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A Third Solution

paulbuchheit.blogspot.com

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Re: A Third Solution

#411

Post by pjc50 »

lend000 wrote: post #400
CPLX wrote: post #399

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Citing Elon Musk in this context is definitely not making the point you think it’s making.

Name one aeronautical engineer phD who deserves more credit for giving America the ability to put humans in space next month than Musk. He's quite involved with technical decisions. His social media behavior is irrelevant here -- this is about the ability to innovate outside of physics or economics, which is what he learned about in college.

> putting humans back on the moon next month

Wait what? Despite the pandemic?

Re: A Third Solution

#412

Post by Hydraulix989 »

twomoretime wrote: post #398
bsaul wrote: post #393

I can't help feeling a bit uneased reading about computer science people doing salespitch for solving a world epidemic. If a famous medical doctor was trying to convince me that his database product was really the best, while making grandiose statement, i think i'd be very very harsh with them.

A huge proportion of capable autodidacts are coders. Especially those who go through grad school for STEM - the skill is invaluable. So don't be so surprised, these aren't necessarily junior level devs at FAANG spouting off.

There are junior level devs at FAANG that would otherwise would be either starting their own company or be considered senior level at most other startups/other companies -- often they are really bright engineers at the beginning of their career, the same age as Paul Bucheit when he created a certain web email client at a FAANG company as a junior engineer.

Re: A Third Solution

#413

Post by lend000 »

pjc50 wrote: post #411
lend000 wrote: post #400

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Name one aeronautical engineer phD who deserves more credit for giving America the ability to put humans in space next month than Musk. He's quite involved with technical decisions. His social media behavior is irrelevant here -- this is about the ability to innovate outside of physics or economics, which is what he learned about in college.

> putting humans back on the moon next month Wait what? Despite the pandemic?

Oops. Edited, misread the last launch headline. Just Earth orbit, although still an important milestone for America to have shuttle capability again.

Re: A Third Solution

#414

Post by cameldrv »

predxionbio wrote: post #278
zmmmmm wrote: post #212

The post refers to an alternative method of testing for COVID-19 based on surface plasmon resonance that would have significant advantages, but unfortunately it provides absolutely no real substantiation that the test exists or works. The link about surface plasmon resonance goes to a generic Wikipedia page, the link about saliva is a small scale study that was conducted on RT-PCR not surface plasmon resonance, and t…

Hi, Walker here, one of the PreDxion Bio co-founders. Heres a some more information on the technology underlying the test we are developing: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25790830/ . Unfortunately, up until about a month ago us like many folks, were blissfully minding our business developing a rapid point of care cytokine detection platform for use in monitoring patients experiencing certain immune responses follow…

OK, but what are you detecting? Antibodies? Viral proteins? RNA? The messages from Paul and your team have been contradictory. The message is confusing, and this makes people skeptical. It would be great if you could clarify the detection strategy.

Re: A Third Solution

#415

Post by Hydraulix989 »

bsaul wrote: post #393

I can't help feeling a bit uneased reading about computer science people doing salespitch for solving a world epidemic. If a famous medical doctor was trying to convince me that his database product was really the best, while making grandiose statement, i think i'd be very very harsh with them.

You do start to get a false feeling of invincibility after being validated so much in your actual field (even if it is largely due to being in the right place at the right time). Most one-hit wonders who manage to hit a homerun in the Valley with their web app who then end up trying to solve world hunger, etc. afterwards fail. I do have to hand it to Gates though (but he isn't a one-hit wonder).

Re: A Third Solution

#416

Post by febeling »

fsh wrote: post #410
post_below wrote: post #405

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not? It doesn't matter if he's... Elon Musk. What he's accomplished in fields he wasn't trained in is significant. I think that makes OPs point just fine.

Unlike the other people in the list, Musk (and Huges) have never made a significant scientific discovery or invention.

He seems to have a rare skill for building large successful innovative companies with revolutionary products. Not sure if that’s below or above the level of accomplishment of the reference group.

Re: A Third Solution

#417

Post by known »

You may get a negative result if you’ve only had the coronavirus a short time. And it’s possible to get exposed and not develop antibodies. You may also get a “false positive” i.e. you have antibodies but had a different kind of virus e.g Hepatatis-B

archive.vn/NzNRO

Re: A Third Solution

#419

Post by laumars »

lend000 wrote: post #409
laumars wrote: post #404

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Science and technology has moved on significantly since the Da Vinci days and modern day “geniuses” like Musk surround themselves with experts in each field. On some topics you just have to accept that someone who has spent years of their live dedicated to a complex topic might actually be better placed to judge a solution than someone who specialises in an entirely unrelated field but happens to demonstrate a passin…

On average, sure. And that may be a rational reason for a busy investor to reject a pitch meeting, but that's never a reason to dismiss an idea once you've read it, or in a forum where there is no cost to that idea existing (such as HN).

It’s a reason enough to be skeptical. How often have you read on here someone saying “can’t you just do x y and z” to a problem that is grossly more complex than the commenter initially appreciates?

A better stance would be to take such pitches as an interesting take but one which still requires peer review.

Edit: Remember when Musk tried to pitch a submarine to save those children stuck in a Thai cave and how local divers have to point out the passage ways were too narrow for even Musks child size sub? Being smart doesn’t mean you are equality qualified to resolve hard problems in other people’s fields.

Re: A Third Solution

#420

Post by nostromo »

Hydraulix989 wrote: post #415
bsaul wrote: post #393

I can't help feeling a bit uneased reading about computer science people doing salespitch for solving a world epidemic. If a famous medical doctor was trying to convince me that his database product was really the best, while making grandiose statement, i think i'd be very very harsh with them.

You do start to get a false feeling of invincibility after being validated so much in your actual field (even if it is largely due to being in the right place at the right time). Most one-hit wonders who manage to hit a homerun in the Valley with their web app who then end up trying to solve world hunger, etc. afterwards fail. I do have to hand it to Gates though (but he isn't a one-hit wonder).

Gates has the good sense of surrounding himself with deep expertise in everything he takes on.

He was smart to avoid the typical tech guy hiring only a bunch of other tech guys to try and take on problems like hunger, global health, and education.

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