smaller for other things (like metronomes that slightly slower or faster than one another).

This is a special interest of mine XD

I don't have enough meaningful thoughts here to contribute, but you & OP: I hope we can build a federated protocol for sharing stuff again.

Also, I rather like the idea that blogging can simply be stating the obvious: https://blog.jim-nielsen.com/2026/blogging-stating-the-obvio.... Hopefully my argument is helpful to someone!

Oddly enough, it seems like, although the value of "blind operation" is well-understood, it's not super well researched. As one of the papers I cite puts it:

> Little research deals with the optimal design of haptic features and how haptic feedback can support the user in searching for control elements.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6676796/

But when Mazda unveiled their button-lite 2026 CX-5 about a year ago, I started investigating.

I'm pretty convinced that touchscreens today are primarily a cost-saving measure, and every other justification is secondary. I hope I can convince you, too!

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48806151

Points: 92

# Comments: 141

I wanted to understand the parallels between software engineering and industrial design (well, chairmaking) through the Industrial Revolution. Matthew Bird's [History of Industrial Design series][1] was fantastic, especially this quote [from John Ruskin][2]:

> Now it is a good and desirable thing, truly, to make many pins in a day; but if we could only see with what crystal sand their points were polished,—sand of human soul, much to be magnified before it can be discerned for what it is — we should think there might be some loss in it also.

I hope you enjoy!

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEANvcdpJW0lUKVPJ_8ee... [2]: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/30755/30755-h/30755-h.htm

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47848333

Points: 7

# Comments: 1

I hope you find it helpful!

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47252312

Points: 2

# Comments: 2

> Every week there seems to be a new tool that promises to let anyone build applications 10x faster. The promise is always the same and so is the outcome.

Is the second sentence true? Regardless of AI, I think that programming (game development, web development, maybe app development) is easier than ever? Compare modern languages like Go & Rust to C & C++, simply for their ease-of-compilation and execution. Compare modern C# to early C#, or modern Java to early Java, even.

I'd like to think that our tools have made things easier, even if our software has gotten commensurately more complicated. If they haven't, what's missing? How can we build better tools for ourselves?