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Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall (2018)

thehustle.co

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Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall (2018)

#241

Post by SilasX »

Chris2048 wrote: post #240
SilasX wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But since it’s all unverifiable anyway, it’s really just fluff that it ads. Maybe if the poster had personal information in their profile…

a lot of things are, I don't think it matters if it's verifiable true, it's a single n=1 anecdote anyway. The meaning comes from the reason it was mentioned, which I don't think is fluff.

What reason? "I can tell an exciting story?" Yeah anyone can say anything they want, doesn't mean it's a good reason to believe it, let alone upvote.

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall (2018)

#242

Post by Chris2048 »

SilasX wrote: post #241
Chris2048 wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

a lot of things are, I don't think it matters if it's verifiable true, it's a single n=1 anecdote anyway. The meaning comes from the reason it was mentioned, which I don't think is fluff.

What reason? "I can tell an exciting story?" Yeah anyone can say anything they want, doesn't mean it's a good reason to believe it, let alone upvote.

That a difficult task might be possible using an unconventional method that the competition designers didn't anticipate. Again, I said believing it isn't necessary.

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall (2018)

#243

Post by popcube »

analog31 wrote: post #219
SamoyedFurFluff wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would disagree. There are several sections of STEM where there really isnt much for you. What are you supposed to achieve with a bachelors in physics?

A physicist can be a good multi-disciplinary, quantitative problem solver. I think the reason is that physics doesn't "own" very many practical techniques, so we are constantly borrowing from other fields. Physicists also tend to keep their math skills after graduation. Most program well enough to be dangerous, and with a bit of guidance can become good developers. I got a BS in math and physics, then continued for a…

you are a doctor... bro

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall (2018)

#244

Post by astura »

xwdv wrote: post #128
solardev wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

College is no guarantee of anything anymore. Many schools and degrees don't even have a positive ROI.

Just get a STEM degree and it’s hard to do poorly afterwards.

Idk... I know like 10 people who got degrees in math and none ended up working in a job that requires any degree at all. Food service, secretaries, factory workers, insurance salesmen.

I just think there isn't nearly enough jobs in the field compared to the amount of people who are graduating with math degrees. There's only 27,700 actuaries in the US - https://www.bls.gov/ooh/math/actuaries.htm

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall (2018)

#245

Post by shon »

oneoff786 wrote: post #226
shon wrote: post #98

I actually gave away a Porsche 911. This was not a mall giveaway but a marketing experiment for my new startup: Flat 6 Club. Yes, we wanted something in return, in this case, we wanted you to buy a t-shirt or start a subscription (merch+content+events), which gives us essentially all the same info, which would enter you in a sweepstakes to win the car. We also wanted to promote the club, which we did. We researched i…

What were the odds of winning? How did your lottery compare to the power ball expected value?

Great question. I’d estimate the odds of winning our car were orders of magnitude better than any organized lottery.

We had a lot to learn about successful execution on the marketing side so the actual number of entries was well less than 100k.

A properly motivated individual may be able to automate finding first-timers like us, and entering via sending postcards, and actually have an excellent chance of winning.

Reminds me of Lazlo in “Real Genius” ;)

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall (2018)

#246

Post by ccozan »

derivagral wrote: post #203
lelanthran wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do the same thing with every cold-call power-sales phone call I get. I try to keep them on the line as long as possible, while paying as little attention as possible. Put the phone on speaker, turn down the volume a little, and carry on working on my computer. I feel that the only way to end spam (email and phone), is to take up as much time of the spammer as possible. If all 25m recipients of an email scam replied…

There's an old project that does exactly that! Lenny has some long vids up on youtube. I suppose the next step is using some of the newer AI stuff to improve the interaction... https://lennytroll.com/

GPT Lenny? Automatically transcript and feed, then TTS. Maybe someone takes on this.

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall (2018)

#247

Post by themitigating »

mountainb wrote: post #207
lbriner wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In lots of cases, this is demonstrably not true. Sure some scammers might make millions but many make much less. Look at the average cost for prison, the cost of the police and Courts and it can add up to much more. I'm not saying that you should only jail people if it's cheaper but society cannot afford to incarcerate everybody who commits a crime, not only for the money but the effect it has on ex-cons who can't fi…

The government does nothing about the overwhelming majority of small time scammers. It’s left to the civil courts and small claims courts. When the feds do prosecute scams, it’s typically for large dollar value schemes that defraud tens of millions or more. So we already have that soft on crime reality when it comes to scamming and false advertising. The average person believes the government is far, far more active…

Hence public naming and shaming

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall (2018)

#248

Post by themitigating »

vkou wrote: post #136
themitigating wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cost of a police investigation, prosecution, and then housing them in jail for what? 2 years ? Public shaming is much cheaper

These people have no shame, much like a lion has no shame when he eats an antelope.

That's instinctual and not an accurate analogy

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall (2018)

#249

Post by themitigating »

q-big wrote: post #168
xwdv wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just get a STEM degree and it’s hard to do poorly afterwards.

> Just get a STEM degree and it’s hard to do poorly afterwards. Wait until the winds of the economic climate change their direction again; until this moment, celebrate and post such texts on HN that will become bad advice.

Are you saying career advice may not be correct at a later date?

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall (2018)

#250

Post by themitigating »

astura wrote: post #244
xwdv wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just get a STEM degree and it’s hard to do poorly afterwards.

Idk... I know like 10 people who got degrees in math and none ended up working in a job that requires any degree at all. Food service, secretaries, factory workers, insurance salesmen. I just think there isn't nearly enough jobs in the field compared to the amount of people who are graduating with math degrees. There's only 27,700 actuaries in the US - https://www.bls.gov/ooh/math/actuaries.htm

First, you're sample size of 10 people has no value. Second mathematics is just one degree and can not be used as a representation of all degrees. Finally actuaries are just on career that someone with a math degree might get so that total number doesn't have value when talking about the potential of a math degree
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