Hacker News: vixen99

New comment by vixen99 in "Earth is now heating up twice as fast as in previous decades"

vixen99 — Thu, 21 May 2026 13:18:50 +0000

Hyperbole does not help. Many countries are retreating from renewable promises. Make an argument for them and for instance, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam who are all turning their backs on renewables and increasing fossil fuel use. The Philippines are already using 60% coal and are making easier to increase production.

Indonesian Energy Minister: "I decided, let coal continue for now. This is about survival mode and efficiency. We must not sacrifice our people with high electricity prices.”. Fair to say that, given some of the highest electricity prices in the world, a popular wish in the UK is for Miliband to do likewise.

Show a route to renewables plus survival and there will be progress.

https://climatecosmos.com/blog/10-countries-dropping-their-n...

New comment by vixen99 in "Elon Musk has lost his lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI"

vixen99 — Tue, 19 May 2026 05:52:16 +0000

As a straight answer (for 'one') I'm sure we could think a dozen projects that would ameliorate suffering for countless people before breakfast without trying. However I appreciate that's not your point.

New comment by vixen99 in "It is time to give up the dualism introduced by the debate on consciousness"

vixen99 — Mon, 18 May 2026 12:47:12 +0000

I always like to remind myself that AI is trained on material fed to it, created and written (somewhere along the line) entirely by humans - as they perceive & interpret the universe around them.

New comment by vixen99 in "It is time to give up the dualism introduced by the debate on consciousness"

vixen99 — Mon, 18 May 2026 11:59:11 +0000

If I knew precisely which definition of consciousness you are testing against your own experience I would understand your point and I would like to. Can you say what it is that you are sure you are not?

New comment by vixen99 in "Illusions of understanding in the sciences"

vixen99 — Sun, 17 May 2026 10:50:27 +0000

I'm very familiar with most of Popper's books (I got to meet him as a student once) and I have no idea what you mean. Please elucidate.

New comment by vixen99 in "Classification of amino acids"

vixen99 — Mon, 11 May 2026 18:16:40 +0000

Weird submission!

IPCC's RCP8.5 Is Officially Dead: Climate Science's Biggest Shift in Decades

vixen99 — Sun, 10 May 2026 16:30:36 +0000

Article URL: https://climatechangedispatch.com/rcp85-dead-ipcc-climate-scenarios/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48085315

Points: 7

# Comments: 1

New comment by vixen99 in "EU Parliamentary Research Service calls VPNs "a loophole that needs closing""

vixen99 — Sun, 10 May 2026 07:45:59 +0000

Worth remembering that eugenics was the smart idea among many intellectuals in the earlier 20th century. The fascinating list of eminent adherents include J. Maynard Keynes, Winston Churchill, T. Roosevelt, Francis Crick, Linus Pauling, Herbert Hoover, J.H. Kellogg (of corn flake fame), Oliver Wendell Holmes, GB Shaw, Sidney Webb (early socialist, co-founder of the LSE & the Labour Party) and William Beveridge who created the British National Health System (NHS). Apparently Hitler wrote "There is today one state in which at least weak beginnings toward a better conception are noticeable. Of course, it is not our model German Republic, but the United States.". (Mein Kempf).

New comment by vixen99 in "David Attenborough's 100th Birthday"

vixen99 — Sat, 09 May 2026 08:22:39 +0000

Example: Today's Guardian "In case of any doubt about Norway’s commitment to maintain – and expand – its production of gas and oil offshore, the energy minister, Terje Aasland, has a pithy response: “We will develop, not dismantle, activity on our continental shelf.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/09/norway-oil-and...

New comment by vixen99 in "David Attenborough's 100th Birthday"

vixen99 — Sat, 09 May 2026 05:45:46 +0000

'Cutting emissions'. Trouble is that if folk are convinced this is so negative they'd do something about it - and they do not. Conclusion?

The renewables revolution has been accompanied by a steady increase in emissions. For emissions read carbon dioxide (no argument from anyone about toxic gases) which is a carbon source for plant growth and as we know, is pumped into greenhouses to increase production. Satellite pictures confirm greening of the Earth in many areas.

This does not have to be a counter argument but the emission story would be more convincing to a lot of people if other factors like this (and the difficult question of just how do you decrease energy use without impoverishing people?) were discussed in the public forum in a balanced way as with dissenting views from those distinguished scientists evidently holed up on luxury yachts financed by the oil industry. 'I think you are wrong because ...' or 'you have a point in that respect but ... '. In a nutshell let's get the discussion onto what used to be called 'an adult level'.

New comment by vixen99 in "David Attenborough's 100th Birthday"

vixen99 — Sat, 09 May 2026 05:20:45 +0000

Aa in the the old English folk song "The lass of Richmond Hill".

New comment by vixen99 in "Egg Intake and the Incidence of Alzheimer's Disease in Adventist Health Study-2"

vixen99 — Wed, 06 May 2026 19:04:41 +0000

It's claimed that around 90% of Americans are choline deficient. Eggs are one the best nutritional sources for choline. There are several papers linking low choline levels with Altzheimer disease so it would not be surprising to find a link between egg consumption and Altzheimer incidence. Sponsored studies should indeed be treated with much caution but is anyone suggesting such authors invent positive results or ignore highly inconvenient results? Such behavior would be reprehensible and not something with which a researcher would wish to be associated.

New comment by vixen99 in "The Thinking Plant's Man (2025)"

vixen99 — Wed, 06 May 2026 15:34:53 +0000

Racist? No! Perhaps other definitions will differ but here are two at random: 'A person who believes a particular race is superior to others OR a person with A prejudiced belief that one race is superior to others'. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=racist+definition&atb=v475-1&ia=we... (Wiktionary) and 'Having, reflecting, or fostering the belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race' (Merriam Webster) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racist. I read nothing of that in the statement by the Indian, Bose, to suggest that. It just a different mindset. I do agree with you regarding the hold that orthodoxy has on a number of areas of research. We should periodically check that it doesn’t neglect significant evidence pointing in another direction.

In a ResearchGate pdf, we read 'In India, where spirituality and mysticism are deeply ingrained in cultural practices, investigating parapsychological phenomena can provide significant insights into human consciousness.' Nothing racist, just one of the fascinating welcome differences of focus on the part of who happen to live in a different general cultural milieu from the West. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/399124147_Mysticism...

New comment by vixen99 in "When Dawkins met Claude – Could this AI be conscious?"

vixen99 — Sun, 03 May 2026 05:48:35 +0000

I do appreciate how AI has been taught to spell properly as in the difference between its and it's. Here, initially I thought you'd left out the apostrophe in its, but then I realized you might be saying 'the reason it is not conscious is because of -its- software - the latter not being conscious. Context and interpretation are rather critical. (I know - a truism!)

New comment by vixen99 in "When Dawkins met Claude – Could this AI be conscious?"

vixen99 — Sun, 03 May 2026 05:25:56 +0000

Good - I was scanning down to see if anyone was going to say this.

New comment by vixen99 in "When Dawkins met Claude – Could this AI be conscious?"

vixen99 — Sun, 03 May 2026 05:22:30 +0000

In other words, you don't think it's nice at all.

New comment by vixen99 in "New research suggests people can communicate and practice skills while dreaming"

vixen99 — Sat, 02 May 2026 11:31:29 +0000

My thought too. The title appears to assume there's nothing special about the 'communicating' but there is about the 'practicing'. Should it not be 'New research suggests people can practice skills and even communicate while dreaming'. I would like to know more.

New comment by vixen99 in "U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official"

vixen99 — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:26:13 +0000

Those with shares in certain companies have got very rich out of it.

New comment by vixen99 in "U.S. war in Iran has cost $25B so far, says Pentagon official"

vixen99 — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:12:44 +0000

Me too. I'm surprised those in the Green Movements generally, haven't been celebrating. Not a whisper. Makes one wonder.

New comment by vixen99 in "Why has there been so little progress on Alzheimer's disease?"

vixen99 — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 06:39:15 +0000

I think you're right. Anyone brave enough to suggest areas of investigation where there is evidence this has happened?