Reasons 2016 was a great year for humanity • Hacker News Board

Re: Reasons 2016 was a great year for humanity

#31

Post by lithos » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 4:41 PM UTC

CiPHPerCoder wrote: post #7

So much of this list was about conservation and environmental issues that it was almost frustrating to filter it out. I have nothing against these topics, but when you dominate your list with one theme and don't address that theme in the lede, I reflexively assume the author is attempting to pull the wool over my eyes. There is almost certainly some sampling bias going on, at least.

Isn't that the assumption of any medium article? You're getting an editorial piece, based on the author's views (editorial doesn't necessarily mean all opinion and low fact density).

Re: Reasons 2016 was a great year for humanity

#32

Post by ciconia » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 4:43 PM UTC

CiPHPerCoder wrote: post #7

So much of this list was about conservation and environmental issues that it was almost frustrating to filter it out. I have nothing against these topics, but when you dominate your list with one theme and don't address that theme in the lede, I reflexively assume the author is attempting to pull the wool over my eyes. There is almost certainly some sampling bias going on, at least.

Did you read it from start to end? By order of subjects: nature conservation, global health, political and economic progress, climat change response, less violence, sustainable economy and agriculture, endangered animals, charity.

The conservation of our planet is probably the biggest challenge facing humanity, and everything else sort of ties in with it. You cannot really separate economic progress, political stability and public health from the state of the environment.

Re: Reasons 2016 was a great year for humanity

#33

Post by vlunkr » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 4:44 PM UTC

ythn wrote: post #27

vlunkr wrote: post #12

I'm so sick of the meme that 2016 is a bad year. It's just confirmation bias.

Cons of 2016: - Brexit - Trump - some famous people died Pros of 2016: - Brexit - Trump - some famous people died

The famous people dying is the stupidest part. Guess what, famous people are going to die every year.

Re: Reasons 2016 was a great year for humanity

#34

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 4:44 PM UTC

ekianjo wrote: post #8

> 32. Homelessness in the United States declined by 35% since 2007, and Los Angeles committed to $1.2 billion to help get more people off the street. You mean the same city which destroyed DIY small houses on wheels made by volunteers for homeless people and left them nothing to endure the cold winter months ? http://reason.com/reasontv/2016/12/09/los-angeles-homeless-t... That's not a great policy to highlight in 20…

[deleted]

Re: Reasons 2016 was a great year for humanity

#35

Post by lithos » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 4:45 PM UTC

ep103 wrote: post #30

arcanus wrote: post #19

Missing the biggest triumph of 2016 by far: the victory by DeepMind's machine learning algorith at Go over the greatest living human player. At this time last year it was highly questionable if humans would ever lose to algorithms at games as complex as Go. Now we have reason to be optimistic that an entire class of problems are amenable to solution through computation, and more evidence super-human synthetic intelli…

To me, the biggest events of the year are probably Trump, Brexit, and AlphaGo.

Author seemed to be going to great lengths to get things that were very positive, or at least very difficult to argue as a negative.

Re: Reasons 2016 was a great year for humanity

#36

Post by wagecuck » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 4:45 PM UTC

candu wrote: post #29

arcanus wrote: post #19

Missing the biggest triumph of 2016 by far: the victory by DeepMind's machine learning algorith at Go over the greatest living human player. At this time last year it was highly questionable if humans would ever lose to algorithms at games as complex as Go. Now we have reason to be optimistic that an entire class of problems are amenable to solution through computation, and more evidence super-human synthetic intelli…

...and hundreds of millions worldwide who have been saved from malaria or lifted out of extreme poverty would likely disagree with you: what good is super-human synthetic intelligence several decades from now (assuming that's even a tractable generalization of largely task-specific ML models) if you're not sure where your next meal comes from?

Even in the best of circumstances, with unlimited food for all, those people will be dust in a century. Even incremental improvements in technology will help hundreds of generations of humans going forward.

Re: Reasons 2016 was a great year for humanity

#37

Post by collyw » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 4:58 PM UTC

wagecuck wrote: post #36

candu wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...and hundreds of millions worldwide who have been saved from malaria or lifted out of extreme poverty would likely disagree with you: what good is super-human synthetic intelligence several decades from now (assuming that's even a tractable generalization of largely task-specific ML models) if you're not sure where your next meal comes from?

Even in the best of circumstances, with unlimited food for all, those people will be dust in a century. Even incremental improvements in technology will help hundreds of generations of humans going forward.

Not all uses of technology ore a positive influence. HFT, NSA's surveillance are two that come to mind straight away.

Re: Reasons 2016 was a great year for humanity

#38

Post by CiPHPerCoder » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 5:01 PM UTC

ciconia wrote: post #32

CiPHPerCoder wrote: post #7

So much of this list was about conservation and environmental issues that it was almost frustrating to filter it out. I have nothing against these topics, but when you dominate your list with one theme and don't address that theme in the lede, I reflexively assume the author is attempting to pull the wool over my eyes. There is almost certainly some sampling bias going on, at least.

Did you read it from start to end? By order of subjects: nature conservation, global health, political and economic progress, climat change response, less violence, sustainable economy and agriculture, endangered animals, charity. The conservation of our planet is probably the biggest challenge facing humanity, and everything else sort of ties in with it. You cannot really separate economic progress, political stabil…

> Did you read it from start to end?

Yes, I did.

> The conservation of our planet is probably the biggest challenge facing humanity, and everything else sort of ties in with it.

Okay, you just conceded a point that negates any reasonable premise for your question that I can imagine at this time.

If everything is sort of tied in with environmental concerns, then why did you think I didn't read the article from start to end? If you didn't think that, then why did you feel the need to ask if I had?

I may be missing something obvious. I'd appreciate if someone could fill me in on what I missed.

Re: Reasons 2016 was a great year for humanity

#39

Post by coherentpony » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 5:14 PM UTC

lithos wrote: post #35

ep103 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me, the biggest events of the year are probably Trump, Brexit, and AlphaGo.

Author seemed to be going to great lengths to get things that were very positive, or at least very difficult to argue as a negative.

Depending on one's political leanings, Trump, Brexit and AlphaGo are all positive things.

Re: Reasons 2016 was a great year for humanity

#40

Post by newswriter99 » Tue, Dec 27, 2016, 5:20 PM UTC

nodamage wrote: post #28

entropyneur wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's an argument against tax-subsidized healthcare rather than for a smoking ban. Because otherwise you've just nationalized people's bodies. Why stop at smoking after all? Anyone not doing an hour of cardio daily is being irresponsible with the body entrusted to them by society and is in need of a visit to a reformation camp.

The linked article is about improved health outcomes due to secondhand smoke bans in public areas : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD005992... You're free to continue smoking in the privacy of your own home.

*For now.