Ask HN: What is the weirdest or most surreal recent technology you have seen?

Post by twic » Tue, Jan 24, 2023, 7:16 PM UTC

swamp40 wrote: post #311

twic wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks, this makes sense. I think my reduction and your quibble is really a matter of semantics. It's true that the genome doesn't contain explicit coordinates for every feature of every cell. But at the same time, if you start with the same DNA, you get the same morphogenesis, and if you start with different DNA, you get different morphogenesis, so i would say the morphogenesis is very much encoded in the DNA. It's…

> if you start with the same DNA, you get the same morphogenesis Then how do you explain their creation of xenobots using only frog DNA ? That was the whole point of the experiment - to disprove your statement. https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/team-builds-first-living-robot...

Post by daveguy » Tue, Jan 24, 2023, 7:16 PM UTC

kevstev wrote: post #298

CamperBob2 wrote: post #257

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Agree- so many are dismissing it because its not perfect In fact, I'd submit that phenomenon as its own entry in the Weirdest or Most Surreal Tech Trend contest. People who, when confronted with a talking dog, say things like, "This talking dog is an idiot. It thinks 429 is prime, its painting looks like something from Bob Ross on acid, and the C++ code it wrote for me is full of bugs. I don't see what all the hype i…

I feel this way about self driving cars as well. Its like even 10 years ago, the capabilities they have today would be considered mind blowing, yet they receive so much hate because they aren't yet adapted to all situations. Its baffling to me, every time I watch a video of one I get all giddy and I am like we are living in the future! Yet even from tech circles, they get so much criticism because they aren't 100% th…

Post by mensetmanusman » Tue, Jan 24, 2023, 7:20 PM UTC

Post by mensetmanusman » Tue, Jan 24, 2023, 7:21 PM UTC

ubermonkey wrote: post #290

Well, this is far afield from the normal discussions here, but: 8 years ago, I had a pretty bad cycling crash and broke my hip -- which, if you're not aware, means I broke the "femoral neck", or the narrow bit of bone between the long part of the femur and the "ball" that goes into your pelvis. Post-repair, my x-ray looked like this: http://i.imgur.com/gRqg50J.png Anyway, with that much hardware in a repair, you're p…

Post by mensetmanusman » Tue, Jan 24, 2023, 7:23 PM UTC

epicureanideal wrote: post #224

raptor556 wrote: post #219

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If I were to restart my career, this is likely the field I'd pursue. I read The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee last year and just became enraptured in the possibilities. I'm wondering if there's anything I can contribute to that field as someone with general programming capabilities.

Except somehow the required education is much higher and the pay is much worse than software, right? I’m personally surprised we don’t have 20x as many people working in biotech.