HackerDigest

### The commenter believes that it is important for companies to prioritize the safety of their employees to freely express their opinions, especially when it may affect the company's revenue or profits. They have personally witnessed situations where speaking up diffused a potentially harmful situation, and they believe that management should not retaliate or silence employees for speaking their minds.

### The commenter recently watched the movie Dark Waters, which covers the DuPont PFOAs in Teflon case. They found the story to be unbelievable and disturbing, as the company knowingly poisoned the environment for decades and faced little consequences.

### The commenter notes that in the midst of testing, Johnson unexpectedly announced his early retirement. Johnson had been guiding the research and had not informed Hansen of what to do next. The commenter speculates that Johnson's departure may be related to the PFOS revelation, but the article does not mention if Johnson had shared any additional information with Hansen, such as private discussions, ultimatums, or his own feelings of disillusionment or despair.

### The commenter believes that the original articles (linked in the comment) are a better read than the summary provided in the link. They also point out that the summary contains spelling and grammatical errors that significantly impact the meaning. They provide links to the original articles for reference.

### The commenter is discussing the lack of open source information on LedgerStore, a technology used by Uber. They mention that finding information on it requires following a trail of backlinked Uber blog posts and provide a link to the most informative post from 2021. They also note that LedgerStore is not open source and provide a link to the GitHub page for Uber.

### The commenter believes that engineering salaries are often overlooked in cost-saving projects, possibly because engineers are seen as a fixed expense or because their contributions are less tangible. They have observed many projects that claim to save money but do not consider the effort and cost of maintaining and building them. They suspect that some of these projects are created simply to give people something to work on, rather than being a necessary solution.

### The commenter discovered a interesting post on Stack Overflow discussing the security implications of the "isEvalSupported" option in PDF.js.

### The commenter is questioning whether disabling the pdfjs.enableScripting setting in about:config can protect against a potential security issue. They believe that allowing PDFs to run Javascript goes against the Principle of Least Astonishment, which states that things should behave in a way that is expected by the user. They argue that since paper documents cannot run Javascript, PDFs should not be able to either, as they are the digital equivalent of paper documents.

### The commenter discusses the potential risks of arbitrary code execution in Javascript, specifically in the context of using the PDF.js library. They mention that while the risk is not as high as having full control of a machine, it is still slightly elevated compared to visiting a regular website. They also point out that PDF.js runs under the origin resource, preventing access to local files but still having some privileges such as being able to invoke a file download. The commenter also warns about the potential for an attacker to spy

### The commenter has considered writing explanations for their demos but has found it difficult to accurately convey the creative process behind them. They believe that for smaller demos, the size plays a significant role in the creative process and can lead to unexpected discoveries. However, when trying to explain the demo, this aspect is often lost. The commenter struggles with finding a way to convey both the technical explanation and the creative process in their writeups.

### The demoscene has shifted its focus from 64k intros to smaller ones, such as 4k or 1k, and regular demos. This is because creating a high quality 64k intro requires a lot of work and the demoscene is not as big as it used to be. The commenter challenges others to prove them wrong by creating a 64k intro about it.

### The commenter recommends a website, 64k-scene.github.io, as a great resource for those interested in getting into 64k size coding.

### A worker received a suspicious email from their company's UK office requesting a secret transaction. Despite initial doubts, the worker proceeded after seeing familiar colleagues on a video call. The commenter questions the wisdom of blindly following such instructions, even if they come from a boss, and expresses concern about the potential consequences.

### The commenter believes that AI has quickly advanced to the point where computer-generated messages are indistinguishable from those sent by humans, undoing decades of work by electronic engineers to overcome thermal noise floors. They believe that until we reach a world of replicants, in-person communication will be the most reliable way to convey a message between humans. As a result, they are optimistic about the future of travel and in-person meetings, but skeptical about the potential of VR and telecommunications.

### The commenter believes that the main problem is the absence of effective risk management protocols for financial transactions, regardless of the amount involved. They suggest implementing a standardized process for all parties involved in business deals to ensure they can properly handle and verify their involvement.

### The commenter shares a childhood experience of having warts and being taken to a dermatologist who suggested a "witch doctor cure" involving stealing a banana, eating it secretly, and burying the peel in the garden. The alternative was cryotherapy, but the commenter tried the "witch doctor cure" and it worked. They express concern about the warts potentially coming back now that they are sharing the story almost 70 years later.

### The commenter shares their personal experience with warts and how they were able to successfully treat them with an oral medication that targets the virus causing the warts. They mention that the medication has a high success rate and that their warts eventually turned black and fell off, leaving no scarring. They also mention that the doctor used duct tape at first to help speed up the process, but eventually just used a bandage.

### The commenter shares their personal experience with struggling for years to find a solution for a problem, and how they finally found success through zinc sulfate supplementation. They also provide a link to a paper that outlines the methods they used.

### The commenter has been eagerly anticipating a certain feature since 1992 and is excited that it will finally be available, as it has been a source of longing for them for a long time. They feel that this feature will finally satisfy a deep longing within them.

### The commenter is pleased with a recent improvement and believes it could have prevented them from having to troubleshoot a build for one session.

### The commenter is wondering if a certain device or technology has the capability to print the number 0.

### The commenter is discussing the concept of implicit type conversions, where a conversion map is used to preserve properties between different types. They mention that this can become complicated when there are many types and conversion maps involved, leading to potential issues with the order of conversions.

### The commenter had a half-baked idea about classifying types built from a set of algebraic operations by replacing each instance of a set with a finite set and counting the cardinality of the resulting expression. This idea seemed to reveal non-obvious set theoretic equivalences, such as between curried and uncurried functions and between pairs of real functions and paths in the plane. The commenter believes this idea could be extended further by using different formal parameters for different types. They also explain their

### The commenter discusses their understanding of the "pentagon axiom" and how it relates to isomorphisms in mathematics. They argue that while math treats sets as meaningful objects, physics is closer to the correct approach by being "covariant" and considering units or being unitless. They explain that the two spaces Rx(RxR) and (RxR)xR are canonically isomorphic, meaning they may be constructed differently but are used in the same way. They also compare this to how

### The website was created by Horst Zuse, the son of Konrad Zuse who was a computer scientist.

### The commenter is sharing information about the Z3 computer, which was built during World War II and is now displayed in a museum. The machine was a technological marvel for its time and could perform binary arithmetic and floating point operations. However, the creator, Konrad Zuse, faced challenges in obtaining materials due to the prioritization of military projects by the Nazis.

### The commenter expresses disappointment that the website they are viewing is not the actual website of the person mentioned, as they believe it could have been possible since the person only died in 1995.

### The commenter expresses frustration with the current state of discussions surrounding the economy, China, developing nations, personal consumption, and other political issues. They believe that these discussions often lead to inaction and prevent effective solutions from being implemented. They also mention the concerning trend of humanity's inability to handle slow existential threats, particularly in regards to greenhouse gas emissions. They predict that geoengineering may become necessary in the future and ask for suggestions on the most viable, cost-effective, and low-risk options for this approach

### The commenter is informing hardware engineers on Hacker News that Y Combinator is seeking founders for climate tech companies. They provide a link for more information.

### The commenter believes that the planet has been getting progressively hotter every year since they were born.

### The commenter is discussing the concept of brutalism and how it is often misunderstood as simply using visible concrete in design. They argue that brutalism is much more than that and can incorporate any material as long as it is exposed and accepted for what it is. They also mention that the pictures on Wikipedia can be misleading, but certain quotes from the page are worth reading. They highlight the idea that brutalism is an ethic, not just an aesthetic, and that it involves a reverence for materials and their

### The commenter expresses their love for the Barbican conservatory and how it reminds them of a futuristic space arcology. However, they are disappointed that instead of seeing an alien landscape on the other side of the windows, they see the familiar landscape of central London.

### The commenter initially did not like brutalism and preferred older European architecture, but after seeing a brutalist library on a beach in China, they learned to appreciate it. They believe that the combination of the surrounding nature and the architecture made it click for them. The library is located in a gated community with other brutalist structures.

### The commenter was surprised to learn that Scarlett Johansson and the voice of the Google Assistant, Sky, sounded alike. They did not think Scarlett's voice was a significant part of her celebrity status. However, they preferred Sky's voice over the others because it was not seductive or flirty, but rather "neutrally approachable" like a good receptionist. They hope Sky will be brought back soon.

### The commenter believes that the company in question intentionally created a controversial situation in order to gain free publicity and that they are skilled at manipulating the media.

### The commenter is questioning why tech companies continue to use dystopian stories as guides, specifically mentioning the similarities in tone and voice to the movie <i>Her</i>. They also mention the possibility of the next story being <i>Ex Machina</i>.

### The commenter, who is a manager that frequently reviews resumes, does not view "job hopping" negatively as long as the stints were not exclusively short (less than a year). They believe that people put too much emphasis on trying to interpret a candidate's personality from their resume and instead prefer to have a conversation with them to understand their work style, problem-solving approach, and ability to manage constraints. They also value seeing a candidate's code and having them explain it. When reviewing resumes, the

### The commenter is addressing the issue of hiring and the dilemma of choosing between someone with a history of job-hopping but high performance skills, or someone who may not have as strong of transferrable skills but is more likely to stay with the company longer. They argue that job-hopping may indicate a lack of investment in non-transferrable knowledge and processes, and may lead to changes in how things are done without seeing them through. Ultimately, the commenter suggests being cautious when considering candidates with

### The commenter believes that placement is a major issue in the tech industry and that recruiters and lengthy interviews are not effective solutions. They have personally encountered both successful and unsuccessful hires, and believe that it is rare for someone to be in a job that truly matches their skills and motivation. They argue that the industry is not interested in solving this problem, despite the potential financial benefits, as hiring processes have become more complicated and expensive without improving the quality of placement.

### The commenter argues that the longevity of the special FRAM memory cells in a gadget is irrelevant because all modern electrical devices are complex and have other parts that will likely fail in less than 200 years. They also question the availability of systems that can read USB drives in the future. Therefore, they suggest using an old daisy-wheel printer and archival quality paper to store important data for a longer period of time.

### The commenter is discussing a blog post about archiving data on paper. They mention that it costs 200k to store data on paper, but only 30k if you don't want to use a sheet scanner. They also mention that the data can be read using open source software and any type of imaging hardware. They compare FRAM and MRAM, stating that FRAM reading is destructive while MRAM is not. They also mention potential data loss from environmental stresses.

### The commenter believes that for a small amount of data (8KB), it is more practical to use paper and store it correctly rather than using digital storage methods.

### The commenter is questioning whether future generations will believe the events surrounding a hacker who published confidential documents from the CIA, was charged with sexual assault in Sweden, sought asylum in the UK, and was eventually charged with espionage by the US. They mention the ongoing court battles and the deteriorating health of the hacker, and suggest that the UN special rapporteur on torture has called for an end to the situation.

### The commenter is expressing support for Julian Assange and sharing a link to a website advocating for his release. They also provide a link to a Hacker News discussion about the topic.

### The commenter expresses joy over a recent development and expresses their hope for the release of Julian Assange from custody.