Hacker News: pmdulaney

New comment by pmdulaney in "Cutting a photon in two creates an infinite swarm of particles"

pmdulaney — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 03:33:45 +0000

To be clear, I personally did think that electrons had a non-zero mass, so my bad.

New comment by pmdulaney in "What Efforts to Cancel Richard Stallman Ought to Teach Us About the Media"

pmdulaney — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 19:55:24 +0000

Cancellation is about a self-appointed minority taking malicious action against someone for an action or opinion for which the law itself does not specify a penalty. No one should be cancelled. And no one should be downvoted (or worse) on HN.

New comment by pmdulaney in "Cutting a photon in two creates an infinite swarm of particles"

pmdulaney — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 19:49:04 +0000

So the mass of the universe would suddenly become infinite?

New comment by pmdulaney in "Chinese firm developing AI to predict dissent, leaked documents show"

pmdulaney — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 01:52:27 +0000

The Pre-Crime Division

New comment by pmdulaney in "Clanker: A Word for the Machine"

pmdulaney — Tue, 26 May 2026 15:25:23 +0000

I like your explanation of why "agent" is entirely the wrong term to use. But "clanker"? It has such an ugly sound to it. What's wrong with plain old bot?

New comment by pmdulaney in "Understanding Systems"

pmdulaney — Tue, 26 May 2026 15:12:26 +0000

"That’s the main thing good tutors do differently. If motivation decreases, they switch to lighter content, or even transition into non-lesson conversation. If motivation increases, they ramp up the difficulty of the lesson."

I would say that's reasonable (but not optimal) if we're talking about an adult client who is footing the bill himself or herself. But in the case of, say, high school students, parents don't like that kind of laissez-faire ambiance.

New comment by pmdulaney in "China battery stores electricity and hydrogen"

pmdulaney — Tue, 26 May 2026 02:12:09 +0000

Prefer "Chinese".

New comment by pmdulaney in "[dead]"

pmdulaney — Thu, 21 May 2026 02:42:11 +0000

I'm gonna go out on a limb and predict that this attempt will be unsuccessful.

New comment by pmdulaney in "Discovering Dennis Ritchie's Lost Dissertation (2020)"

pmdulaney — Tue, 19 May 2026 14:59:57 +0000

Yes, I think it is, now that you mention it. But maybe "non-decidable" could be dropped into a casual conversation more easily?

But if I say that I think an issue is non-decidable, my interlocutor is likely to think that I simply can't make up my mind!

New comment by pmdulaney in "Discovering Dennis Ritchie's Lost Dissertation (2020)"

pmdulaney — Tue, 19 May 2026 13:44:17 +0000

The author (David C. Brock) uses and defines the word "decidable". There exist, it has been proven, mathematical statements whose truth or falsity cannot be determined. That is, they are non-decidable.

What a useful notion to bear in mind, beyond the scope of mathematics! I think the next time I find myself in a dispute over a fine point of politics I shall say: "Perhaps we can agree that the matter is non-decidable".

New comment by pmdulaney in "Ask HN: Why my [Show HN] for an open source Mac audio tool was flagged?"

pmdulaney — Mon, 18 May 2026 01:29:17 +0000

I'm not talking about a legal entitlement, hence ethos, not right. You know, just common courtesy -- the kind that resists the temptation to throw around accusations of "persecution complex". But perhaps the concept is foreign to your kind if thinking.

New comment by pmdulaney in "Ask HN: Why my [Show HN] for an open source Mac audio tool was flagged?"

pmdulaney — Sun, 17 May 2026 20:09:33 +0000

I think you're right, not essentially because YC is a privately-funded service, but because their sense is that the majority of their users enjoy expressing their disapproval of those with whom they disagree.

New comment by pmdulaney in "Ask HN: Why my [Show HN] for an open source Mac audio tool was flagged?"

pmdulaney — Sun, 17 May 2026 19:25:33 +0000

In substance I agree with you. But at the same time I think HN would be better off without downvoting at all. An ethos of free speech is entirely lacking.

New comment by pmdulaney in "The Case Against Quantum Computing"

pmdulaney — Sun, 17 May 2026 19:21:17 +0000

The author appears to be making the case against quantum computing not because it is a societal evil -- as, for example, one might make a case against AI -- but in the sense that (he thinks) it can't actually be achieved.

New comment by pmdulaney in "Why Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Is a Masterpiece"

pmdulaney — Sun, 17 May 2026 19:13:04 +0000

Thanks for the reminder.

New comment by pmdulaney in "Atlassian defends firing engineer for suggesting CEO is 'rich jerk'"

pmdulaney — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:54:59 +0000

I do think a sincere apology and a promise to behave himself or herself in the future should be acceptable.

New comment by pmdulaney in "I Found It: The Best Free Restaurant Bread in America"

pmdulaney — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:19:38 +0000

Costco's version is pretty dang good!

New comment by pmdulaney in "New metal with triple copper's heat conduction challenges fundamental physics"

pmdulaney — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 13:25:49 +0000

Unfortunately, tantalum costs about as much as silver.

New comment by pmdulaney in "Italy blocks US use of Sicily air base for Middle East war"

pmdulaney — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 16:25:38 +0000

What is a logistical flight?

New comment by pmdulaney in "Get Good at Math with Me"

pmdulaney — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:51:58 +0000

I used the first edition of Marsden & Tromba at UCLA in 1976. The computer-generated plots were mind-blowing back then. The cover had a bluish image of clouds streaming over the Sierra Nevadas as viewed (I think) from US 395.