Snowden’s Rubik’s Cube • Hacker News Board

Re: Snowden’s Rubik’s Cube

#21

Post by rdiddly » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 6:35 PM UTC

cmrx64 wrote: post #7

This movie looks like is has a good chance of doing a better job than even The Imitation Game at ruining and fundamentally misrepresenting a topic I care about and a person I respect.

Yes thank God someone came along to shoehorn all this boring stuff into a product! Now that it can make money, it actually MEANS something!

Re: Snowden’s Rubik’s Cube

#22

Post by notatoad » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 6:41 PM UTC

curiousgal wrote: post #8

cmrx64 wrote: post #7

This movie looks like is has a good chance of doing a better job than even The Imitation Game at ruining and fundamentally misrepresenting a topic I care about and a person I respect.

The Imitation Game was bad?

It was an entertaining movie. Just don't expect any actual history.

Re: Snowden’s Rubik’s Cube

#23

Post by tripa » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 6:49 PM UTC

phpnode wrote: post #15

tamana wrote: post #14

Why do Rubik's cubes have removable center tiles?

"They" don't, this model does

To be fair, most do.

To be meta-fair, most means those who have a brand name (those you could distinguish when you buy).

Re: Snowden’s Rubik’s Cube

#24

Post by teekert » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 6:51 PM UTC

First time the actual character is more handsome than the actor ;)

Re: Snowden’s Rubik’s Cube

#25

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 6:56 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Snowden’s Rubik’s Cube

#26

Post by corndoge » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 6:59 PM UTC

tamana wrote: post #14

Why do Rubik's cubes have removable center tiles?

All Rubik's cubes have removable center tiles covers; they're usually difficult to remove without the help of an Xacto knife or similar. Under each tile is a screw; unscrewing these will allow you to take the center cubes off. After removing all the other non-center cubes, once you take the center 'cubes' off (they aren't really cubes, actually more like plates) it's easier to grease your cube up.

Re: Snowden’s Rubik’s Cube

#27

Post by h0p5c0tch » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 7:01 PM UTC

Mahn wrote: post #20

cmrx64 wrote: post #7

This movie looks like is has a good chance of doing a better job than even The Imitation Game at ruining and fundamentally misrepresenting a topic I care about and a person I respect.

So basically like every modern movie loosely based on actual real life events. Then again, movies are almost always designed to entertain and munch popcorn, not so much to inform.

Based on a true story. Names, dates, and events have been changed...

Re: Snowden’s Rubik’s Cube

#28

Post by BookmarkSaver » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 7:03 PM UTC

justratsinacoat wrote: post #11

curiousgal wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Imitation Game was bad?

Well, it wasn't good. Turing's actual story is actually more interesting than the whole-cloth fantasy that The Imitation Game wound up being.

I'm just surprised that they didn't depict one of the most dramatic moments of his life (his death). I mean, suicide by poisoned apple? Maybe they didn't show it because it isn't 100% confirmed, but that event could basically have been ripped from a movie script into real life.

Re: Snowden’s Rubik’s Cube

#29

Post by jonnathanson » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 7:03 PM UTC

curiousgal wrote: post #8

cmrx64 wrote: post #7

This movie looks like is has a good chance of doing a better job than even The Imitation Game at ruining and fundamentally misrepresenting a topic I care about and a person I respect.

The Imitation Game was bad?

It gets a fair amount of hate on HN for taking narrative liberties with Turing's actual life story. I won't deny that it does, and anyone who's genuinely interested in Alan Turing would do better to read about him and his work.

But the movie is a dramatization, not a documentary. Because of that, it got the general, non-CS-major public to care about Alan Turing. I'd say that's a pretty decent accomplishment.

I actually had a conversation with my mom about Alan Turing after she saw the movie. That's saying something. She still needs help browsing the web beyond AOL. She thought computers were "unhealthy" and borderline "dangerous" until very recently. I'm pretty sure she thinks her router contains the entire Internet on it. These are the kinds of people who need to be exposed to Turing, and "Imitation Game" breaks through to them. Great. I'll take that as a net-positive.

Re: Snowden’s Rubik’s Cube

#30

Post by jewbacca » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 7:20 PM UTC

curiousgal wrote: post #8

cmrx64 wrote: post #7

This movie looks like is has a good chance of doing a better job than even The Imitation Game at ruining and fundamentally misrepresenting a topic I care about and a person I respect.

The Imitation Game was bad?

It basically took the stock 80s movie plot of the ragtag bunch of misfits saving their community center from being shut down by greedy real-estate developers, and dressed it up as a 40s period piece.

Imagine if they told the story of the Normandy invasion as being a squad of GIs pulling one over on mean old man Eisenhower, saving the day by inventing the flat-bottom motorized landing craft.

That said, the small amount of stuff set in the future about Turing's persecution was well done.