People Aren’t Dumb, the World Is Hard • Hacker News Board

Re: People Aren’t Dumb, the World Is Hard

#261

Post by sib » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 9:22 PM UTC

jerf wrote: post #63

abetusk wrote: post #45

Boy does it take a while to get to the main topic of the title. From the article/podcast: ... THALER: Well, first of all, when we use this phrase libertarian paternalism, we’re using libertarian as an adjective. And so we’re trying to say we’re going to design policies that don’t force anyone to do anything. So the claim that we’re trying to tell people what to do, or force them to do things, is just completely wrong…

"suppose I’m walking across the park, and I see, “Oh, there’s a softball game over there. I think I’ll go watch that for a while,” Google Maps doesn’t scold me." I've noticed just in the past few days an update has been pushed so that now every time Google has to recalculate the route, instead just saying the new directions "turn right on third street", now it says "OK, turn right on third street", and I find myself…

Agreed, this is annoying. Little things like this make a big difference in voice UIs.

But not quite as bad as the old Hertz Neverlost (r) system, which would tell you, in a huffy voice, "Please return to the highlighted route!" Rather than just recalculating the route from where you are.

Re: People Aren’t Dumb, the World Is Hard

#262

Post by sctb » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 9:24 PM UTC

Facemelters wrote: post #119

ythn wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Libertarians are the new advocates for small government. Libertarians = Arch Linux (lean, mean, minimal) Everybody else = Windows or Mac (i.e. huge operating system that tries to protect users from everything under the sun)

This is what happens when engineers receive very little formal liberal arts education. Cringe.

Cringe away, but please don't comment that you did—it's not on topic.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: People Aren’t Dumb, the World Is Hard

#263

Post by dqpb » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 9:33 PM UTC

dqpb wrote: post #140

Facemelters wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what happens when engineers receive very little formal liberal arts education. Cringe.

My experience with liberal arts education is that it teaches you how to talk and what to say, but not how to think.

Are people disapproving of my experience or that I'm talking about it?

Re: People Aren’t Dumb, the World Is Hard

#264

Post by exolymph » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 9:33 PM UTC

aantix wrote: post #237

stingraycharles wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok normally I don’t approve of these types of comments on HN, but this was witty. For those who do not get the reference, Alan Kay is the inventor of SmallTalk: http://worrydream.com/EarlyHistoryOfSmalltalk/

I love how you revealed that you dislike joke comments on HN and unintentionally killed it at the same time.

I don't think the explanation killed the joke. As someone who wouldn't have gotten it otherwise, it made me able to appreciate the pun.

Re: People Aren’t Dumb, the World Is Hard

#265

Post by shostack » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 9:35 PM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #109

gdubs wrote: post #95

Reminded of this timeless Carl Sagan quote: "We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology."

Asimov’s Foundation series is an excellent commentary on this very phenomenon. One of the antagonists is a galactic empire that is technologically advanced, but has been stagnating and decaying slowly as those in power start viewing scientists with disdain and distrust. Over time the empire loses the ability to develop new technology, and ends up with those who can only maintain/repair existing technology (which even…

This is very much a theme in the Warhammer 40k universe. Tech priests "pray to the Omnissiah" while applying various sacred ointments (lubrication for parts?) to machinery and such to get tech to work [1].

[1] http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Tech-Priest

Re: People Aren’t Dumb, the World Is Hard

#266

Post by c3534l » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 9:36 PM UTC

ppeetteerr wrote: post #34

This is probably the greatest argument for big government. If we were to eliminate the supervision of the establishment over the safety and security of everyday life, it would be very time consuming to handle every single aspect of it. There is always the issue of an overreaching government, and that's where the left/right party split comes in. Each party either creates more regulation and protection or take some awa…

Centralized systems can only handle so much complexity before the collapse. You can only handle the kind of society we have today through a distributed, decentralized model. The complexity of modern society is emergent, not the result of central planners. This is a foundational finding of economics and one of the primary reasons why communist dictatorships tend to fail to function.

Re: People Aren’t Dumb, the World Is Hard

#267

Post by exolymph » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 9:38 PM UTC

kzrdude wrote: post #200

DesiLurker wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My preferred solution for governance problems is basically to have smaller governing units (nations/states/districts). this gives people better representation and is pretty effective in managing the 'tyranny of the majority'. considering the environment in US today the majority is essentially 51%. Now if one considers how bi-polar favorite policies for each side has become, it (mandate) is nowhere near enough to just…

It's a very popular theory that smaller polities have better governance. Picking single examples would maybe not capture it but I'd think of NZ vs Aus, Ireland vs UK, Switzerland vs France, or even Canada vs USA. (All pairs picked to have similar location in the world, but I guess you want to say the (former) empires of USA, France and the UK put them in entirely separate categories..)

Not necessarily "better" governance, because that's very dependent on what "better" means to you. I think you can make a strong argument that federalism results in governance more closely matching the will of the people — to the extent that the will of the people can be captured by representative democracy.

Re: People Aren’t Dumb, the World Is Hard

#268

Post by shostack » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 9:40 PM UTC

delecti wrote: post #233

Symmetry wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Our civilization has attained its complexity by encompassing such knowledge that it would take a million lifetimes to learn all of it. I have made my career learning about technology and learning about science is a great hobby of mine. But I have only the dimmest understanding of even how much there is to know.

I've been bingeing my way through a youtube channel [1] that's largely focused on old/outdated consumer technology. I'm astounded by how little I knew about how any of it worked. In particular, I was astonished when I watched the one about how VHS tapes works. There's just so much knowledge underpinning even relatively obsolete technology. As time goes on the fantasy trope of "ancient lost knowledge" becomes less har…

Not sure how back you've gone in terms of that tech, but you may enjoy the Connections series (several seasons, although the earliest were the best IMHO).

It starts with some modern concept (modern being a couple decades ago when it was made), and traces the random circumstances that led to all the various inventions that got us there.

A favorite game of mine to play would be to try and put myself in the shoes of people from that time based on the conceptual understanding they may have had of things back then, and try to imagine the magnitude of the breakthrough something as simple as a pulley or gear may have had, and what sorts of problems I might try to solve when THAT was the cutting edge tech.

Re: People Aren’t Dumb, the World Is Hard

#269

Post by smolder » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 9:46 PM UTC

s73v3r_ wrote: post #145

aalleavitch wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What we lack is trust. We lack security in each other, in many cases for entirely legitimate reasons. Reestablishing systems of trust is one of the challenges we’re facing right now.

In general I probably agree with you. But I seriously can not comprehend how that applies to the example given in the parent post.

I'll take a stab. People don't trust their government or their justice system to fairly enforce the law or to draft a law that, all legalese deconstructed, is fair in the first place.

Re: People Aren’t Dumb, the World Is Hard

#270

Post by rebuilder » Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 9:49 PM UTC

opo wrote: post #259

rebuilder wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would guess that a higher chance of being caught would be a greater deterrent to first-time white collar offenders than harsher punishment. I spent 6 months in prison as a conscientous objector. One thing I learned was, in the relatively humane nordic penal system, the reality of imprisonment was nowhere near as scary as I'd imagined. If I were to commit a serious crime now, I think the social stigma would be much…

I found your comment insightful, but I have to ask about this: >...I spent 6 months in prison as a conscientous objector. Could you elaborate? Under what conditions does a conscientious objector face a lengthy prison term?

In Finland, as a male, refusal to perform military or civil service is a crime punishable by approximately 6 months of imprisonment. I understand that very recently that has been put on hold as a result of a legal challenge on the grounds that a certain religious minority is exempted from such service, the claim being that this constitutes inequal treatment.