Hacker News: frankish

New comment by frankish in "Gold overtakes U.S. Treasuries as the largest foreign reserve asset"

frankish — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 02:50:09 +0000

I find this to be quite an interesting perspective change!

If I may try for a metaphor, then it's like our default perspective from the Earth is that we are the center of the universe, the other planets, Sun, and stars move around us, and we are stationary.

But, to zoom out, you can take a more objective view that everything is moving independently (ie, volatile). The baseline stability is a subjective perspective.

Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study and How We Think About Addiction

frankish — Sun, 22 Jun 2025 17:08:59 +0000

Article URL: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2828523

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44348461

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

Missing Matter in Universe Found

frankish — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 03:44:45 +0000

Article URL: https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/missing-matter-in-universe-found

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44324547

Points: 31

# Comments: 22

New comment by frankish in "Social anxiety disorder-associated gut microbiota increases social fear"

frankish — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 18:11:27 +0000

Can you explain your jump from gut microbiota to sugar? Aside from sugar being one food that passes through our digestion, I'm not certain why you have singled it out.

New comment by frankish in "Frequent reauth doesn't make you more secure"

frankish — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 04:11:09 +0000

My preferred workflow as well, but now many websites are starting to do this thing where you have to enter only your username, hit next, and then the password input shows up; however, the username only input breaks my password manager from trying to autofill! Argh

Cannabinoids and Their Receptors in Skin Diseases

frankish — Sat, 31 May 2025 06:39:37 +0000

Article URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10672037/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44142322

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by frankish in "As a developer, my most important tools are a pen and a notebook"

frankish — Fri, 30 May 2025 06:35:38 +0000

Hmm, but doesn't the brain run on electricity? And why couldn't it possibly have something like an OS? I don't think we know exactly how the brain works

New comment by frankish in "23andMe files for bankruptcy to sell itself"

frankish — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 05:29:14 +0000

Personally, I'd prefer to find out the truth in these cases.

New comment by frankish in "The Ethics and Rationality of Voting"

frankish — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 18:23:11 +0000

Very thought-provoking for me.

One thing that I think might be missing is the scale/population of a government's jurisdiction and perhaps the considerations of moving to more local government when it comes to the context of voting.

I'm thinking in terms of Nassim Nicholas Taleb's Skin in the Game[0] where broader forms of government (eg, US Federal Govt) are smaller (ie, more "Libertarian") by only focusing on protecting our constitutional rights while more local forms of government can become increasingly more socially democratic, but impact fewer people overall. This allows for controversial ideas to be experimented in smaller scales while allowing for competition and escape from undesired policies. A policy that proves itself useful can spread due to the actual proof of it working. Voting at the highest form of government should be a rare occasion where we can maximize the incentive to vote.

  Perhaps proportional voting enhances citizens’ autonomy, by giving them greater control over those issues in which they have greater stakes

Aiming to have voting more locally also increases the proportion of an individuals vote because the population size is smaller.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_in_the_Game_(book)

The Ethics and Rationality of Voting

frankish — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 17:02:33 +0000

Article URL: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/voting/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43301626

Points: 2

# Comments: 1

New comment by frankish in "DOGE's only public ledger is riddled with mistakes"

frankish — Sun, 23 Feb 2025 19:27:08 +0000

Exactly this IMO. Federal government is way too big. I would be more sympathetic if we moved most of these concerns to a more local level of government. Trying to have a one-size-fits-all approach for the whole country is what causes so much polarization. Let the ideas be run as experiments more locally, so that people can more easily vote with their feet and wallets. I have never actually gotten a chance to vote how my tax dollars are used.

RIP to Government Acronyms

frankish — Sun, 23 Feb 2025 17:53:25 +0000

Article URL: https://reason.com/2025/02/23/rip-to-government-acronyms/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43151383

Points: 4

# Comments: 0

New comment by frankish in "Schools Should Pursue Excellence"

frankish — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 06:07:37 +0000

I don't think your point that root cause is lack of initial resources contradicts the article's view on the benefits of pursuing excellence in education over uniformity. It is plausible that more uniform starting conditions and pursuit of excellence can coexist.

New comment by frankish in "I Tried to Fix Government Tech for Years. I'm Fed Up"

frankish — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 05:00:55 +0000

Isn't one of the key distinctions here that government does not have to be concerned about failing? Businesses can end or change something to survive. Government bureaucracy can keep protecting itself without having to face harsh realities.