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Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on?

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Re: Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on?

#291

Post by RobertRoberts »

germinalphrase wrote: post #276

I ended my career in June, and I am attempting to entirely reinvent my professional life at 36. It's interesting going through this sort of open ocean search having a little bit of savings and stability, but the stakes feel higher (emotionally) even though, rationally, I am in a better position to take on risk than when I was young and completely broke. The hardest part of it is actually deciding what do I want from…

I hope that goes well for you. Have you considered taking a part time job or maybe in apprenticeship or internship in something you are interested in?

I imagine that if I was doing what you are describing, I'd enjoy keeping busy while still having most of my day to pursue something new. And having my side job (that pays or not, who cares?) help push me forward into learning something I couldn't easily do on my own.

Re: Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on?

#292

Post by uoaei »

didgetmaster wrote: post #69
zschuessler wrote: post #5

I heard few song lines from a new artist I've discovered. It has me thinking on a problem I want solved. Although, I'm not actively working on it. Why aren't there more employee-owned companies? And I don't mean solely shareholder programs, I mean actually owned by every employee and they are paid dividends of profit after all planned R&D costs. Similar to the Alaska oil pipeline bonus. Even interns. All studies show…

Ownership implies both risk and reward. Those who own anything (a private company or stock in a public company) are entitled to their share of the profits but also must take on the risk of the value going down. How do you convince all the employees of any company ('even the interns') to take on the risks accompanying ownership?

I think people will do that calculus on their own and decide their level of risk tolerance. Typically it takes a lot of trust and communication, at the very least a solid decision-making structure, for people to feel comfortable signing on to such an enterprise.

Re: Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on?

#293

Post by sbisker »

filoleg wrote: post #231
sbisker wrote: post #220

It’s early days, but I’m looking into more precise and domain specific object recognition in photos. Apple or Google will generally tell me if a photo contains a chair; I would like to know what kind of chair (is it a Herman Miller Aeron or a Herman Miller Embody). There are a few domains I am interested to apply this to, but at this stage I’m still learning the limitations of the tech (and any leads / insights would…

Before you embark further on this, see what the competition has first. If for anything, but inspiration for good ideas, as well as seeing what works well and what doesn't. You mentioned Apple and Google with their photo apps, but have you checked Google Lens? This one is very realtime and gets in quite a detail. I don't know whether it recognizes different models of Herman Miller chairs yet, but I can open the app, p…

Yep, surveying the landscape now! Lens is incredible and I know particularly for shopping them, Facebook and Amazon are working on merchandise recognition. Honestly that’s part of what makes me interested in the space - the fact that it’s possible, but right now limited to the biggest players.

Re: Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on?

#294

Post by iamwil »

I'm working on a programming environment for making interactive programs. It's focused on addressing how to handle state and network through three main parts. 1/ an embedded functional database as the scope and environment for variables 2/ a managed syncing of database state across the network 3/ the interactivity extends to the compiler itself.

I've been following the Tools for Thought crowd for a long while, and recently started looking into why we still have problems building interactive web apps, and where the issues and complexities arise. It's lead to examining the Clojure, Haskell, and Rust ecosystems, various papers, data structures, and databases. I've been writing my thoughts exploring the space at https://interjectedfuture.com

If you're looking for niche technologies, we've got a nice assortment at our podcast The Technium: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl_rEKDGBw4myn0uOnPxYsg

Re: Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on?

#295

Post by FeistySkink »

justicz wrote: post #128

Robots that build large-scale solar farms! My friend and I started working on this last year and ended up starting a company. We moved to the bay area and did YC last summer. We've been spending a lot of time on solar construction sites and did our first demo (part of the material handling system) on a site in March. Now we're working on a robotic factory + our team is up to 5 folks.

Do you have a website already or somewhere else with more info?

Re: Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on?

#296

Post by barkerja »

gmadsen wrote: post #200
blamarvt wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll echo that. Also being married to a vet it's insane how little very qualified and experienced techs are being paid.

how is that in disagreement? Cost of labor is indeed cheap

It's often referred to as compassion fatigue. Just because you have a love for something doesn't mean you should do it for free or cheap. The job also isn't all love and cuddles; there's a lot of having to turn away care or euthanizing because owners can't afford the needed care.

Re: Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on?

#297

Post by Ilasky »

Lionga wrote: post #265
Ilasky wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great question! 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…

Nice, afaik focusmate is used for every day tasks, but not much. What do you want to do different? I Used focusmate for a week or so but It stopped helping me at all once novelty wore off ( same as every adhd/ procrastination tool yet)

Task-specific Double communities and interfaces will be the primary difference between Double and competitors. For instance, not all tasks are best, or preferable, when you are on video (e.g., exercising/running).

Additionally, we are building Double with the ethos that you don't need to always "crush it", but doing a little bit is okay too. We want to help you build the habits you'd like to see a little step at a time (one of our key inspirations is Tiny Habits).

Re: Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on?

#298

Post by justicz »

FeistySkink wrote: post #295
justicz wrote: post #128

Robots that build large-scale solar farms! My friend and I started working on this last year and ended up starting a company. We moved to the bay area and did YC last summer. We've been spending a lot of time on solar construction sites and did our first demo (part of the material handling system) on a site in March. Now we're working on a robotic factory + our team is up to 5 folks.

Do you have a website already or somewhere else with more info?

We don't have a ton of info available publicly yet, our Launch HN thread [0] and jobs board [1] are the best places to learn more for now (or email me!).

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30780455

[1] https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/charge-robotics/jobs

Re: Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on?

#299

Post by uoaei »

smcn wrote: post #68
amusedcyclist wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

I can understand the criticism that it's not adding value to the world. However, the same could be said of the stock market in general. If they shut that down, I'll happily close Feetr. In the meantime, someone will be making money from the stock market. Why shouldn't it be you? Or me? Or anyone reading this?

The exact same thing could be said by the people running toxic mining operations with clearly safer alternatives, monopolistic healthcare firms who regularly deny basic access, lobbying operations to eliminate laws that keep kids from getting addicted to nicotine, and plenty else. These are all things your investments are surely contributing to.

Ethics is hard because there's no enforcement like there is in the legal system. You have to think through the consequences of your actions yourself to understand the harms you engender throughout the system you inhabit, and then choose for yourself what level of harm you feel is acceptable to bring onto others for your own benefit.

Re: Ask HN: What interesting problems are you working on?

#300

Post by germinalphrase »

RobertRoberts wrote: post #291
germinalphrase wrote: post #276

I ended my career in June, and I am attempting to entirely reinvent my professional life at 36. It's interesting going through this sort of open ocean search having a little bit of savings and stability, but the stakes feel higher (emotionally) even though, rationally, I am in a better position to take on risk than when I was young and completely broke. The hardest part of it is actually deciding what do I want from…

I hope that goes well for you. Have you considered taking a part time job or maybe in apprenticeship or internship in something you are interested in? I imagine that if I was doing what you are describing, I'd enjoy keeping busy while still having most of my day to pursue something new. And having my side job (that pays or not, who cares?) help push me forward into learning something I couldn't easily do on my own.

Since I've only been unemployed since June, I've largely been plowing my time into house projects and taking care of my young son.

I would be very open to an apprenticeship/internship if it allowed me a more direct entry into an exciting position (I have the freedom to do so, certainly); however, the internship pipeline seems almost exclusively focused on undergraduate age young people.

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