Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

What a 4am haircut taught me about hackathons

news.mlh.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 46 posts

Re: What a 4am haircut taught me about hackathons

#21

Post by DanBC »

8_hours_ago wrote: post #14
busterarm wrote: post #3

So who is willing to risk their barber's license offering this service...? There's a reason we require licensing of that profession...

I was curious so I looked up the regulations for California[1]. A barber license requires a 2-year full-time apprenticeship, classroom instruction, a written test, and a practical test. In my opinion, those requirements are way too stringent for someone who is just going to be cutting my hair. I've had family members cut my hair and I still have all of my ears. What are the legitimate reasons for the current license…

The requirements reassure the public that the person cutting hair isn't an idiot who's just bought some cheap clippers. They've cut hair - hundreds of hours worth of hair cutting - and they know how to sterilize the equipment. And if you're going to have chemical hair treatments you're not going to be maimed by someone who doesn't know how to use the chemicals.

I agree that 1,500 hours does sound a bit long though.

Re: What a 4am haircut taught me about hackathons

#22

Post by s73v3r »

infinitone wrote: post #17

Uber for X services thrive on high retention something which is low for hair cuts. How often do people get them? Also, hair styling can be subjective making it hard to quantitatively define quality- which makes it hard to scale.

I know I don't get haircuts anywhere near as often as I should.

Re: What a 4am haircut taught me about hackathons

#23

Post by DanBC »

Kluny wrote: post #20
8_hours_ago wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was curious so I looked up the regulations for California[1]. A barber license requires a 2-year full-time apprenticeship, classroom instruction, a written test, and a practical test. In my opinion, those requirements are way too stringent for someone who is just going to be cutting my hair. I've had family members cut my hair and I still have all of my ears. What are the legitimate reasons for the current license…

You're a dude. As a woman, I have MUCH higher requirements of my hairstylists.

Sure, but those are the requirements for barbers, not people who cut / style women's hair.

Re: What a 4am haircut taught me about hackathons

#26

Post by zitterbewegung »

8_hours_ago wrote: post #14
busterarm wrote: post #3

So who is willing to risk their barber's license offering this service...? There's a reason we require licensing of that profession...

I was curious so I looked up the regulations for California[1]. A barber license requires a 2-year full-time apprenticeship, classroom instruction, a written test, and a practical test. In my opinion, those requirements are way too stringent for someone who is just going to be cutting my hair. I've had family members cut my hair and I still have all of my ears. What are the legitimate reasons for the current license…

Have fun with the infection that is brought upon when your unlicensed hairstyler cuts off your ear.

Re: What a 4am haircut taught me about hackathons

#27

Post by s73v3r »

ryandvm wrote: post #4
busterarm wrote: post #3

So who is willing to risk their barber's license offering this service...? There's a reason we require licensing of that profession...

Wow - I completely forgot that you need a license to cut hair in most of the US. I find it amusing that you could write the software for controlling a self-driving car without so much as a high school diploma, but we're still requiring licenses for hair stylists.

You'd still need a license to actually put the car on the road

Re: What a 4am haircut taught me about hackathons

#28

Post by s73v3r »

[deleted] wrote: post #19
vilhelm_s wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what _is_ the reason? I have always assumed that this is an example of regulatory capture: existing barbers gain from raising the barrier of entry for competitors, while non-barbers don't care enough about it to lobby.

[deleted]

There's a lot of shit to learn.

Re: What a 4am haircut taught me about hackathons

#29

Post by Cushman »

ryandvm wrote: post #4
busterarm wrote: post #3

So who is willing to risk their barber's license offering this service...? There's a reason we require licensing of that profession...

Wow - I completely forgot that you need a license to cut hair in most of the US. I find it amusing that you could write the software for controlling a self-driving car without so much as a high school diploma, but we're still requiring licenses for hair stylists.

You don't need a license to write code for a hair-cutting robot either, but I'll bet you want one before you put it on somebody's head.

Re: What a 4am haircut taught me about hackathons

#30

Post by protomyth »

infinitone wrote: post #17

Uber for X services thrive on high retention something which is low for hair cuts. How often do people get them? Also, hair styling can be subjective making it hard to quantitatively define quality- which makes it hard to scale.

"high retention something which is low for hair cuts"

Maybe for a certain set of guys, but not in general. [edit: people find who they like and stick with them - high retention and reputation gets very important]

Post reply on HN