Hacker News: haZard_OS

Cheating workers out of wages

haZard_OS — Wed, 23 May 2018 03:23:42 +0000

Article URL: https://theconversation.com/cheating-workers-out-of-wages-is-easier-than-ever-96758

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17131277

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

New comment by haZard_OS in "Open Source Calculator Teaches Us about Quality Documentation"

haZard_OS — Sat, 19 May 2018 14:42:27 +0000

I hate to be a naysayer here (because I actually like the idea of this calculator) but I use R for virtually every mathematical and statistical problem I encounter. It's always open on my computer while I'm working and I'm comfortable enough with the program that most of the syntax requires little thought on my part.

If I'm in the field and need to perform some calculations, I either use my phone (for simple calculations) or my $17 Casio statistics calculator.

As a risk assessor and environmental scientist, I have NEVER needed anything more than these.

New comment by haZard_OS in "Too Clever by Half"

haZard_OS — Thu, 17 May 2018 12:10:07 +0000

On a number of occasions I have had prospective employers ask what my final grade was for specific classes. I have never been asked about my GPA specifically, but my grades at the University certainly affected me beyond academia.

New comment by haZard_OS in "US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data"

haZard_OS — Thu, 17 May 2018 03:37:49 +0000

>People do the calculus to decide if risk is greater than reward all the time.

Technically you're right but what you seem to be missing is that people (in general) suck at risk assessment. Although they are doing "the calculus", most of their calculations are based on heuristics that just don't reflect a rational analysis.

That is why so many people fear plane travel more than car travel, immigrants more than cigarettes, and pharmaceuticals more than "raw water".

New comment by haZard_OS in "Statistics, Fast and Slow"

haZard_OS — Thu, 17 May 2018 00:54:50 +0000

As a statistician, that has not been my experience.

New comment by haZard_OS in "Changing emotions with a word: The subtleties of semiotics"

haZard_OS — Tue, 15 May 2018 14:25:11 +0000

I agree with your point but I suspect the problem with statements like the one you identified is that they claim too much.

In other words, if I say "The American people want X", there are surely some Americans who don't want X and I just alienated them. If, however, I say "many Americans want X", I'm making a weaker claim that is easier to defend.

In general, I prefer that people err on the side of making a weaker claim. It's less frustrating to communicate with people willing to do so (for me, at least).

The one downside of criticizing "weasel words" is that more people start making overly broad claims that you and I do not care for.

New comment by haZard_OS in "Spinoza’s philosophy of freedom"

haZard_OS — Tue, 15 May 2018 14:05:49 +0000

I urge you to read Spinoza for yourself if you are under the impression that his philosophy is like Ayn Rand's. I assure you, they are worlds apart.

New comment by haZard_OS in "US cell carriers are selling access to real-time phone location data"

haZard_OS — Mon, 14 May 2018 22:05:36 +0000

I never turn location services on and I run on mobile data (rather than WiFi) almost every moment of the day.

My location was correctly determined within the specified range. sigh Ridiculous.

It’s Time for a New Discussion of Marijuana’s Risks

haZard_OS — Mon, 14 May 2018 21:44:31 +0000

Article URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/upshot/its-time-for-a-new-discussion-of-marijuanas-risks.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17069710

Points: 36

# Comments: 22

New comment by haZard_OS in "The Sound of Madness"

haZard_OS — Sun, 13 May 2018 15:57:27 +0000

>I have a pet theory that more visual thinking is something that has come in from our Neanderthal ancestors.

That is an interesting proposal. One thing I like about it is its easy testibility. Given how easy it is to find people without Neanderthal DNA, the effort needed to conduct a study on this question would be minimal.

New comment by haZard_OS in "All Work and No Play: Why Kids Are More Anxious, Depressed (2011)"

haZard_OS — Fri, 11 May 2018 17:04:05 +0000

More accidents happen at home for the same reason more car accidents happen close to home...that's where the people are often spending time.

New comment by haZard_OS in "Is capitalism a threat to democracy?"

haZard_OS — Fri, 11 May 2018 15:45:24 +0000

Would you say that you haven't seen any proof that there are "inevitable" effects of (attempts at) communism?

New comment by haZard_OS in "[dead]"

haZard_OS — Fri, 11 May 2018 15:30:04 +0000

An issue generated by the prospect of teachers carrying firearms is the problem of weapon retention.

Anyone trained with weaponry should understand that, when you are carrying, part of your attention must be on the weapon at all times. The way you stand, sit, walk, and interact with others must take into account good weapon retention practices.

Carrying a firearm is a bad idea for teachers because a teacher's focus should be on pedagogy, not on positioning oneself so that a student doesn't have easy access to your firearm.

Drones used to disrupt FBI hostage situation

haZard_OS — Fri, 11 May 2018 15:13:17 +0000

Article URL: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-44003860

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17047862

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by haZard_OS in "Don’t buy System76 hardware and expect to get firmware updates from the LVFS"

haZard_OS — Thu, 10 May 2018 13:35:54 +0000

I have two laptops for work, one of which is a System76 and both are currently running POP! OS (made by System76). I have had a few hiccups with the OS but nothing major.

I would say that I am very satisfied with S76. The 2 times I have had to contact them during the last 16 months or so have been good experiences, as well.

New comment by haZard_OS in "Varieties of Argumentative Experience"

haZard_OS — Thu, 10 May 2018 13:20:51 +0000

Douglas Walton has been my go-to on these topics for years. For those interested in a more professional presentation of some of the concepts used in this blog post, try this:

http://www.dougwalton.ca/papers.htm

New comment by haZard_OS in "Seaweed in Cow Feed Reduces Methane Emissions Almost Entirely"

haZard_OS — Thu, 10 May 2018 12:56:59 +0000

For the record, our ability to link individual weather events to climate change is not zero. In the last 3 years or so we have become pretty good at it.

https://www.nap.edu/catalog/21852/attribution-of-extreme-wea...

New comment by haZard_OS in "The Very First Animal Appeared Amid an Explosion of DNA"

haZard_OS — Wed, 09 May 2018 01:55:07 +0000

Correction: There is no NECESSARY evolutionary pressure for the triplets to be the same.

New comment by haZard_OS in "A Design Lab Is Making Rituals for Secular People"

haZard_OS — Tue, 08 May 2018 04:34:11 +0000

Even Zeno knew the arrow would arrive at the other end of the room. The real question was what was creating the (apparent) paradox.

A little philosophy will get you in trouble. Just like martial arts or programming.

New comment by haZard_OS in "Tech watchdogs call on Facebook, Google for transparency around censored content"

haZard_OS — Tue, 08 May 2018 03:52:45 +0000

>The slippery slope fallacy isn't really a fallacy.

I'm going to be just a little pedantic here and point out that the Slippery Slope fallacy is indeed always a fallacy, it's just that not every argument based on a so-called slippery slope is a fallacy.

The fallacy is in the failure to demonstrate that the "first step" leads inexorably to the "final step" which is, of course, portrayed as a step people generally wish to avoid.

If one can demonstrate a plausible line of reasoning connecting the first step to the last step, no Slippery Slope fallacy has been committed.