Hacker News: tsoukase

New comment by tsoukase in "Oceans hit highest temperature on record"

tsoukase — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 12:14:29 +0000

I think it's time to rename it to El Hombre.

New comment by tsoukase in "Oceans hit highest temperature on record"

tsoukase — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 12:06:37 +0000

I am also in a convenient place expecting more heat (mountainous region with cold nights/winters, enough water). I admit I enjoy the warmer months and wait for people come visit me for Coolidays.

New comment by tsoukase in "Explain it to me like I'm ten"

tsoukase — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 22:46:29 +0000

The whole ELIx implies that an advanced narrator has to simplify things for another adult. Why not just call it a simplified ELI-at-my-age?

New comment by tsoukase in "Why aren't smart people happier? (2022)"

tsoukase — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 22:10:56 +0000

Simple, many-times-repeated fact: smartness -> high expectations but low yield -> disappointment. The imbalance between expected and returned may or not be the person's responsibility.

Every smart person should invest time to learn the dexterities to manage their talent.

New comment by tsoukase in "I should have loved biology (2020)"

tsoukase — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 15:47:36 +0000

The cell is a factory. You can have deep dive with the book Molecular Biology of the Cell, although it's used in university. It's the SICP of biology. The latter was published in 1985 the former in 1983. I read it in 1995 and it's amazing how much was known then. I haven't followed a cellular/genetic path to experience the evolution.

New comment by tsoukase in "Why the Ocean Cleanup hasn't solved the plastic pollution crisis"

tsoukase — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 15:32:13 +0000

Yes, but removing plastic from a huge concentrate in the middle of the pacific sounds much nicer in the media than removing trash from distant beaches that noone visits. And environent protection depends a lot on how it is presented to the public.

New comment by tsoukase in "OpenRouter is joining Stripe"

tsoukase — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 07:00:54 +0000

I used to demand the same but a word can have multiple meanings depending on the context, eg OpenMind means something specific. Open{$IT-term} does not necessarily mean Open Source {$IT-term} and OpenAI might mean an AI available to all people, not implying anything about cost. What could be illegal is the word Free, which a for-profit company would never use in the first place.

New comment by tsoukase in "A controversial Alzheimer's surgery is said to reverse symptoms"

tsoukase — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 20:42:04 +0000

Chinese authorities already debunked the theory and banned the procedure.

There was the Italian Dr. Paolo Zamboni that in 2008 promised a multiple sclerosis treatment with a surgery on the neck based on falsified data. European Neurological society uncovered the scandal.

It seems the neck attracts charlatans.

New comment by tsoukase in "Super El Niño Keeps Growing as New Forecasts Reach Record Territory Ahead Winter"

tsoukase — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 22:56:09 +0000

I am also up in the mountains. I confirm it's the warmest summer for four consecutive times. Something happened in 2023. We may call it a tipping point. Although I enjoy milder winters (goodbye skiing), the summers are not mild anymore.

New comment by tsoukase in "Abdominal fat predicts heart disease risk better than BMI"

tsoukase — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 16:57:30 +0000

This is known since decades. Male type fat, central obesity or belly fat, is much worse than female type, pear-like. Hormones play a role under the hood. I don't know if liposuction would play any preventive role.

New comment by tsoukase in "Semaglutide linked to lower predicted dementia risk"

tsoukase — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 16:50:50 +0000

Let's not be absolute. There are some people craving for food (esp. endomorphs), some binge eaters (eg under depression) or low metabolizers (hypothyroid) but for many it's easy to cut calories.

New comment by tsoukase in "Semaglutide linked to lower predicted dementia risk"

tsoukase — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:20:20 +0000

Diabates can harm the brain either indirectly, through vascular damage, or directly through nerve cell degeneration. The latter is a less studied mechanism and can explain the benefit from GLPs. But I agree, it's not different than a low calorie diet. In the modern times of abundance and sedentary lifestyle, fasting makes wonders. So, if you have even one vascular risk factor, just cut your calories in half, just stop eating. Your body will thank you.

New comment by tsoukase in "AI has access to a vastly larger working memory than the human brain"

tsoukase — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 11:16:52 +0000

Working memory is literally the L1 cache of the brain, which holds a mere 3-7 objects. The article seems to conflate w-m with regular memory, which is what a human knows at a specific time.

Computers, especially now with LLMs, have everything vastly larger than human like speed and complexity. What LLMs lack is more qualitative traits, like creativity, abstraction and intuition.

New comment by tsoukase in "The Indo-European Family Tree"

tsoukase — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:38:10 +0000

Same in Fennek. Did they not check their presentation in mobile?

New comment by tsoukase in "Principia Mathematica is modern and insightful"

tsoukase — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:22:55 +0000

The foundations of math can equally by ZFC as well as in my basement. From any initial concept you can bootstrap mathematics.

New comment by tsoukase in "Illinois just passed a law that puts Linux on the hook for age verification"

tsoukase — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:36:38 +0000

I could accept the solution that the superuser decides about the age bracket of each regular user, that can be changed anytime.

sudo chage -u mybob --bracket teen

Users cannot change the setting, it can be presented to apps and let parents simply and safely enforce will.

The root is the ultimate leader of the system, let him do his thing.

New comment by tsoukase in "US hires over 2k video gamers as air traffic controllers"

tsoukase — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:23:44 +0000

It would be more interesting if they control for the games played. Eg Air traffic controllers that play Flight Sim, truck drivers that play GTA5 or teachers with Call of duty.

New comment by tsoukase in "I made tinnitus my friend, then it disappeared [video]"

tsoukase — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 14:26:38 +0000

The more weight the better. There is an expression: break your comfort zone. But more important is an (almost) perfect exercise technique. Then resistance training makes unexpected wonders in all ages.

New comment by tsoukase in "Show HN: Scroll through all 43252003274489856000 Rubik's Cube states"

tsoukase — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 14:02:45 +0000

My kid wanted to jump 3x3x3 and go directly to a 4 cube. I freaked out when we messed it and thought we could never solve it, because you can't disassemble a 4 cube into pieces like a 3 one. In the end it's not so difficult: like a 3 as you move around the two middle pieces of each edge together like one.

New comment by tsoukase in "Taxi drivers rarely die of Alzheimer's"

tsoukase — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:53:28 +0000

A primitive risk factor of Dementia is the lower cognitive effect lately due to any modern cause: drugs, mobile phones/LLMs, stress of war or climate crisis, job burn out. Even the reverse Flynn effect measured at early adulthood predisposes to earlier dementia diagnosis.