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LamdbaMamba

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Ask HN: How can I focus on knowledge work that I find boring?

2 points·by LamdbaMamba·5 lat temu·2 comments

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LamdbaMamba
·5 lat temu·discuss
Poorer countries tend to have high birth rates. As they get richer, the birth rate decreases.

This comment seems to state that poverty is a result of high birth rates, rather than the other way around. There are very good reasons for families in a society without a strong social safety net to have many children.
LamdbaMamba
·5 lat temu·discuss
I'm not sure I understand the point or argument of this article at all. It reminds me of the sort of essays I would write in English class, pouring words on a page hoping that it would sound profound enough to impress my teacher.

Besides, it's not like I have a responsibility to act in a way that's best for society at large. Sure, by 'logging off' and trying to spend some time offline perhaps I am distracting myself from a broad social goal of trying to find a way to make the 'online' world one that makes us happier as opposed to periods of binge and detox.

But I know that spending time offline makes me much happier, and it's a way I can learn how to manage my personal online experiences in a way that will make me happier still. That's not wrong, the same way living in a city but spending some time hiking in the 'wilderness' is not wrong.
LamdbaMamba
·5 lat temu·discuss
Is it absurd from a human point of view? 'Tax deductible' means lowering your taxable income because you incurred certain expenses. It's not just a free tax write off.
LamdbaMamba
·5 lat temu·discuss
'Interest rate increases will raise prices (cause inflation)'.

I hope you recognize this is so far outside current economic consensus that I can't even call it a heterodox theory. It's just wrong. This is the same logic used to justify repeated interest rate cuts in Turkey, which is causing disastrous inflation.

Interest rates also represent the opportunity cost of money. An increase in rates leads people to save rather than consume, decreasing the velocity of money and tending to lower inflation.
LamdbaMamba
·5 lat temu·discuss
This is a quote I remind myself of a lot, because it's important, but for the life of me I can't find a source for Hemingway ever saying this. I think it was attributed to him before even before Kingsmen: The Secret Service but I'm not sure?
LamdbaMamba
·5 lat temu·discuss
Robinhood probably still earns more than half of its transaction based revenue from crypto, with the rest being options and stocks. I think it actually does qualify as a major cryptocurrency service.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/18/robinhood-crypto-revenue-jum...
LamdbaMamba
·5 lat temu·discuss
Google would destroy "Liberty Leading the People" for depicting violent content if they could.

What's the line here? A scripted video depicting one friend punching another gets taken down, but MMA fights, movie scenes of executions, and Jackass clips stay up?

It's dangerous how much of our culture is in the hands of private companies who can restrict or deny your ability to view that piece of culture. They do so on a whim and you have no recourse.
LamdbaMamba
·5 lat temu·discuss
Well... maybe. Whenever I see folklore like this I always suspect there are real effects but they may be attributed incorrectly. For instance, an ancient Greek feels sick, and worships at the temple of Apollo to ask the god to heal him. The Greek starts feeling a bit better when they leave. Apollo or the placebo effect?

My first thought with telling the bees is that just speaking our thoughts to an impartial third party can help ease our burdens and make us feel better. Maybe it's a therapist, a stranger at the bar, or a garden of bees. Now this doesn't explain the supposed effect of bees dying/leaving if the practice is not followed, but it could explain why the practice continues.
LamdbaMamba
·5 lat temu·discuss
Citation needed. They say they don't hold Evergrande paper. Is that true? Who knows. But we actually don't know who's paper Tether holds.
LamdbaMamba
·5 lat temu·discuss
I'm seeing more and more discussion on a stuck mono culture, and I have to say I agree with it. This is an interesting write up on the phenomenon.

https://paulskallas.substack.com/p/is-culture-stuck
LamdbaMamba
·5 lat temu·discuss
For me it's #4. I think this was a trick Feynman used a lot. I always like seeing intimidating problems solved simply with an uncommon tool.
LamdbaMamba
·5 lat temu·discuss
It's dangerous to call this a checking account alternative. It is not a checking account, it is a taxable investment account.

You're going to get users who sign up thinking this is just like a bank account, but with better returns. Then the market will drop 10% when their rent is due tomorrow. Bank rates are so low because the money is always there and insured. Anything without these features should not be called a checking account.

You call yourself Bogle fans, but passive index investing and instant cash access are fundamentally opposed from a time perspective. Finally, this is a tax nightmare. People will think they have huge gains in their account but get hit with a capital gains tax when they go to withdraw.