Selling machine learning stuff as "intelligence" raises false expectations and is ultimately fraud. I can't wait for this whole overblown hype to crash and burn.
They call their support personnel "geniuses" - what else would you expect :)
Readit Newssbob commented on Apple introduces iPad mini built for Apple Intelligence apple.com/newsroom/2024/1... · Posted by u/diwank
I don't always fully agree with anecdotal feel good stories that seem to imply a greater universal point due to a by-chance outcome. What if the author had paralyzed the woman? What if he was solely and entirely at fault?
It's nicely written, but it speaks to most people's general positivity bias: our yearning for a benign truth underlying all things that are bad, or more specifically, that bad things aren't really real, that they're a mirage over the real state of all things which are actually good and wholesome and better than you could have even guessed. This is the kind of thinking that inexorably draws miserable people to religions that offer eternal salvation.
> What if the author had paralyzed the woman? What if he was solely and entirely at fault?
In this case his story would have never been written. Thus we get a big survivorship bias to hear only about unlikely events and get some kind of wisdom tidbits from those.
sbob commented on ‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice theatlantic.com/science/a... · Posted by u/_bpgl
This article seems too focused on the idea that even if you're not passionate about something today, you can be more passionate about it tomorrow and it's easier to become passionate if you don't have a fixed mindset (imagine that!).
But it still overemphasizes the importance of passion in a career IMO. I think the best career advice is to declare what's important and find a career that seems congruent with that. If the important things in your life don't pay much or require money, be prepared to select a career that's lucrative but tolerable / benign.
Personally, I'm not leaping out of bed to get to work, but it pays well and I like that it supports my hobbies. I certainly wouldn't have chosen this career if I had followed my passion. However, I think I get to enjoy my passions more because I have some financial resources to pursue them and I get to enjoy them more on my own terms.
The reality is this - work is lucrative either because it's unpleasant (plumbing), hard to acquire the skills (doctor / some lawyers / software engineering), performance oriented and intensely competitive (financial trading, top level management). Things that people are passionate about tend to be pleasant, easy, or doing things that are broadly appealing. It's hard to imagine that being passionate.
The only people who should follow their passions are people with passions that are lucrative to follow. If you love managing projects / products, follow your passion. If you love horses, consider doing something lucrative so you can buy your own horse.
I guess they should have specified that if you are choosing between being a doctor, a lawyer, or a software engineer you should select one of those specialties not randomly but based on your preferences (aka passion).
sbob commented on Unexpected challenges of making money on the internet kapwing.com/blog/unexpect... · Posted by u/jenthoven
(A) I will almost never use a real facebook or google account on a small site like this since I will normally expect to be spammed to no end. So normally for signup I use some disposable gmail account
(B) I certainly prefer Paypal. First I never heard of Stripe before and I assume that the site will either: (a) try to store my CC info, will get hacked and I will have to deal with fraudulent charges or (b) keep trying to charge me after I completely forgot about this service and no longer need it.
(C) If I use a credit card on a site like this it will be a virtual account number with a single charge limit. This probably explains credit card charge failures
sbob commented on Ask a Female Engineer: Thoughts on the Google Memo blog.ycombinator.com/ask-... · Posted by u/cbcowans
Has Google actually implemented diversity hire quotas?
They hired new chief diversity officer, Danielle Brown -
Brown talked with NPR last year, while at the chipmaker Intel. “I think maybe two or three specific things that explain our success,” she said. “The first thing is accountability. Setting these goals, communicating the goals, tying pay to the goals. I think that’s been key.”
She was at an important place at an important time. Intel had decided to do something no other tech giant had done before: publicly state how many women and underrepresented minorities it wanted to recruit, and how many it managed to retain. Of all new hires, Intel told the world, at least 40 percent would have to be women or underrepresented minorities.
This is obviously quotas.
I don't want to jump into a debate on a clearly biased post, but I feel that a few things need to be clear:
- Many employees prefer options to cash, as it provides the opportunity to make a lot of money. The chances that happens are very low but many people want to take the chance. Just because it's not your preference doesn't mean it's not attractive.
- Salaries increase over the life of the company, so if you join a startup today with a lower salary but many options then in a few years you'll have the salary you want AND the options. So the question is whether the difference in salary for those years is worth the opportunity for a big return.
- There is a different feeling of working somewhere where you have ownership vs just a paycheck. In the early stages of a company this is important to employees who really believe in the mission.
- Most companies do sell shares to investors for cash to pay employees, that is where the money for salaries come from. However, that investment comes with many terms attached, including liquidation preferences, which reduce the returns to employees long term. Giving employees options is the most direct transfer of value if the company does have an exit.
Overall, it's a more complex issue than this post presents. If you don't want equity, don't accept offers that include equity. If you do want equity, then do. Simple.
The lottery is just a way of taxing poor people who don't know math. (c) :)
sbob commented on Can Happiness Make You Healthier? harvardmagazine.com/2016/... · Posted by u/lc1234
Not sure if happiness can make you healthier but good health can definitely make you happier.
sbob commented on Just 27% of employees believe in their company’s values cactussofthr.info/blog/20... · Posted by u/hrgeek
I thought the "values" of every public company is to make as much money as possible for shareholders.