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> so I have been learning analog IC chip design to build an open source high-throughput DNA synthesis chip. Any resources and books you'd recommend?
This is not at all an area I know anything about, but a podcast I was listening to (Moore's Lobby) recently mentioned on chip design broadly: https://www.zerotoasiccourse.com And also: https://www.udemy.com/user/anagha/
A little while ago, a patent for high throughput DNA synthesis using silicon chips went off-patent, so I have been learning analog IC chip design to build an open source high-throughput DNA synthesis chip. If it works, and I sold them at cost, it would reduce the cost of oligo pool synthesis by ~100x and possibly gene synthesis by 10x. For about 8-9 years now my goal has been to build a cell from scratch for less tha…
If so, why would one want to do that versus taking an existing cell and injecting custom DNA?
I'm on a (currently very experimental) project where we're trying to answer natural-language queries using data from an arbitrary database (given hypotheses on the schema). The natural-language plaintext is fed into a language model that annotates it. That output is converted into an intermediate representation based on relational algebra, which we manipulate and finally compile to SQL. It's probably not scientifical…
(One thing I want to emphasize here is how abysmally, unbelievably, depressingly god-awful the vast majority of database schemas are.)
You wouldn't expect any user-friendly feature to be automatically stamped on top of a database without the involvement of a programmer, and this is no different. You need some sort of descriptive layer between the database and the query engine (or beside it, helping out) that programmers are involved in building. AI is not going to magically solve this problem for you. Figure out what you need described to you and turn that into a meta language that application developers can write to help your engine out.
Frankly I'm wary of any direct link between the user and the database. How do you deal with constraints like "users should only be able to see data associated with their organization in tables X, Y, and Z" if the programmer doesn't tell you? How could you possibly prevent exploits and security problems? Another reason to focus on querying an intermediate layer or relying on a programmer-provided description of what's available.
(Or am I assuming way too much, and "hypotheses on the schema" is already this meta-language?)
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I'm hopeful that I can turn it into a public facing dashboard that others can see. It covers the entire state I live in, monitoring 32 stores and about 8k products right now. Already seeing some weird stuff in the data, like a product that changes price every 30 minutes, $30->$50->$30 repeat. It's a niche type of store (dispensary) and essentially a state blessed monopoly since they limited it to 40 store licenses to…
The price change you describe sounds like a poorly implemented price test. I don't think Shopify allows dispensaries to operate on their platform, but that is the type of hack you have (had? it's been a few years) to do to run a price test on Shopify.
The same product is carried at the other stores, each has it at a price of $20 exact...then this one bounces between $30 and $50 all day.
I mean, maybe they are getting suckers to buy it at the inflated prices for both, but I'd be shocked if so. They also carry other products from the same line, and they are all priced normally at $20.
How does reality work? How could it be changed in a substantial, positive, intentional way, ideally in a surprisingly short time frame?
I’m working on making body doubling a more main stream approach to accomplishing everyday tasks. Body doubling is known within the ADHD community and entails performing a task in the presence of another. More details here: https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/body-double-adhd It helps to engage motivation by using another person as the proxy. I wrote a bit about how I think it works here: https://doubleapp.xyz/blog…
What makes this different from Focusmate.com?
Focusmate is a great product centered around virtual co-working and work productivity, whereas Double will not be centered around co-working, but for everyday tasks (which can include co-working). As a result, we are designing the experience to be tailored towards the everyday experiences rather than a co-working product used for everyday task.
Essentially, we want to expand the scope of tasks you can double up to do together and provide a better UX for those diverse tasks.
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How far down this road do you go? Someone engaged in bioweapons manufacturing probably uses laptops and chairs too.
The difference is that those already exist. I think concern about the development of new technology is valid. Suppose nuclear weapons did not exist and someone was concerned about the Manhattan project — would you say that chairs enable people to build regular bombs, so we shouldn't worry about nuclear bombs?
A new platform to play Magic: The Gathering digitally. Been working on it since the pandemic started. It's almost done. It's a multiplayer sandbox (no rules enforcement) that just allows you to play by providing all the different zones the game involves (play area, hand, lib, gy, ex) and letting you free-drag between them. It has features for every mechanic the game involves - tapping, turning face-down, switching ca…
Decentralization and bidirectional real-time communications. I don't mean blockchain. I mean no servers with end-to-end encryption, no third parties of any kind.
A little while ago, a patent for high throughput DNA synthesis using silicon chips went off-patent, so I have been learning analog IC chip design to build an open source high-throughput DNA synthesis chip. If it works, and I sold them at cost, it would reduce the cost of oligo pool synthesis by ~100x and possibly gene synthesis by 10x. For about 8-9 years now my goal has been to build a cell from scratch for less tha…