Viewing profile — mhardcastle

I found myself accidentally behind the secured area of this solar installation while driving in the Mojave National Preserve. It is truly bizarre to see up close - the glow that yo…

“However, it is important to note that this does not impact our results,” [lead study author] Liu told National Post." So an order-of-magnitude difference has no impacts on the res…

Why include that capacitor at all if it doesn't matter whether it works?

This goes massively against the consensus of experts in this field. The modal AI researcher believes that "high-level machine intelligence", roughly AGI, will be achieved by 2047, …

In 2022, the median ML researcher surveyed thought that there is a 5% or 10% chance of AI leading to "human extinction or similarly permanent and severe disempowerment of the human…

In most companies, "operations" staff is among their lowest-paid: customer service, cashiers, bank tellers, factory workers, etc. They are used to constant adherence to strict metr…

For what it's worth, "play money" betting site Manifold is currently at a 69% chance of sale versus 31% of shutting down. https://manifold.markets/mint/conditional-on-the-tiktok-ba…

> Separately this is generally not a great idea economically. You do kill inflation in Argentina (replaced with American inflation but that is extremely low and stable by Argentine…

Social status is positional and follows arms race dynamics. Everyone would have more money and nobody would suffer worse ring-positional-status if everyone spent proportionately le…

Traffic is a function of how many cars go through a road/intersection per unit time, which is reduced if cars keep shorter following distances, which self-driving cars can do becau…

Nobel laureate Sydney Brenner had similar sentiments. A very interesting interview along these lines: https://jameswphillips.substack.com/p/s-and-t-a-conversation...

Somebody using your social security number and other information would be able to apply for credit. As soon as they do that, the bureau(s) called by the lender would have a file on…

People respond to incentives. If you make something harder, people will do less of it. New barriers include: the actual work of moving money around to and from friends and family a…

People respond to incentives, why wouldn't they respond to taxes on alcohol? "Public policies affecting the price of alcoholic beverages have significant effects on alcohol-related…

If you're donating because you know your levels are elevated then I'd agree with this thought. (While also agreeing with those in the thread saying that high-PFAS donations are lik…

Donating blood or plasma has evidence of reducing pfas. If I knew I had high measured levels, I'd certainly think about doing it more. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC…

I also had a pixel begin to boot then make 911 calls upon getting moisture in it. I damaged the sim slot prying it out so it wouldn't dial 911 any more. I figured my experience was…

Regarding (1), for blacktails I'd add meadow encroachment. Parts of their range have sees a sizeable portion of the meadows where they browse taken over by conifers and shrubs. The…

Self-driving cars, particularly if they communicate, can safely keep shorter following distances. All-else-equal, this means that many more cars can drive on the same amount of roa…

If you take the precepts of the parent comment at face value, then you have an intelligence far greater and faster than humans. Can something like this persuade humans with whom it…

How does it work now? When I did it twice before (including semi-recently), I could only do it via chat or over the phone - either option took about 5 minutes and required talking …

This is a great way to think about it, and upon reflection I definitely operate in this way. I'd love SiriusXM at the promo rates they offer, or even at full price in a month where…

"However, if it would restrict my freedoms in any manner, state must leave it to parents. I shouldn't be punished because some people can't find the time for their kids." This seem…

If you use that baton, or even if you are seen with it by the wrong person, there is a good chance that you will be charged with a crime. Look up penal codes 12020 and 22210, posse…

Companies will only get better at creating addictive products for children. This represents an ever-increasing burden for parents. Also, there are some times when coordination woul…