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Is a voice assistant the killer app for anyone? I haven't ever used them, and I've only ever seen someone use it as an ironic 'look at me' at a party.
Why mandatory? Why not let people do as they want?
Re:Ask HN: Which books do you wish you'd read earlier in life? on Saturday February 03, 2018 @12:54AM (#16296404)
Godel, Escher, Bach. I hated math for most of high-school, but I read this book between semesters and it changed my career choice.
Re:The curious star appeal of Jordan Peterson on Sunday January 21, 2018 @02:56AM (#16197258)
So we should all reject tolerance wholesale if we think at any point in the future website could be in the out group? The point is to jostling and get along with and not murder peole who's ideas we despise at our very core.

Tolerance is radical "choosing to get along" or why bother?

How is this different than shutting down your phone at the border crossing?
Re:The Trouble with Mindfulness Apps (2016) on Monday January 15, 2018 @12:38PM (#16151991)
I tend to lose track of time when I meditate, so I found an app that silences my phone and then alarms audibly every fifteen minutes. I guess that is my version of a mindfulness app.
Re:Facebook News Feed change hides news, hurts nation on Sunday January 14, 2018 @05:52PM (#16147002)
I would love to see an RSS reader that was smart enough to follow links and make a 'source graph' so it the NYT and Slashdot write articles about the same source they both appear in the same 'thread' about that source. To me that would be the killer app for RSS.
Re:Facebook News Feed change hides news, hurts nation on Sunday January 14, 2018 @05:50PM (#16146992)
That's how I feel about social sites, unlike RSS I have no control about items, they just disappear in a sea of tweets. To me it sounds like you subscribe to a lot of spammy feeds.
Re:Facebook News Feed change hides news, hurts nation on Sunday January 14, 2018 @05:48PM (#16146982)
I do fine without an algorithm, everything appears at the rate it is published in chronological order, if I dislike a feed or discover I rarely read it I remove it.
The future is finally looking up from my perspective, hopefully this leads to an asetic culture.
Services that rely on post-industrial infrastructure don't work without post-industrial infrastructure.
I am probably what you would consider an extreme conservative, but I wanted to thank you for sharing your perspective. What do you mean by:

> The US is philosophically much more egotistical than other developed countries.

It isn't a criticism that I had heard before.

Re:Spamnesty – A Bot to waste spammers' time on Saturday December 30, 2017 @01:45PM (#16036683)
I have been using this site for about a month on every piece of spam that tells me to write back. But, I have not gotten any responses. How are they even making money if they don't respond to clearly interested potential customers?
Re:The estate tax is a bad tax say economists (2001) on Thursday December 28, 2017 @01:24PM (#16023781)
If the justification for a tax is social engineering and not revenue for a budget or project it is probably not a just tax. This tax happens to align with commonly held values, but that alone does not justify the tax.
Re:The estate tax is a bad tax say economists (2001) on Thursday December 28, 2017 @01:21PM (#16023760)
What about use taxes? Given it is a voluntary exchange, the government has the right to it, right?
Re:Bitcoin Is Evil (2013) on Wednesday December 27, 2017 @10:41PM (#16020153)
I think you could equally say it allows bypassing oppressive taxes and allows citizens to bypass draconian snooping, it is all a matter of perspective.
Re:Firefox 57 delays requests to tracking domains on Tuesday December 19, 2017 @10:11PM (#15966712)
I don't have much to add, but I think you have an interesting idea and it is worth exploring further.
Re:An Anarchist Critique of Democracy (2005) on Sunday December 17, 2017 @01:14AM (#15944463)
Under anarchism wouldn't the right just form a block to dehumanize the other? Wouldn't there just be a far-right solidarity group and nothing changes?
The Intercept is doing great work. The media needs to be shamed for their blatant lack of integrity.
Re:Police Homicides in the United States on Saturday December 09, 2017 @12:16PM (#15886758)
If the government cannot be counted on to use their monopoly of force why wouldn't everyone resort to vigilantism?
Re:Ask HN: How do you get better at coding? on Monday December 04, 2017 @08:12PM (#15849022)
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice.
Re:US Senate passes sweeping tax overhaul bill on Saturday December 02, 2017 @01:45PM (#15833288)
I'm coming from a very opposite perspective. All corporate taxes are silly, just tax the people that make income.
Ok so I get that you disagree but how is it violence?
In my mind this is a feature, not a bug.
Re:Continuing Transparency on Russian Activity on Wednesday November 22, 2017 @06:41PM (#15761678)
I have a suspicion that Russian bots changed very few minds. The kind if person who liked their propaganda was not already a progressive liberal.
Re:A Year of Tech Solidarity on Wednesday November 15, 2017 @08:20PM (#15709576)
I disagree with the premise that inequality is a bad thing, other than practicing a trade my goals are probably not your goals.
Re:A Year of Tech Solidarity on Wednesday November 15, 2017 @08:19PM (#15709569)
Well for one thing, I am an extreme conservative by American standards. I would be more than willing to join a trade advocacy group, but I would never give money to an organization that was going to push for "progressive" causes. The changes I want outside of trade advocacy are more than likely not the ones you would want.
Re:Cards Against Humanity Saves America on Wednesday November 15, 2017 @04:46PM (#15708144)
>He is so afraid that he wants to build a twenty-billion dollar wall that everyone knows will accomplish nothing. So we’ve purchased a plot of vacant land on the border and retained a law firm specializing in eminent domain to make it as time-consuming and expensive as possible for the wall to get built.

So they are protesting the cost by making it costlier, got it.

Re:A Year of Tech Solidarity on Tuesday November 14, 2017 @09:17PM (#15701005)
The tech solidarity is at odds with the progressive causes. I would probably join a solidarity group, but I would not join one that pushed causes other than 'tech worker interests'
A European wrote a story largely about europeans. That's like saying "Journey to the West" is too Asian.

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