All Topics

The cluster discusses the concept of pure functions without side effects as central to functional programming, debating definitions, enforcement in languages like Haskell, and distinctions from impure code.

This cluster centers on comments suggesting, questioning, or praising the automation of various tasks and processes discussed in HN threads, often highlighting how something could or should be automated to save effort.

The cluster debates iOS and Android smartphone market shares, with commenters emphasizing iOS's majority in the US (50-60%) versus Android's global dominance (70-80%).

The cluster discusses the replication crisis in scientific research, heavily referencing Ioannidis's 2005 paper 'Why Most Published Research Findings Are False' and issues like low reproducibility rates in psychology and other fields.

The cluster focuses on debates about Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, including its protections for online platforms from liability for user-generated content, the role of moderation, and misconceptions about publisher vs. platform distinctions.

Discussions critique incentives in academia, why talented individuals avoid pure research for industry or finance, and compare academic labs to industrial R&D.

Discussions focus on the usability of QR codes, built-in mobile scanners, browser camera access for scanning, and suggestions for improving QR code handling in apps and web contexts.

Discussions focus on separating anonymous or hashed usernames from customizable display names on forums like Hacker News, including concerns about handle squatting, privacy, anonymity, and user experience.

Users reminisce about their first programming experiences as children with BASIC, QBasic, and similar languages on vintage computers like Commodore 64, Apple II, and BBC Micro, often typing programs from books and creating simple games.

Users question the significance of observed trends or achievements by attributing them to summer conditions or vacations in the northern hemisphere, urging to check performance during winter months.

The cluster focuses on debates about whether Netflix should pay ISPs like Comcast and Verizon for bandwidth delivery to customers, including peering agreements, transit costs, rejected caching offers, and net neutrality implications.

This cluster debates whether popularity of ideas, products, or content indicates quality, merit, usefulness, or correctness, with many comments arguing that popularity does not equate to inherent value.

Discussions focus on the discovery phase in US civil lawsuits, where internal documents, emails, and communications from companies and executives are exchanged and potentially become public record during litigation.

The cluster focuses on criticisms of the high costs of college textbooks, publisher tactics like frequent editions and mandatory access codes, and alternatives such as used books, older editions, or open educational resources.

Comments overwhelmingly recommend buying used items or hardware on eBay as a cost-effective alternative to new purchases, often suggesting to check listings, stock up, or find deals there. Discussions highlight eBay's availability for second-hand goods amid shortages or high new prices.

Users discuss and share personal experiences with carnivore, low-carb, keto, and other diets focused on eliminating carbs, processed foods, and emphasizing meat for weight loss, energy, and health benefits.

The cluster focuses on discussions distinguishing between concurrency and parallelism in programming, frequently correcting confusions and referencing Rob Pike's 'Concurrency is not Parallelism' talk.

The cluster focuses on debates about ProtonMail's security features, privacy claims, encryption, logging practices, legal compliance, and comparisons to alternatives like Gmail and Fastmail.

Discussions revolve around whether Amazon violates laws or its Terms of Service with certain practices, Amazon's potential liability for unauthorized uses or third-party seller actions, and if they enforce or allow such activities despite reports.

This cluster focuses on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on remote work, debating whether pandemic-era WFH signals a permanent shift to remote or hybrid models, its acceleration of trends, and distinctions from normal remote work.

Comments discuss how professional PCB fabrication and assembly services like JLCPCB, PCBWay, and Macrofab have become extremely affordable and fast, making DIY etching and stuffing obsolete for prototyping and hobbyists.

The cluster focuses on debates comparing SpaceX's Starship to NASA's SLS, Starliner, and Artemis programs, discussing development status, reliability, cost, reusability, and suitability for lunar missions.

This cluster debates whether training generative AI image models like DALL-E and Stable Diffusion on copyrighted artwork violates copyright law, and if AI outputs constitute derivative works, often comparing to human artists learning styles and ideas.

The cluster focuses on discussions about the feasibility, availability, and challenges of part-time work in the tech industry, particularly for software engineers seeking fewer hours than full-time while maintaining career viability or alongside other commitments.

Comments focus on appreciating, critiquing, and debating typography quality in web pages, documents, and design, often noting Hacker News users' enthusiasm for the topic.

The cluster focuses on debates about Google Chrome's extensive tracking of user browsing activity, data sharing with Google services, and privacy implications even in incognito mode or with features like safe browsing enabled.

The cluster debates the merits of allowing children to engage in risky play and unsupervised adventures to foster resilience versus the need for parental supervision to prevent injuries, often referencing playground safety and overprotective parenting.

Cluster focuses on synthetic fuels (e-fuels) produced from CO2, hydrogen via electrolysis, and renewable energy as carbon-neutral alternatives to fossil fuels, particularly for aviation, jets, and hard-to-electrify uses, debating feasibility, cost, and efficiency.

Cluster focuses on advice for self-taught or inexperienced young programmers facing financial hardships, recommending side projects, freelancing, open source contributions, and entry-level jobs to build skills and portfolios for breaking into software development careers.

Comments discuss the challenges of overcoming the status quo, resistance to paradigm shifts in society, and whether gradual evolution, revolutions, or external shocks are needed for fundamental change.

The cluster centers on discussions questioning the accuracy levels of AI or ML systems, debating whether high percentages like 99% are sufficient, achievable, or meaningfully reported without ground truth.

Discussions focus on the necessity of paying for news and journalism to fund reporters, sustain organizations, and maintain quality reporting, often debating paywalls and free content expectations.

Users overwhelmingly recommend Brother laser printers for their reliability, longevity, and low maintenance costs, often contrasting them with problematic HP inkjets that fail quickly or have expensive ink.

Commenters reminisce about the pre-internet Bulletin Board System (BBS) era, sharing personal stories of dial-up modems, running BBSes, FidoNet, and early online experiences with services like CompuServe and AOL.

Comments discuss preferences and debates over various game input methods, including keyboard/mouse versus controllers, gamepads, touch controls, and joysticks, especially for FPS games, consoles, and handhelds.

Comments primarily express sarcasm, doubt, or mockery toward global warming claims, often questioning its relevance or reality in the context of the discussed article, with samples including debates on terminology, evidence, and impacts.

Cluster focuses on smart light bulbs, switches, and automation for controlling home lights remotely, via voice commands, schedules, or motion, with discussions on products like Philips Hue and preferences for physical vs. smart controls.

Cluster focuses on comparisons between books and their film adaptations, debating differences in plot, fidelity, pacing, and which medium delivers a better experience.

Discussions debate whether technological solutions like encryption and VPNs or legislative and political actions are better for combating government and corporate surveillance.

Discussions center on a visualization or experiment depicting photon trajectories, debating quantum vs. classical interpretations like scattering in translucent media, single-photon sources, wavelengths, upconversion, and light's wave-particle nature.

Discussions center on the debate over supporting legacy web browsers versus prioritizing modern features, including trade-offs in compatibility, user experience, and development effort.

The cluster centers on using pizza as an analogy for SaaS/cloud services (ordering pizza from vendors) versus self-hosting (making your own pizza or instances), debating maintenance, vendor competition, customization, and quality.

Comments speculate on applying a physics effect or technology to advanced spacecraft propulsion methods, including ion drives, solar sails, photon rockets, laser sails, and fuelless systems.

Discussions compare driving behaviors, safety, attentiveness, and rule adherence between the US and other countries like Europe, Asia, and Latin America, debating whether US drivers are more respectful, reckless, or on autopilot.

The cluster centers on discussions of the Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal, where software detected emissions tests and adjusted engine behavior to cheat regulations, with commenters drawing parallels to similar cheating in other manufacturers and contexts.

Discussions center on tiny houses, mobile homes, yurts, shipping containers, and other compact, portable, or modular housing options as affordable alternatives to traditional homes, including debates on their quality, practicality, portability, and uses for homelessness, rentals, or off-grid living.

Discussions center on cloud and hosting providers like Hetzner, OVH, and DigitalOcean terminating or suspending customer accounts, often citing broad ToS clauses, leading to data loss without notice or recourse, and debates on fairness and business practices.

The cluster centers on debates about whether individuals, especially US citizens, should fear surveillance and data access by their own government (e.g., NSA) more than by foreign governments like China (e.g., CCP), with many arguing domestic spying poses greater risks due to direct power over citizens.

The cluster centers on debates about assumptions regarding the original poster's sexual orientation, particularly whether they are gay, straight, or bisexual, often triggered by mentions of relationships or boyfriends.

Discussions center on the reputation, selectivity, and quality of prestigious scientific journals like Nature and its subsidiaries such as Scientific Reports, questioning how dubious papers get published and critiquing journal prestige versus actual scientific rigor.

Comments discuss the legality of circumventing DRM and technological protections under the US DMCA Section 1201, including debates on fair use, exemptions, and comparisons to international laws.

Comments predominantly feature jokes, sarcasm, and frustrations about printers' unreliability, poor performance, and general dysfunction, often contrasting them with other technologies.

Commenters debate the age, origins, and generational familiarity of specific slang terms, often surprised that expressions thought to be new hipster lingo are actually old or vice versa.

The cluster discusses experiences of high-performing employees facing incompetent teams, poor leadership decisions, burnout, and blame-shifting in startups, often referencing specific companies like Basecamp and Wolfram.

Commenters offer empathy, apologies, and encouragement to someone sharing a painful personal experience or crisis, while urging kindness and understanding in the discussion. The focus is on supporting the original poster through their difficulties rather than debating the incident itself.

Comments nominate and debate figures like Alan Turing, Donald Knuth, and John von Neumann as exemplars or epitomes of computer science, often in response to a highlighted individual.

Comments primarily using the repeated idiom 'that ship has sailed' to signify missed opportunities or outdated discussions, alongside puns, literal ship references like the Suez blockage, and philosophical nods to the Ship of Theseus.

Users heavily criticize a specific article's quality, repeatedly questioning if it qualifies as journalism and lamenting the poor standards of modern reporting.

Comments primarily criticize articles or posts for lacking code examples, requesting them to make content more useful and illustrative, or critiquing the quality of provided examples.

Comments debate whether certain tech organizations like EFF or initiatives are primarily political activism rather than substantive companies or efforts, often criticizing activism as ineffective or narcissistic.

This cluster centers on discussions of Twitter's original 140-character tweet limit, its origins from SMS constraints, pros and cons for brevity and discourse quality, and comparisons to the later 280-character expansion.

The cluster debates whether declining birth rates stem from high financial costs like housing, childcare, and education, or opportunity costs like career and lifestyle sacrifices, especially contrasting richer and poorer families.

The cluster debates whether large-scale societal problems require systemic solutions or can be addressed through personal responsibility, with most core comments arguing against individual blame for systemic issues.

The cluster debates whether tablets can replace laptops or desktops, emphasizing their strengths for media consumption, casual browsing, and portability versus limitations for productivity and serious work.

Discussions center on elite universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, and Cambridge, debating their public vs. private status, inclusion in studies or rankings, and comparisons to international institutions.

The cluster discusses the finite nature of human attention as a scarce resource, criticisms of digital interfaces and media that distract and diffuse focus, and strategies for better concentration like mindfulness.

Comments sarcastically invoke or critique deep learning as a universal solution, debating its hype, limitations, and applicability beyond vision and NLP in an otherwise unrelated discussion.

Commenters repeatedly criticize the article's author or featured individual for excessive ego, arrogance, boastfulness, and lack of humility in their writing or self-presentation.

The cluster focuses on discussions about JavaScript-based exploits in modern web browsers like Chrome and Firefox, including vulnerabilities in JS engines, sandbox escapes, mitigations, and real-world zero-days.

Comments discuss how news media disproportionately covers rare, sensational negative events like shootings, terrorism, and crashes to drive engagement, distorting public perception of risks and ignoring common issues like car accidents or heart disease.

Comments focus on the early, unstable nature of a software release (alpha, beta, preview, or release candidate), warning it's not production-ready and advising users to wait for a stable version.

Users in this cluster frequently share links to cryptocurrency, DeFi, blockchain education sites, news outlets, wallets, and analytics tools, often as recommendations or tangential references.

The cluster focuses on debates about adding new features to programming languages, including timelines for implementation, the need for innovation versus stability, and preferences for evolving existing languages over creating new ones.

Comments express concerns about political tensions escalating into civil war or major conflict, often referencing US events like the Capitol attack, comparisons to Ukraine, and risks of broader instability.

Commenters discuss the availability of a specific food product in everyday grocery stores and supermarkets, especially in the US (e.g., Whole Foods, Aldi, Trader Joe's), often contrasting with perceptions from other countries like the UK or Europe.

Cluster focuses on comparisons between Google Workspace (formerly GSuite) and free Gmail, including custom domains, pricing, features, support levels, and compatibility with specific services or changes.

Users repeatedly request EPUB or MOBI versions of a PDF-only book or document, discussing conversion tools like Calibre and preferences for e-reader compatibility over PDF.

Comments primarily reference the Hawthorne effect, suggesting that observed changes in behavior or performance in a study may result from participants' awareness of being studied rather than the intervention itself.

The cluster focuses on the prevalence of long-term fixed-rate mortgages (especially 30-year terms) in the US compared to variable or short-term fixed rates in other countries like the UK and Europe, and their implications for homeowners amid rising interest rates.

Discussions center on SQL query syntax improvements, including flexible SELECT and GROUP BY behaviors, automatic grouping of non-aggregated columns, FROM-first syntax, and features in databases like DuckDB, Postgres, and PRQL.

The cluster revolves around using batteries like Powerwalls, demand shifting for appliances/EVs, and time-of-use pricing to store cheap off-peak or solar-generated electricity and discharge during expensive peak demand periods for grid stability and cost savings.

Cluster centers on repeated invocations of the 'Be the change you want to see in the world' quote, urging commenters to take personal action for societal or systemic improvements rather than just criticizing others.

Comments debate the dangers of directly exposing servers and services like SSH to the public internet, recommending alternatives such as VPNs, firewalls, localhost binding, and SSH tunneling for better security.

The cluster focuses on discussions about the strength, durability, brittleness, and manufacturing processes of various types of glass, including tempered glass, Gorilla Glass, Pyrex, and borosilicate, often debating why glass breaks easily and comparing it to alternatives or new technologies.

The cluster debates whether civilian-owned small arms like AR-15s could effectively resist a tyrannical US government or its advanced military forces, referencing examples like Afghanistan and Iraq.

The cluster features predominantly positive feedback on a recent software or website update, focusing on improvements to the user interface, design, speed, and overall usability compared to previous versions.

Commenters share personal anecdotes about recovering from severe illnesses, injuries, or conditions such as COVID, polio, comas, and accidents, discussing recovery timelines, permanent damage, symptoms, and long-term effects.

The cluster focuses on the incompatibility between quantum mechanics and general relativity, discussions of quantum gravity theories like string theory, and challenges in unifying them into a consistent framework.

Commenters joke about and share experiences hoarding spare YubiKeys in drawers, pockets, pouches, or bags because they are small, easily lost, and have faced supply shortages.

The cluster discusses the efficiency, challenges, and operations of shipping containers on massive container ships, including loading puzzles, port bottlenecks, stacking, transfers to rail or trucks, and supply chain issues.

Comments focus on the visible problems in San Francisco's streets, sidewalks, and neighborhoods like downtown, SoMA, and the Mission, including homelessness, trash, crime, and overall messiness, often with sarcasm urging visits to witness it.

Discussions center on half-duplex versus full-duplex communication methods, including transmit/receive switching, in-band signaling, multiplexing, and protocols like CAN in constrained hardware or wireless environments.

Comments debate the US Supreme Court's power to declare laws unconstitutional, interpret the Constitution, and override Congress, questioning judicial review, binding precedents, and constitutional fidelity.

Users recommend tools like Publii, Ghost, Neocities, and other static site generators or builders as easy alternatives for creating and hosting personal websites or blogs without complex servers.

The cluster focuses on blockchain-based solutions like Namecoin and Handshake as decentralized alternatives to the traditional ICANN-controlled DNS system, addressing issues of centralization, censorship, and government interference.

Cluster discusses Ruby's speed and performance improvements in implementations like JRuby, TruffleRuby, and YJIT, including comparisons to MRI/CRuby, Python, Java, and other languages, with debates on whether Ruby is too slow for certain uses.

Discussions focus on elevator functionality, configurations, and issues in multi-story buildings, including comparisons to stairs and escalators, safety, and modern features like AI control.

Comments using horses as a metaphor for outdated transportation or technology compared to cars, featuring jokes about horse preferences, viability, and resistance to change.

The cluster centers on debates about the vulnerability and potential obsolescence of aircraft carriers, particularly US Navy ones, to modern threats like missiles, drones, and hypersonics in conflicts with peers such as China or Russia. Discussions include historical wargames, strategic alternatives like smaller ships, and arguments defending carriers' power projection role.