<rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><channel><title>Hacker News: isthatafact</title><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=isthatafact</link><description>Hacker News RSS</description><docs>https://hnrss.org/</docs><generator>hnrss v2.1.1</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2026 11:15:20 +0000</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://hnrss.org/user?id=isthatafact" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"></atom:link><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "Waymo says can't avoid bike lanes because riders want to be dropped off in them"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>In many places, bicyclists are not fewer in number, not that the distiction makes the rest of your comment rational.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 26 Apr 2026 22:11:06 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47915231</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47915231</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47915231</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>At least it is a break from the endless stream of anti-LLM posts written by LLM with half the comments being serious replies and the other half fake-politely debating whether it was written by LLM.<p>Plus there is a bonus start-up opportunity to LLM-code an app that enables travelers to earn money while they wait in line at the airport.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 29 Mar 2026 15:05:55 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47563800</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47563800</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47563800</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "The risk of AI isn't making us lazy, but making "lazy" look productive"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Implicit in "this post looks like AI"—at least the vast majority of the time—is that it is a wordy ramble with no real value because it says nothing novel or substantive—so I would not call it an hominem attack, but rather an honest criticism of the actual (lack of) content.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 28 Mar 2026 19:42:26 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47557604</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47557604</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47557604</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "Passengers who refuse to use headphones can now be kicked off United flights"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>> "But parks aren’t some natural creation, they’re entirely manmade."<p>? That does not at all match my experience with parks.<p>But besides that, I am not sure how it would support your argument.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 21 Mar 2026 19:43:30 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47470540</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47470540</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47470540</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "US- and Greek-owned tankers ablaze after Iran claims 'underwater drone' strike"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I agree.  Stability of a system is not so much about whether there is some mechanism or force that wants to push it away from equilibrium (because there probably is some such perturber outside of a perfectly controlled environment), but stability is more about whether there exists a stabilizing mechanism to bring the system back toward equilibrium after it starts to deviate.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2026 20:41:42 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47356780</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47356780</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47356780</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "Long Range E-Bike (2021)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>It is difficult to know whether going faster is overall safer.  
In my experience, some fraction of cars will pass a bicycle under any conditions, no matter what speed that bicycle is going (even if keeping up with traffic above the speed limit), no matter how dangerous it might be, no matter if the bicycle has "taken the lane" leaving no room to pass safely -- for some car drivers, it is about getting ahead of the bicycle.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2026 11:30:58 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47216602</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47216602</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47216602</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "Trump's global tariffs struck down by US Supreme Court"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>For me, when someone promises to "drain the swamp", they reveal their ignorance and selfishness with their shallow anti-swamp ideology.<p>Swamps are rich ecosystems with incredible natural beauty and diversity.  Draining a swamp is extraordinarily bad in general, even if good for wealthy property developers.<p>Ironically, it seems that "drain the swamp" turns out to be an apt metaphor for what Trump and that gang have been doing, as promised.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 20 Feb 2026 22:33:00 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47094923</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47094923</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47094923</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "Dutch Lawmakers Approve a 36% Tax on Unrealized Crypto, Stock, and Bond Gains"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>My guess is that the very rich can instead figure out a way to avoid it mostly, but I like the idea of taxing ridiculously high wealth, even if it is difficult.<p>However, a tax an unrealized gains would seem to greatly reduce or maybe kill the chance for the poor or middle class to use investments to save enough to retire early.  That seems very unfair.  I do not understand why such a tax should apply to anyone not well into the upper middle class range of wealth.<p>And trying to make clever calculated bets on individual stocks now has risk of having to sell everything and still not having enough to pay the taxes, if they were assessed during a temporary spike in price.  Even holding an index fund during a market crash could mean ending up with nothing because of the tax on fictional gains.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 14 Feb 2026 20:21:38 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47018006</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47018006</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47018006</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "U.S. jobs disappear at fastest January pace since great recession"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>That seems like sarcasm because it is an overused excuse that republicans give for the bad usa economies under republican presidents.<p>I never once heard a reasonable explanation why policies only start to have an effect at the end of a year that is divisible by 4 or 8.  It makes no sense if you think it through.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 08 Feb 2026 01:20:45 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46930356</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46930356</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46930356</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "YouTube blocks background video playback on Brave and other browsers"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Without regulations, ads seem to infiltrate into every space--virtual or physical--that is not controlled by the owner or some other gatekeeper.<p>I would hope most people anywhere would see that as a bad thing, especially given the scams and harms that ads are pushing.<p>I am not sure the best way to improve things, but anyone should be able to live a normal day of life without being forced to see any advertisement.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 31 Jan 2026 15:48:35 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46837659</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46837659</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46837659</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "High school student discovers 1.5M potential new astronomical objects"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>That is an extremely cynical view, and it does not fit with reality.
There is no mechanism where little Timmy gets a free ticket to be a university professor in science.<p>People who manage to make a career in science usually follow a specific educational path that includes a phd and postdoctoral research.  No one would claim it is completely fair because there are many things that can block or hide that path (family situation; life events; lack of encouragement from teachers; being born in the wrong country; etc.).  However, the system does not otherwise care about your background in any meaningful way.<p>You should consider the dark implications that you may be pushing misinformation that could discourage people who are gifted or intellectually curious and motivated from trying to improve the world by doing science.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 27 Dec 2025 22:14:55 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46405860</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46405860</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46405860</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "High school student discovers 1.5M potential new astronomical objects"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>"worthy position" could only mean a relatively senior position, so the scientist would have already demonstrated success via publications, and having friends would of course be expected and required in a collaborative line of work.  But hiring at that level would be done by a committee, not simply by a personal friend.  If that is "nepo", then the term is meaningless.<p>But that really has nothing to do with the original gripe about "day zero", which would generally mean getting into a masters or phd program, or perhaps an undergrad research project, where grades and standardized test scores get someone in the door -- social skills sufficient to hold a brief conversation about a science topic would be a nice bonus, but not really necessary.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 27 Dec 2025 12:11:58 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46401294</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46401294</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46401294</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "High school student discovers 1.5M potential new astronomical objects"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I am no expert, and I am not sure what is meant by "nepo", but that seems like a 
wild mischaracterization or exaggeration.<p>Is there evidence?<p>It seems obvious that parents can increase or decrease the odds of someone starting a career in an "elite" field requiring advanced education like "Science", but I interpret your comment as suggesting that most scientists got their job by means of daddy donating to a university or some other silly fantasy.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 26 Dec 2025 22:02:39 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46396793</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46396793</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46396793</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "Nvidia-backed Starcloud trains first AI model in space, orbital data centers"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Some investments seem to be specifically crafted to attract people who do not understand X, where X is physics, or economics, biology, math, etc.  And then giving in to greed and gambling is more fun than consulting an expert.<p>I wonder how many of these apparent start-up scams turned out to have genuine value.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2025 22:25:21 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46281656</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46281656</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46281656</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "Schizophrenia sufferer mistakes smart fridge ad for psychotic episode"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I am not able to travel to work or anywhere else without seeing ads, which manipulate my thoughts in unpleasant and often offensive ways.  If samsung and similar companies achieve their goal, screens with ads will become more numerous and impossible to avoid, even at home.<p>These and other types of "unskippable ads" violate my personal freedoms and should rejected by society.<p>netflix and youtube are cute examples of paying to get fewer ads, but you do not get very far without finding product placements or other types of ads in their videos.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 07 Dec 2025 18:35:07 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46183889</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46183889</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46183889</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "Schizophrenia sufferer mistakes smart fridge ad for psychotic episode"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Freedom from ads seems like a fundamental human right, and necessary for freedom of thought.  "Unskippable" ads seem incompatible with freedom of thought.<p>> "Users should have choice & control."<p>Given that people currently are not able to choose to be free from advertisements in any practical way, even if abstaining from luxuries, some sort of severe regulation seems necessary.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 06 Dec 2025 23:27:04 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46177575</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46177575</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46177575</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "DoorDash and Waymo launch autonomous delivery service in Phoenix"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>You could make the vehicle very aerodynamic since it only needs to carry a burrito or a pizza, and drag is not that even that big of an issue in cities because speeds are so low that you are essentially limited to bicycle speeds anyway.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 18 Oct 2025 19:16:49 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45629704</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45629704</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45629704</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "Traffic lights with four colors and a new white light are coming"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>> "What about non-vehicle traffic, like bikes and pedestrians?"<p>It seems like the world is missing an obvious application for "AI".  Every traffic light should notice a walker or biker, and signal them through their intersection without any manual steps.  It would require that cars have lower priority than people, but this is already the case in many places, even if not implemented in a practical way.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2025 12:02:40 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45579004</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45579004</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45579004</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "AMD CEO sees chips from TSMC's US plant costing 5%-20% more"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>> 20% increase in cost of BoM equals at least ~100% increase for customer.<p>I am no expert in BoM and margins, but that seems like a wild claim to me.  Could you explain your math?</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 25 Jul 2025 15:48:16 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44684539</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44684539</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44684539</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by isthatafact in "AMD CEO sees chips from TSMC's US plant costing 5%-20% more"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I am no expert in Intel, but in my view, Gelsinger lost the faith of many by being unrealistically optimistic.  
Of course a CEO needs to be optimistic, but he promised (in 2021) zettaflop systems by 2027 (the worst example I remember).  Did anyone believe that could happen?<p>His over-optimism gave the whole "5 nodes in 4 years" supposed path to leadership a weird flavor, like it must be somehow a bit of a con even if it gets technically achieved.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 24 Jul 2025 22:03:52 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44676862</link><dc:creator>isthatafact</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44676862</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44676862</guid></item></channel></rss>