skybrian's recent activity

  1. Comment on Who’s buying SpaceX and Anthropic? in ~finance

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    Yes, I think it would be better to wait, but Tesla isn't a good example. It looks like the S&P 500 will wait six months.

    Yes, I think it would be better to wait, but Tesla isn't a good example.

    It looks like the S&P 500 will wait six months.

    1 vote

  2. Comment on Who’s buying SpaceX and Anthropic? in ~finance

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    I don't know what point you're trying to make. Tesla went public 16 years ago. Why wouldn't it be in the S&P 500? That's the point of the index fund, to own stock in all of the largest US public...

    I don't know what point you're trying to make. Tesla went public 16 years ago. Why wouldn't it be in the S&P 500? That's the point of the index fund, to own stock in all of the largest US public companies. That's what index investors want.

    SpaceX should be there eventually, unless there's a spectacular crash and burn. It's a question of whether to wait a bit before deciding that the market cap is reasonably stable.

  3. Comment on The user is visibly frustrated in ~tech

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    I will say please but never thank you, because what would be the point? A waste of tokens.

    I will say please but never thank you, because what would be the point? A waste of tokens.

    2 votes

  4. Comment on You can now use your Gmail account in Proton Mail in ~tech

    skybrian
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    What does the discovery of a business look like? Probably a web search? How do you know you got the right website? It’s rather hazy, based on reputation, and perhaps vulnerable to impersonation....

    What does the discovery of a business look like? Probably a web search? How do you know you got the right website? It’s rather hazy, based on reputation, and perhaps vulnerable to impersonation. But once you have the right website, https is pretty secure.

    How does a business identify you, assuming it needs to? A bank doesn’t care what your email address is when you sign up. They will want to see your ID, probably in person at a bank branch. It’s vulnerable to identity theft, but we don’t have anything better.

    Other businesses sometimes rely on a bank relationship (for example, via a credit card).

    A passkey works pretty well to re-identify you. An email or SMS might be used for login or account recovery, but it assumes you already established a relationship, and their security depends on the provider.

    I don’t much like installing apps either, but they’re becoming increasingly popular, particularly for things like banking.

    2 votes

  5. Comment on You can now use your Gmail account in Proton Mail in ~tech

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    Yeah, good luck with that. The world seems to be moving towards passkeys and mobile notifications. Email is a fallback notification scheme.

    Yeah, good luck with that. The world seems to be moving towards passkeys and mobile notifications. Email is a fallback notification scheme.

    4 votes

  6. Comment on You can now use your Gmail account in Proton Mail in ~tech

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    It seems like encryption would limit how good Proton’s search can be? Is it all done client side?

    It seems like encryption would limit how good Proton’s search can be? Is it all done client side?

    2 votes

  7. Comment on It's not just X. It's Y. in ~humanities

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    Yep. For reasoning, I don’t particularly mind since polished prose isn’t really the point, but it would be nice if they did a better job on documentation.

    Yep. For reasoning, I don’t particularly mind since polished prose isn’t really the point, but it would be nice if they did a better job on documentation.

    2 votes

  8. Comment on Who’s buying SpaceX and Anthropic? in ~finance

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    On the one hand, the valuations are sky-high already and on the other, opinions differ very widely on how valuable AI is and its long term effects on society. Maybe they won’t meet expectations,...

    On the one hand, the valuations are sky-high already and on the other, opinions differ very widely on how valuable AI is and its long term effects on society. Maybe they won’t meet expectations, but I wouldn’t want to exclude them from a broad index fund. The point of such things is that you don’t want to exclude any possible winners.

    For example, Google kept going up far longer than I thought it would based on my rather cynical view of Internet advertising.

    3 votes

  9. Comment on You can now use your Gmail account in Proton Mail in ~tech

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    It sounds like it would be a nicer transition for people who use email a lot, who are probably the target audience for this. Nowadays most of my communication with people has moved to chat and...

    It sounds like it would be a nicer transition for people who use email a lot, who are probably the target audience for this.

    Nowadays most of my communication with people has moved to chat and email is largely messages from businesses or things like account signups, and I doubt any of them use Proton.

    4 votes

  10. Comment on Bernie Sanders: The public should own half of the big AI companies in ~society

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    None of the startups I worked for did that as far as I know, but perhaps it’s more common now. I don’t think it works for stock options, which is what I got.

    None of the startups I worked for did that as far as I know, but perhaps it’s more common now.

    I don’t think it works for stock options, which is what I got.

  11. Comment on The dead economy theory in ~society

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    It’s often difficult to separate out cognitive versus other aspects of a job when human relationships are involved. For example, some people can learn on their own from reading or doing computer...

    It’s often difficult to separate out cognitive versus other aspects of a job when human relationships are involved. For example, some people can learn on their own from reading or doing computer exercises, but there’s more to teaching than that.

    3 votes

  12. Comment on The fall of the theorem economy in ~science

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    This seems sort of like relying on an axiom or conjecture, except you're not free to assume the opposite.

    This seems sort of like relying on an axiom or conjecture, except you're not free to assume the opposite.

  13. Comment on Bernie Sanders: The public should own half of the big AI companies in ~society

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    Thanks, I wasn't aware of it. Do startups commonly use that?

    Thanks, I wasn't aware of it. Do startups commonly use that?

  14. Comment on Bernie Sanders: The public should own half of the big AI companies in ~society

    skybrian
    Link
    Of course this legislation has no chance, but maybe it will get people talking? I wonder if a variation on it might work, though. The trick would be to get in early, before a startup's valuation...

    Of course this legislation has no chance, but maybe it will get people talking?

    I wonder if a variation on it might work, though. The trick would be to get in early, before a startup's valuation has gone up. Suppose that, when a startup sells stock to an investor or grants it to an employee, they could give 20% to a sovereign wealth fund, and in return, the investor or employee pays no capital gains? It would probably seem like a good deal at the time (increasing the value of the shares), and the government would hang onto the shares, perhaps selling some if there's a stock buyback.

    A lot of startups fail, but some of them grow to be giant companies.

    8 votes

  15. Comment on Which Substacks do you subscribe to/follow? in ~tech

    skybrian
    Link
    You can probably tell from the links I share. Construction Physics is pretty good.

    You can probably tell from the links I share. Construction Physics is pretty good.

    1 vote

  16. Comment on The dead economy theory in ~society

    skybrian
    Link
    Maybe, but I’m wondering how many jobs are purely cognitive in each industry. Much like happened in some US manufacturing centers due to foreign competition, it could be devastating while also...

    General-purpose AI threatens cognitive labor comprehensively, across every industry, simultaneously.

    Maybe, but I’m wondering how many jobs are purely cognitive in each industry. Much like happened in some US manufacturing centers due to foreign competition, it could be devastating while also being far from “the end of work.”

    8 votes

  17. Comment on It's not just X. It's Y. in ~humanities

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    If the LLM’s remain the same, their tells will become more and more recognizable. But I think this is more likely to be a phase? I don’t think Claude says “you’re absolutely right” anymore?

    If the LLM’s remain the same, their tells will become more and more recognizable. But I think this is more likely to be a phase? I don’t think Claude says “you’re absolutely right” anymore?

    2 votes

  18. Comment on Who’s buying SpaceX and Anthropic? in ~finance

    skybrian
    Link Parent
    There are shenanigans in other parts of the world too, and you miss some big gains that way.

    There are shenanigans in other parts of the world too, and you miss some big gains that way.

    2 votes

  19. Comment on Decades of effort restore steelhead and salmon passage on California's Alameda Creek in ~enviro

    skybrian
    Link
    From the article:

    From the article:

    Last year, California Trout and Pacific Gas & Electric removed the final barrier to fish passage on California’s Alameda Creek with funding from NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Habitat Conservation. For the first time in 50 years, threatened Central California Coast steelhead and other migratory fish can reach spawning grounds and juvenile rearing habitat in the upper watershed.

    Construction crews relocated a Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) natural gas pipeline and removed its concrete covering. The pipeline had spanned the creek and created an 8-foot drop in the creek. They installed the new pipeline section deep below the creek bed, removed the old pipe section, and regraded the stream channel—restoring a natural pathway for fish.

    1 vote