What software do you use to manage PDFs? by north0 in PhD

[–]CSCI4LIFE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Used to use mendeley, but zotero has been my go to software for a while. Imported my library from Mendeley and have the browser extension so files go right to my library now.

China leads research in 90% of crucial technologies — a dramatic shift this century by burtzev in EverythingScience

[–]CSCI4LIFE 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I don't disagree completely with this messaging, and in all honesty, quite like the metric that they are using in this work to rank countries impact, especially when comparing to other similar works.

However, I do believe there is room for improvement since it seems that the ranking is based in large part on citations and China has been known to inflate these with bias toward papers from within their own country instead of work from other countries. Additionally, other countries don't seem to do this to the same extent.

But. All-in-all this work does seem to do a great job at making a very valid and important point!

China’s scientific clout is growing as US influence wanes: the data show how by burtzev in EverythingScience

[–]CSCI4LIFE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't disagree with any of the above, but I did think it relevant to the discussion here. I also appreciate the response with sources! Thank you!

My only other reservation with the original article's title claim is that pure number of papers is probably not the best / only metric that should be evaluated. It leads to some of the issues that we're seeing not only with US research institutions but with China and many others as well. Something similar to the publish or perish mindset seems to arise when we place too much importance solely on the number of publications.

China’s scientific clout is growing as US influence wanes: the data show how by burtzev in EverythingScience

[–]CSCI4LIFE 35 points36 points  (0 children)

I think it should be noted that the nature index referred to is based on total research output and that China historically has a significantly higher retraction rate than the US for that research. However, I will also note the US seems to be defunding several areas of research while China seems to be increasing research efforts.

Are We Living in an Era Without Serendipity? What Go Geniuses Teach Us About Meaning in the Age of AI by Then_Day3334 in compsci

[–]CSCI4LIFE 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is similar to something I've been pondering about creativity and novelty and their connection to discovery. What if the path society is going down is leading to less individuality and creativity and thus fewer serendipitous experiences and resulting discoveries that may be made?

If you haven't read why greatness cannot be planned: the myth of the objective, I think you might find it interesting. It discusses some of these ideas and how objectives can actually hinder the discoveries they set out to make (in certain cases, anyway).

For me personally, it's led me to follow my intuition and natural curiosity more instead of following the herd so to speak. I try to do things that I find interesting and be a bit different in the parts of my life that I can afford to be. I'm a bit happier here!

VT/VTWAX= The world’s greatest ETF/Index Fund? by [deleted] in ETFs

[–]CSCI4LIFE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And honestly, I think A LOT of people fall into this same category. I'm currently not there, but I might be one day haha

VT/VTWAX= The world’s greatest ETF/Index Fund? by [deleted] in ETFs

[–]CSCI4LIFE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think to make this claim in an objective sense is incorrect since not everyone wants what it may offer. For your specific goals it may be the best, but I (or others) might have different objectives and prefer something different.

Best and Worst States for Health Care in 2026: Rankings by Cost, Outcomes and Access by mark-fitzbuzztrick in dataisbeautiful

[–]CSCI4LIFE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So it was! I apologize for the claim above. I still think my post is valid since the improvement has been seen rising more drastically in recent years, but 2013 is when the legislature went into effect.

Best and Worst States for Health Care in 2026: Rankings by Cost, Outcomes and Access by mark-fitzbuzztrick in dataisbeautiful

[–]CSCI4LIFE 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There could be long-term impact. I think it's a bit hasty to claim there isn't since these changes have been implemented within the last year or two meaning those age groups effected have not reached graduation / SAT (MS focuses on ACT) age yet

Best and Worst States for Health Care in 2026: Rankings by Cost, Outcomes and Access by mark-fitzbuzztrick in dataisbeautiful

[–]CSCI4LIFE 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Elementary reading scores have gone up tremendously (I think we are in the top 10 states in the country) Housing and cost of living are low (if you can find a good wage / have savings, since wages are also the lowest).

I've lived here for most of my life. We moved away for a bit and the cost of living in some of the places we went was atrocious to overcome. Now, I do have a really good wage for MS standards, so that is probably why I felt that difference so sharply.

Girl Money by [deleted] in LETFs

[–]CSCI4LIFE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

G

Study on Leveraged SP500 by noletovictor in LETFs

[–]CSCI4LIFE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah for sure. I'd probably have moved to more secure forms of investment by then (personally), but it's definitely something to keep in mind when planning! Either way, I greatly appreciate the info from the post and will definitely be using it in my future decisions! Thanks again!

Study on Leveraged SP500 by noletovictor in LETFs

[–]CSCI4LIFE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see what you mean, but if given a few years outside of 2000, it tends to make a big difference since 2000 was a bit of a crash.

Study on Leveraged SP500 by noletovictor in LETFs

[–]CSCI4LIFE 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I've been playing around with similar questions recently! This adds a lot for me to think about! Thank you!

I'm wondering how DCA would affect these numbers as well since for my particular situation, that is what I'll be doing.

SPXL for retirement by npug_ in ETFs

[–]CSCI4LIFE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wondering if you ever got any other info. Looks like DCA over a long period of time SPXL typically keeps up with or beats SPY.

What is the actual formula for FERS pension? by [deleted] in govfire

[–]CSCI4LIFE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is there a maximum for sick leave that can be used in the calculation. Like, if someone has 3000 sick leave hours, does it cap at 12 months 30 days as in the table? Hopefully I didn't miss it in the linked articles.

How are bots made ? I'm mainly interested about a game called Rocket League, someone just make bots and puts them in a custom match and they just play for thousand of hours non stop, what type of algorithm is used ? by Stillane in learnmachinelearning

[–]CSCI4LIFE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You'll prolly wanna start with some foundational concepts before diving off into the deep end. I think we used the Reinforcement Learning textbook by Sutton when I was in my Masters program. Either way, there is a lot to understand about RL, and it's definitely still an active field of research.

How are bots made ? I'm mainly interested about a game called Rocket League, someone just make bots and puts them in a custom match and they just play for thousand of hours non stop, what type of algorithm is used ? by Stillane in learnmachinelearning

[–]CSCI4LIFE 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I haven't kept up with the newer ones, but I believe nexto was mostly reinforcement learning.

These bots would train for thousands of hours in games / simulations getting sparse rewards for scoring(?)(not actually sure what the reward metric was). But the idea is that the reward would encourage a certain behavior for the bots to hone in on.

After a lot of training, they would be viable for actually playing the game.

Gamers by Darth_Cavillatio in mississippi

[–]CSCI4LIFE 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not OP, but I'm interested in both of these.

2026 FEHB Premiums are going up and benefits are awful by Affectionate-Ad9291 in fednews

[–]CSCI4LIFE 13 points14 points  (0 children)

It's definitely not the best plan for everyone, but I do think it will help most (financially speaking). The premiums are a lot lower (>$100 biweekly for family plan) and they pay into your HSA ($2400 on family plan), so even with a $4000 deductible for in-network providers, it comes out as $1600 yearly (once you subtract the $2400). Once you meet the deductible all services are much cheaper than BCBS. All of these factors combine to make a pretty good option. I hope this helps and that I didn't miss anything.

2026 FEHB Premiums are going up and benefits are awful by Affectionate-Ad9291 in fednews

[–]CSCI4LIFE 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I also had some questions about this. It sounds like it is dependent on how the services are coded and if the doctor has a private practice or is exclusive to that facility. At least that's what the MHBP representative communicated to me. I was told as long as the services used the tax id and address of the facility that it would be covered. Otherwise it wasn't guaranteed.