Researcher in optics and photonics, just hanging around HN because I enjoy both the diversity of the topics and also the way comments are moderated.
I can't remember when I discovered HN, but I know I went from /. to digg to reddit them HN.
I hope HN will last a bit longer then the others before jumping the shark...
Ask HN: Non-tech professionals on HN?
41–50 of 223 posts
Re: Ask HN: Non-tech professionals on HN?
#42Mining engineer. Actual hard rock mining though.
Got sick of reddit
Re: Ask HN: Non-tech professionals on HN?
#43U.S. diplomat. Programming is a hobby and keeping up with the tech sector is relevant to my job.
Re: Ask HN: Non-tech professionals on HN?
#44Chemist here. I have been working with Python for some 10 years in data related applications. Found HN through python/programming topics and like the variety of topics that are coming up here frequently.
Re: Ask HN: Non-tech professionals on HN?
#45California farmer, mostly pistachio and almonds. The farm has been in the family for four generations now and we hope to continue that. I found HN while I worked at Google on self-driving cars from 2014-2018. At least two postings on HN have been direct material impact to me: the first about an autonomous tractor we might be experimenting with soon, and the second about water restrictions in CA that fortunately did n…
Conversation I was having with my dad (a dairy and grain farmer in the midwest) earlier this week ‘I wonder what the market for an open source tractor is?’
Not sure about autonomous, but just something you own, that you have full schematics and design specs for, and can repair yourself — seems like a huge market given the state of things right now.
Re: Ask HN: Non-tech professionals on HN?
#46I manage at a famous Chicago pizzeria. When I was young I had aspirations of becoming a programmer or otherwise working in tech and kinda grew up reading different aggregators and eventually HN. Now that I know myself better I don’t think I would do well or be happy really sitting at a desk most days. I like working with my hands, entertaining guests, and working with and developing a team of staff from a variety of backgrounds and skill levels. These days I mostly just read for entertainment but when I’m occasionally burnt out I daydream about doing IT or UX.
Re: Ask HN: Non-tech professionals on HN?
#47Everything is tech. And tech is nothing. For instance Google is an ad business. The web, aside from ads, is publishing. I propose we drop the construct altogether. It had its place back when personal computers were novel, but the contemporary historian writes code. Unless you mean software engineering, but much of that is now plumbing and project management.
> but the contemporary historian writes code. What?
I had to help a friend, who's doing their history PhD, design a database for their research. I don't quite know what for. I also directed him to some online SQL courses.
There's also this website https://programminghistorian.org/
Re: Ask HN: Non-tech professionals on HN?
#48Lawyer here. I specialise in tech deals and the burgeoning tech regulatory sphere. (Think AI regulation, cryptocurrency, etc.) HN is a great way to keep my finger on the pulse.
I try to contribute to legal threads where I can, but /some/ HN contributors' level of obtuseness towards the nuance of legal issues can be off-putting.
As can the insistence to treat every social and moral issue as newly discovered, merely because there isn't a /computer science/ paper written on it yet. (I am exaggerating for effect, and I say this with genuine affection for the CS-crowd, but I think that there's at least a thread of truth in my last sentence. It's human nature that we approach problems from our own perspective or specialism first).
Still, a fascinating place to hang out, and I have huge respect for the general level of contributions, and individual contributors, here. I hope that us non-techies patronising HN adds to the richness of the debate.
Re: Ask HN: Non-tech professionals on HN?
#49California farmer, mostly pistachio and almonds. The farm has been in the family for four generations now and we hope to continue that. I found HN while I worked at Google on self-driving cars from 2014-2018. At least two postings on HN have been direct material impact to me: the first about an autonomous tractor we might be experimenting with soon, and the second about water restrictions in CA that fortunately did n…
Conversation I was having with my dad (a dairy and grain farmer in the midwest) earlier this week ‘I wonder what the market for an open source tractor is?’ Not sure about autonomous, but just something you own, that you have full schematics and design specs for, and can repair yourself — seems like a huge market given the state of things right now.
The biggest problem with product development for agriculture use cases is that the conditions are extreme, every situation is unique, and the customers don’t really want what you are selling. It adds up to a lot of failed companies with good ideas that just couldn’t crack the distribution layer.
There is definitely demand for tractors from new producers. The inability to repair a tractor during harvest is simply unacceptable. Their technicians can take weeks to get around to you, especially if you are a small shop.
Re: Ask HN: Non-tech professionals on HN?
#50Freelance visual artist, filmmaker, photographer. IT is my hobby that save me quite a lot of money.
I found HN in March 2020 on Telegram, when I start use RSS because main agenda of news was unreliable and social networks became absolutely crazy.