Why the Fuck? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why the Fuck?

#251

Post by thewisedude » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 2:59 AM UTC

I usually dont like to talk in sound bites. But I can't help but say this famous quote from Gandhi.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

This article has a very judging tone. People are doing whatever they think matters for whatever reason - Its their choice. If you think Physics/Chem/Bio research is more important than dating, please be the guest of the world.... learn it and do it!

If you improve dating (to sufficient levels) and people are having better marriages and in turn healthy family structure that could possibly be more effective(in some measureable way) than say finding cure for some disease. So I dont buy that doing a dating service is worser!

Re: Why the Fuck?

#252

Post by AndrewKemendo » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 3:00 AM UTC

C.R.E.A.M. my friend, it all comes back to the C.R.E.A.M.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#253

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 3:01 AM UTC

flipside wrote: post #235

raganwald wrote: post #102

My fellow HNers: It does depress me, daily, that I do not have a career in physics or chemistry or biology or medicine where I could work on "big problems." The simple truth is, I'm not smart enough, I don't work hard enough, and I've been napping when opportunity knocked a few times in my life. That being said, sometimes a man in a saloon has a few drinks and yells at the television, telling the coach of some footba…

As someone who switched from a nanoengineering phd focused on medical diagnostics and blood analysis (including some diabetes work) to an internet rating startup, I have some opinions on this matter. 1. The time scales are completely different for internet and biotech. A/B testing online can take hours or days while biotech experiments take months to years. In fact, I came up the idea for the startup while I was wait…

[deleted]

Re: Why the Fuck?

#254

Post by ruswick » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 3:02 AM UTC

desireco42 wrote: post #196

DigitalSea wrote: post #73

I hate to sound rude, I mean well. But why the fuck is Raganwald whining about start-ups that aren't solving real problems instead of solving the problems himself? That's what really irks me about today's society. People bitch and whine about things, wanting people to change the world and yet don't do a single things themselves to make it happen. I hate the mentality that it's up to everyone else to solve serious pro…

He is just starting conversation it seems. I agree that we should do more about things that matter and in that, most posts to this are right.

I don't think he succeeded in starting any kind of conversation. He just sort of screamed vehemently at the internet, eliciting what appears to be a general backlash from HN.

Writing a blog post comprised heavily of expletives that most people immediately reject is not really promoting a discourse.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#255

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 3:02 AM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Why the Fuck?

#256

Post by mindcrime » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 3:03 AM UTC

jimbokun wrote: post #208

haberman wrote: post #80

In my five years at Google, I am not sure I have met a single engineer who is "trying to figure out how to get Scott Hanselman to click on ads." I have met tons of engineers who work on interesting problems like building models of query patterns to detect spiking queries (Google Trends and Google Hot Trends, all publicly accessible: http://www.google.com/trends/ ), Gmail, Maps/Directions/Traffic, improving (machine)…

My first thought when he asked why the great minds at Google are doing nothing for people suffering from diabetes and other ailments: How many people do you think have had their health greatly improved by researching their condition through Google?

How many people do you think have had their health greatly improved by researching their condition through Google?

No doubt. When I was diagnosed as a diabetic a few months ago, one of the first things my doctor told me was "get online and research diabetes". Now, he knows I'm the type that would do that anyway, and that I try to be a very active participant in my own health-care decisions, but still... rather than trying to recite a laundry list of data and dump it into my brain, he's basically tell me "go use Google".

Heck, as far as that goes, my doctor routinely Googles things himself, while we're talking. Just a couple of days ago, we were talking about some test I might need, and he's going to Google and looking up stuff while we're talking.

So yeah, Google are helping people in any number of areas, albeit indirectly.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#257

Post by polshaw » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 3:04 AM UTC

oh_sigh wrote: post #203

comicjk wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh, finance? Maybe this isn't as obvious to a non-New Yorker, but that seems to me like the easiest way for a smart person to make money.

Except that it isn't at all easy to get into finance, and the profits are not guaranteed in any case, as you seemed to imply.

>it isn't at all easy to get into finance

so.. you are saying you need to.. be one of the best minds?

Re: Why the Fuck?

#258

Post by mattgreenrocks » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 3:04 AM UTC

clinth wrote: post #247

delinka wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But we all can't work there. Not only are there not enough jobs at That One Company That's Changing The World, someone needs to provide the tools and services the business is built on; all the ancillary things that allow Us to make progress (computers, operating systems ... vehicles and their fuel ... food for the humans ... waste receptacles and their sanitation ... etc) How am I changing the world? A) By educating…

> there not enough jobs at That One Company That's Changing The World I met some Counsyl devs at PyCon last year, they were wonderful. We talked about meaningful work. There are so many companies and nonprofits trying to change the world. They need help with software. A partial list: Broad Institute: http://www.broadinstitute.org (disclaimer, I work there) JCVI: http://www.jcvi.org Sanger: http://www.sanger.ac.uk 23a…

Thank you for this list! It'd be great if there was a resource somewhere that aggregated these companies so hackers could reference it as they look to switch jobs.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#259

Post by blackjack160 » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 3:07 AM UTC

untog wrote: post #69

"Reginald Braithwaite is a software developer at Leanpub, where he and his colleagues take the friction out of writing and selling books" Why the fuck are the greatest minds of our generation toiling away on a book publishing platform? Oh, right, because you think it's important. Guess what- we all have different opinions. Is book publishing more important than dating? Before you laugh, think about it- finding someon…

Maybe he admits that he isn't a great mind? He might mask this admission by being overtly aggressive and profane, but let's not lose sight of this possibility.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#260

Post by orion512 » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 3:12 AM UTC

The greatest minds of today are not all specialized in diabetes. If they are not masters of a highly specialized skill, their main focus is probably earning money. Which is OK, because all this infrastructure being created is going to hopefully make the life easier of those who do specialize in curing disease.