Questions • Hacker News Board

Re: Questions

#431

Post by yurylifshits » Mon, Oct 01, 2018, 6:15 AM UTC

> How do we help more experimental cities get started?

    — Create better city simulation software 
    — Fund "future cities" labs and institutes
    — Pool job creators together and negotiate collectively for new cities and districts
      (like Amazon is doing for HQ2)

My long answer is on Medium: https://medium.com/@yurylifshits/neocity-aa102731911b

Re: Questions

#432

Post by wingerlang » Mon, Oct 01, 2018, 6:27 AM UTC

chucky wrote: post #35

> Why are there so many successful startups in Stockholm? Several reasons. First, you need to recognize that any Sweden-based startup will, when it gets to be known internationally, have a Stockholm-based office. So it's not about a city of 1 million inhabitants, it's a country of 10 million that's the true number here. As an example, I believe Spotify opened their original offices in both Stockholm and Göteborg more…

That's interesting about the reform. I was a kid during those years and I recall us buying our computers through my dads work.

Re: Questions

#433

Post by qkls » Mon, Oct 01, 2018, 6:39 AM UTC

Tongueincheek wrote: post #125

flexie wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Winter is not horribly dark and boring in Scandinavia unless you are super rich. It’s equally dark and boring for everyone. And virtually everybody in Scandinavia can afford to travel south to sunnier places for a few weeks, if that’s what they want. I’d say proficiency in English and quite wealthy populations is what matters.

That's not true. The super rich are taking luxury vacations and spa trips.

Finnish travel agencies offer a week long trip to Canary islands for €500, you don't need to be rich to save for that once a year. Most cities have spas too.

Re: Questions

#434

Post by SimplyUnknown » Mon, Oct 01, 2018, 7:24 AM UTC

mercer wrote: post #209

chucky wrote: post #35

> Why are there so many successful startups in Stockholm? Several reasons. First, you need to recognize that any Sweden-based startup will, when it gets to be known internationally, have a Stockholm-based office. So it's not about a city of 1 million inhabitants, it's a country of 10 million that's the true number here. As an example, I believe Spotify opened their original offices in both Stockholm and Göteborg more…

Most of the things you mention also apply to The Netherlands, except for possibly the tax-free computer scheme (not sure about that one). As far as I can tell we're not really all that note-worthy startup-wise. Assuming that's true, any ideas what might be the differentiating factor? From what I understand, both Holland and Sweden are culturally similar enough that I can't immediately think of other factors that make…

The Netherlands also had rebate for personal computers, called the "PC privé plan" (Private PC plan), where bosses could give their employees tax-free computers with a maximum of about 2300 euros at the start, which was cut to 1500 euros near the end of measure. This lasted from 1997 until 2004.

Re: Questions

#435

Post by taneq » Mon, Oct 01, 2018, 7:29 AM UTC

ttty wrote: post #358

carapace wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, I would [make the national speed limit 25] if I could. (With some hopefully obvious qualifications.) The current traffic system as an insane "death and mayhem lottery" that we force ourselves to play, with out respect of youth, age or anything. The current interest and action towards bike-friendly cities is a symptom, I think, of a healing of societies' psyches. We have been pretty brutal to each other since th…

Ok, so from 50 to 25 will reduce some deaths. That's right. But now we can reduce to 20, will reduce even more deaths. Then 15, 10... Where do we stop?

And what is the real human cost when we factor in the number of human lives wasted sitting in traffic at stupidly low speeds.

If decreasing your speed from 100km/h to 50km/h gives you a 1% lower chance of dying in a road traffic accident, but you spend an additional 2% of your life stuck in traffic, is that a win?

Re: Questions

#436

Post by coldtea » Mon, Oct 01, 2018, 7:43 AM UTC

twtw wrote: post #278

coldtea wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the level of those questions it's not that difficult. Read books (not just summaries of seminal works, the seminal works themselves, and not just non-fiction) and follow some quality discussion and news sources for a decade or so. A background in a science, history, etc, also helps. Also start a blog or write small essays with your observations (even if they're trite at first -- they'll get better over time, espec…

I suspect you misread the comment you responded to...

Appears so. The good thing is, judging from the tone and the lack of any concrete argument, the parent has achieved the first part of what he asks for anyway!

Re: Questions

#437

Post by robfitz » Mon, Oct 01, 2018, 7:48 AM UTC

StanislavPetrov wrote: post #377

robfitz wrote: post #320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with your first 2 paragraphs, but the third is being overly simplistic (or potentially just not understanding the trade-off at play). The scenario is that (roughly) 90% of the hypergrowth-style startups which raise a first round will fail to achieve enough momentum to successfully raise a second. And due to the business model choices they've committed to, failing to raise at that point is equivalent to going…

You are completely missing his third point. For people without wealth (or a social safety-net which provides you the resources you need to survive), it isn't optional to work for free. You have to eat and have a roof over your head, which means taking a salary if you are working full-time on your startup. Its not a strategic decision.

I must have poorly explained. The strategic decision happens earlier, when you decide which idea to commit to. Certain ideas are both a) incapable of generating early profits and b) dependent on reaching uncertain milestones to unlock the next stage of crucial funding.

So if you don't have the personal finances to deal with that situation, then you make a different decision further upstream, in the past, by choosing to work on an idea which has either easier funding targets (allowing an early salary), or which can generate early profits (allowing an early salary), or which has lower development requirements (allowing you to work on it alongside another paying job).

The decision is about idea selection, where I agree with you. "If you need the money, then pick an idea which allows you to pay yourself quickly." But if you've chosen to play a different game (typical hypergrowth VC stuff), and you want to maximise your odds of winning at that particular game, then it's generally ideal to buy yourself more months business runway instead of more months of personal runway.

Perhaps still not clear, and I know it's an emotionally loaded topic, but hopefully that makes sense.

Re: Questions

#438

Post by jacquesm » Mon, Oct 01, 2018, 7:50 AM UTC

tomhoward wrote: post #394

jacquesm wrote: post #45

Reading this I'd feel a lot better if YC was run by Patrick, I prefer people that know what questions to ask over those with all the answers.

As I understand it, Patrick and Sam are friends. You don’t think they’re discussing these and other hard questions socially? Also, Sam founded YC Research and donated $10M of his own money into it to find answers to hard questions about AI, UBI, medicine/health and other big challenges. He also toured the country interviewing Trump voters to find answers to questions about what was underlying the political climate th…

I read Sams posts whenever they come out and they strike me as someone who has good intentions, little experience and who believes that they are able to see what is good for the world. I read Patricks writings as someone who is genuinely curious about the world and who by thinking about problems reaches points where he does not have all the answers but is able to at least phrase the problems coherently enough that future solutions might be defined.

The difference in style is tremendous, and no statement on their friendship or private discussions was implied or intended. To me it is the difference between 'smart' and 'wise'. You can be very smart and still not be very wise (though it is hard to be wise and not smart).

As far as the evidence is concerned, that we can agree on, the 'changing the world for the better' mantra has outlived its usefulness and should for transparency's sake simply be replaced by the one thing that matters: money.

Watsi is still from the PG days, the UBI experiment is so broken it is embarrassing, the 'hard questions about AI' have been raised since Asimov's days and do not - to me at least, feel free to differ - move the needle at all.

Re: Questions

#439

Post by JepZ » Mon, Oct 01, 2018, 7:52 AM UTC

JabavuAdams wrote: post #419

JepZ wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are other ways of making sure the student understood the concept. Recently I played the game 'The Witness'. The whole game is about learning new puzzle rules, and yet there is not a single dialog within the game or even text explaining those rules. I am not saying that their technique is the most efficient (e.g., adding hints would undoubtedly increase the efficiency, but also ruin the game experience), just th…

You had a one on one conversation with Jon Blow's creation. This is not an argument against one on one. More like an argument for low-key AI tutors.

While I like your way of thinking, I don't think the argument applies. The game itself doesn't possess any kind of AI and is somewhat static, more like a sudoku book: There are lots of puzzles, but you know it when you have solved one.

The one-on-one tutor idea is that you have a master who sees the mistakes the student makes and gives him an exercise to target precisely the misconception the student might have in his head.

The Witness, on the other hand, doesn't possess such intelligence. Instead, it is a carefully crafted series of puzzles which slowly broaden the possible moves. Most of the time every next puzzle requires you to learn a new part of the rules. Sometimes you assumed that part anyway, and the puzzles are easy. But sometimes you have to find out that misconception in your head and replace it with something correct which makes the puzzle harder.

So one concept includes an intelligent observer while the other is more like a perfected text book.

Re: Questions

#440

Post by stef25 » Mon, Oct 01, 2018, 8:46 AM UTC

chucky wrote: post #35

> Why are there so many successful startups in Stockholm? Several reasons. First, you need to recognize that any Sweden-based startup will, when it gets to be known internationally, have a Stockholm-based office. So it's not about a city of 1 million inhabitants, it's a country of 10 million that's the true number here. As an example, I believe Spotify opened their original offices in both Stockholm and Göteborg more…

> Another thing is that Sweden doesn't have the tradition of dubbing movies

Here in Belgium, in the Flemish part of the country we don't dub movies but in the French part we do. The levels of English are massively different, not sure if this is the main reason.