Hacker News: kochikame

New comment by kochikame in "AI should elevate your thinking, not replace it"

kochikame — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 23:59:42 +0000

> There are skills we're losing that are probably ok to lose (e.g. spacial memory & reasoning vs GPS, mental arithmetic vs calculators)

I'd argue these are not at all OK to lose. You live in an earthquake zone? You sure better know which way is north and where you have to walk to get back home when all the lines are down after a big one. You need to do a quick mental check if a number is roughly where it should be? YOu should be able to do that in your head.

There might be better examples that support your point more effectively e.g. cursive writing

New comment by kochikame in "Missile defense is NP-complete"

kochikame — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 07:34:47 +0000

No, he or she is saying that even Americans who have moved overseas could be heard to complain about the "fascist" authoritarians in power in the US now. They would sound functionally identical to an Iranian emigrant talking about Iran; only the details would differ

New comment by kochikame in "There's a ridiculous amount of tech in a disposable vape"

kochikame — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 05:55:14 +0000

I think you might be joking but OK, I'll respond like you're serious as this is HN.

You want to make vaping even more addictive than it already is?

New comment by kochikame in "Homeschooling hits record numbers"

kochikame — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 02:49:30 +0000

I get where you're coming from but I think your statement is a bit naive.

Education systems as we know them today are absolutely about indoctrination in so many ways. Capitalism, love of country, views on family units, beauty and aaesthetics, what has cultural value and what does not etc etc. Not to mention many school systems just straight up having classes on religion, allowing armed forces into schools to recruit and the like.

Whether you're worried about left wing or right wing indoctrination, it still holds true. All kids are being indoctrinated every time they go to school same as every time they watch TV.

New comment by kochikame in "Homeschooling hits record numbers"

kochikame — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 02:46:26 +0000

I think the point is that part of having a functioning society (civic life, engagement, tolerance of others) is having people mix together. School is one of the prime places where that happens.

If you allow a lot of people to pull away from that "forced" engagement with others then you start to stress a lot of societal bonds.

New comment by kochikame in "Acrobat is intrusive, slow and non-customizable"

kochikame — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 05:25:06 +0000

I guess you can't just use a photo because it would make it too easy to use someone else's signature

New comment by kochikame in "No science, no startups: The innovation engine we're switching off"

kochikame — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 06:29:06 +0000

There needs to be a balance

New comment by kochikame in "Cure Dolly's Japanese Grammar Lessons"

kochikame — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 01:33:01 +0000

I live in Japna and have a high-intermediate level of Japanese. I wish I had been able to read and think about these well-expressed observations when I was just starting out as it would have saved me from having to intuit things over time.

Like Cure Dolly writes, no one tells you what you really need to know when you're learning Japanese (all languages?)

New comment by kochikame in "'Amateur and dangerous': Historians weigh in on viral AI history videos"

kochikame — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 03:00:19 +0000

A lot of people think this is dangerous and distorting because it's presented in a way that leads people to believe that it is accurate

New comment by kochikame in "Japanese workers turn to resignation agencies"

kochikame — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 05:00:12 +0000

I presume you are referring to sekuhara (sexual harassment), pawahara (power harassment) and the like

New comment by kochikame in "How Japanese black companies oppress workers (2014)"

kochikame — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 04:58:30 +0000

To balance this comment, if you are a full time employee you are super well protected and cannot be fired for any reason other than gross negligence or actively breaking the law.

Managing out a poor performer in Japan is a grinding process that can easily take two years from start to finish

New comment by kochikame in "A deep history of Halloween"

kochikame — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 00:24:33 +0000

Totally agree. Nothing provable at all, and almost all of the links that the author could be illusory. Maybe something in the human psyche compels us celebrate certain things at similar times of the year in response to certain stimuli, in which case it is no surprise that we find somewhat similar festivals happening across multiple cultures. A smoking gun is needed if anyone wants to prove a real connection.

New comment by kochikame in "Why is it so hard to go back to the moon?"

kochikame — Sat, 21 Sep 2024 14:31:15 +0000

You’re suggesting adding competing agencies in the name of efficiency? When this has been tried it always results in duplication of efforts, territorial protection of resources, harmful politics etc.

Bad idea.

New comment by kochikame in "In ‘The Book Against Death,’ Elias Canetti rants against mortality"

kochikame — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 08:20:51 +0000

You could also argue that old people are not hyped by AI and new tech because they have been through so many hype cycles, and seen so much in general, that they know that things come and go, and tech advances, but the really important things in life never change

So not lack of understanding, more that they see through the hype

Pretty cool if you ask me

New comment by kochikame in "Israeli Queues"

kochikame — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 00:14:24 +0000

One of my biggest and earliest cross-cultural learnings was going to a bank in Israel to get some cash out in about 2002. I stood in line dutifully and I waited and waited and I got literally nowhere while people walked in after me and just started conversations with the tellers and people in line and got served

New comment by kochikame in "NASA’s Webb finds carbon source on surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa"

kochikame — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 06:50:55 +0000

Alright Elon, calm down

New comment by kochikame in "Smoking cigarettes doubles the risk of developing depression, bipolar disorder"

kochikame — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 15:51:20 +0000

Smoking cigarettes is first and foremost an anxiety suppression mechanism. It’s no surprise that those given to overly worrying and fretting would smoke.

To use your words, the mentally healthy don’t need it

New comment by kochikame in "A retiring consultant’s advice on consultants"

kochikame — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 02:20:14 +0000

The Big Three hire people midcareer from other companies, including from the tech world

New comment by kochikame in "Life has been found beneath hydrothermal vents for the first time"

kochikame — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 06:51:49 +0000

Sadly no, it doesn't just logically follow that because we find life everyehere on Earth that we must find it somewhere else too.

It is still entirely possible that there is something (or some things) unique about Earth that are exceedingly rare in the Universe as a whole

New comment by kochikame in "Computer built using swarms of soldier crabs (2012)"

kochikame — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 07:19:09 +0000

Or the computer inside the game in the Three Body Problem novel which is composed of people waving flags