Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run • Hacker News Board

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#61

Post by Chevalier » Wed, Mar 04, 2015, 11:37 PM UTC

rinon wrote: post #58

Chevalier wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cars are very UNSAFE, for the record. [1] Self-driving cars will be better... but autonomous cars are SUCH an intellectually lazy progression from the status quo that I hope they won't happen. Rather than autonomous cars, we should be focusing on Taleb's antifragile solutions like walking and biking. This means the design of dense housing and walkable streets, and the removal of two-ton bullets that massacre children…

Completely agree on your suggestions for urban areas. However, not everyone wants dense housing... Suburbs exist because people do not want to be that close to each other. Some people want to own their own yards/property/houses, have open space, and are willing to trade driving significantly more (with its associated dangers) for these features. People are going to create the kind of environment they want to live in,…

Of course there's a place for suburbs, and I'm not opposed to the idea of less dense housing. Such housing can exist in the context of walkable neighborhoods with public transit, though. I think there's quite a bit of merit to firm city limits that prevent sprawl and car dependence.

That said... if someone wants to live in exurbia, he should pay an appropriate amount to access amenities downtown. It's absurd that someone can pay $1500/month for a studio downtown, but only a few feet from his front door, anyone can drive a similarly-sized vehicle at hazardous speeds for free.

Driving is essentially free in the US, despite enormous costs in terms of infrastructure and public space. That needs to change. If car-dependent exurbs must continue to exist, then we should at least make those exurbs responsible for their own costs rather than forcing urban residents to have their neighborhoods destroyed and then pay for the privilege.

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#62

Post by icebraining » Wed, Mar 04, 2015, 11:39 PM UTC

VLM wrote: post #47

Chevalier wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not that it's any more or less tragic, but I've always been astonished that Silicon Valley is so car-dependent. We've concentrated the most brilliant minds in the world in this small area... and then force everyone to pilot two-ton bullets to pick up groceries? Not all workers can demand decent living conditions, but you'd think the competitive draw for workers in Silicon Valley would entice company towns to, I don't…

This article is being flooded with weird anti-car hate. Yet, my car is perfectly safe and can only kill someone in a hit and run at 100 MPH if, and only if, I get drunk first. Given that I don't drink very much and then only at home (a sixer lasts me about a season, sometimes half a year) that means my car is incredibly safe and will almost certainly never kill anyone. Odd how there's no anti-alcohol hate here on HN,…

I agree, it's the drunk's fault. But that's irrelevant if you're trying to stop people from getting killed, instead of just trying to assign blame. What matters is what we can do about it, and pushing for a reduction in car usage is an effective way of reducing vehicular manslaughter.

Being drunk is not the only way to kill someone while driving at 100mph. As someone who was in a car when the steering wheel simply stopped controlling the wheels while we were in a road with heavy traffic, which culminated with it rolling over 270°, I can guarantee you that (nobody got killed, but it was pure luck).

EDIT: reduced dumb and useless aggressiveness.

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#63

Post by ossreality » Wed, Mar 04, 2015, 11:41 PM UTC

VLM wrote: post #47

Chevalier wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not that it's any more or less tragic, but I've always been astonished that Silicon Valley is so car-dependent. We've concentrated the most brilliant minds in the world in this small area... and then force everyone to pilot two-ton bullets to pick up groceries? Not all workers can demand decent living conditions, but you'd think the competitive draw for workers in Silicon Valley would entice company towns to, I don't…

This article is being flooded with weird anti-car hate. Yet, my car is perfectly safe and can only kill someone in a hit and run at 100 MPH if, and only if, I get drunk first. Given that I don't drink very much and then only at home (a sixer lasts me about a season, sometimes half a year) that means my car is incredibly safe and will almost certainly never kill anyone. Odd how there's no anti-alcohol hate here on HN,…

This is the dumbest fucking piece of text I've ever read on the Internet.

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#64

Post by seanmcdirmid » Wed, Mar 04, 2015, 11:43 PM UTC

DiabloD3 wrote: post #52

Chevalier wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm using SV as shorthand for the tech industry generally -- and Redmond is very much to Seattle what Silicon Valley is to San Francisco. Car-dependent suburbia that threatens the health, safety, and quality-of-life of everyone forced to be there. San Francisco is as walkable as the West Coast gets, which alone testifies to the disgrace of American urban planning. Ey would have been killed long ago if he dared to rid…

I actually agree with this response. Because of Microsoft, Seattle has become Silicon Valley North, just the same as NYC has become the Silicon Alley and Chicago is... whatever they're calling Chicago now. All of them are similar, heavy car usage, not enough walking, and no safety for humans. Google is trying to solve it by making smarter cars. How about we solve it by making our communities smarter instead?

We call it the "Silicon Forest." I remember Redmond when it was still just a small town whose claim to fame was a TV production lot for Northern Exposure (I grew up in Bothell just north on 405).

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#65

Post by astrodust » Wed, Mar 04, 2015, 11:49 PM UTC

spike021 wrote: post #55

RIMR wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you live in Seattle proper, there are busses that run all night. Most of them will get you within a 20-minute walk of wherever you want to go. Still, with Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, and 5+ cab companies at your disposal there is no excuse for being drunk behind the wheel. Before I moved here I was a pretty obsessively responsible driver. Now that I live here, I have to keep my irresponsible drinking in check because I n…

My thought is that if you have the money to spend on multiple drinks, then you should be able to spend at least one drink's cost on Uber, Lyft, etc.

Either a drink is super expensive where you are, or Uber is very cheap.

Hanging out at a place within walking distance of home really is the best bet. Sadly a lot of American cities don't seem to have bars anywhere near where people live, unlike European ones where you can throw a rock from your window and hit a pub.

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#66

Post by astrodust » Wed, Mar 04, 2015, 11:51 PM UTC

influx wrote: post #5

ronald_dregan wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

remember that a huge, overwhelming majority of Americans are hopelessly stupid, and it starts to make a little more sense.

I assure you that there are stupid people outside of America. In fact, the majority of stupid human beings are not American.

American drivers are bad, some especially bad, but none of them are as outrageously bad as you get in countries like Saudi Arabia.

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#67

Post by Crito » Wed, Mar 04, 2015, 11:51 PM UTC

egor598 wrote: post #17

influx wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assure you that there are stupid people outside of America. In fact, the majority of stupid human beings are not American.

Of course the majority of stupid people will be outside of America (statistically speaking), the world is huge, you stupid :-), in comparison with your 'Murica! But I am inclined to believe that the ratio of stupid people in 'murica might as well be higher than in the rest of the world.

> "[snip] than in the rest of the world."

Considering the role of environment on intelligence, I would consider that to be extremely unlikely. If you restricted your statement to "other developed nations", that might be a bit more plausible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environment_and_intelligence

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#68

Post by JCook4523 » Wed, Mar 04, 2015, 11:52 PM UTC

Stories like these are so tragic. I'm very optimistic about self driving car technology, primarily due to it's ability to reduce these types of unnecessary deaths.

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#69

Post by seanmcdirmid » Wed, Mar 04, 2015, 11:52 PM UTC

VLM wrote: post #47

Chevalier wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not that it's any more or less tragic, but I've always been astonished that Silicon Valley is so car-dependent. We've concentrated the most brilliant minds in the world in this small area... and then force everyone to pilot two-ton bullets to pick up groceries? Not all workers can demand decent living conditions, but you'd think the competitive draw for workers in Silicon Valley would entice company towns to, I don't…

This article is being flooded with weird anti-car hate. Yet, my car is perfectly safe and can only kill someone in a hit and run at 100 MPH if, and only if, I get drunk first. Given that I don't drink very much and then only at home (a sixer lasts me about a season, sometimes half a year) that means my car is incredibly safe and will almost certainly never kill anyone. Odd how there's no anti-alcohol hate here on HN,…

I saw a girl on a bike get hit and killed by a taxi trying to beat a light. She was going across even though the light was red, as is common in China. I'll never get the "crash" out of my head.

I don't really blame the driver, but the whole system is crazy: you have tons of cars and tons of non-cars (bikes, electric bikes, pedestrians) mixed up all together with limited infrastructure, these things are just bound to happen. I can't wait for self driving cars to be a thing, they'll be able to handle this much better.

Re: Mike Ey, Microsoft HoloLens designer, killed in hit and run

#70

Post by icebraining » Wed, Mar 04, 2015, 11:56 PM UTC

VLM wrote: post #51

sean-duffy wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You've answered your own question. Cars are dumb machines because we don't yet have the technology to judge what is "crazy fast" and make decision about where it should be allowed. Other than the obvious reasons of racing and car enthusiasts, there are legitimate reasons for a car to do 100mph. Often in emergency situations, you need to speed up rather than slow down to prevent an accident. If we start placing limits…

WRT "Cars are dumb machines" I find it fascinating in this discussion that its assumed we can trivially deploy an AI smart enough to out drive a human, but nobody wants to talk about humans being so dumb they get drunk then go driving after decades of incessant propaganda and punishment. I don't think a species that can't stop drunks from driving stands a chance at creating an AI that can outdrive humans.

Stopping drunks from driving is a political/social problem, not a technical problem. IIDs have been around for a long time, but mandating their installation on every sold car is political suicide in most places (though it seems some countries like Sweden are considering it).