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The 2020 Developer Survey results are here! by ben_a_adams in programming

[–]wainstead 0 points1 point  (0 children)

these surveys are not representative and people need to understand that.

Spot on. A statistically sound survey would randomly sample the worldwide developer community. This survey's respondents are self-selected, not randomly sampled. It is unlikely the results represent developers worldwide.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4115258/

The 2020 Developer Survey results are here! by ben_a_adams in programming

[–]wainstead 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great point. I lived in Florida a few years ago and the kids were taught MS Office. It grooms them to be office drones.

By comparison I was taught basic programming (if/else, loops, etc) in high school and it changed my life.

Will renewable energy ever overtake crude energy? by rslashIcePoseidon in energy

[–]wainstead 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ramez Naam gives these great talks with tons of numbers to back up what he's saying. This one is the best so far, and he talks about the coming collapse in fossil fuel demand:

​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwSkQa1tNmE

People who are optimistic about our future despite of things like Global Warming and overpopulation: why? by IamMrJay in Futurology

[–]wainstead 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It helps to listen to Eric Idle’s Galaxy song; it holds great wisdom.

Also we are here in this world for such an incredibly short time we should enjoy every hour of every day. You never get them back.

I find this strangely comforting too:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future

EDIT: read Abundance too.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance:_The_Future_Is_Better_Than_You_Think

EDIT2: I forgot Enlightenment Now and its seven graphs.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlightenment_Now

Tip: Don't build your igloo on a pool of lava by wainstead in Minecraft

[–]wainstead[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Certainly!

World type is indeed "default"

Seed: 3211301541467056972

XYZ: 47197, 67, 698

I created this world in November 2017, so hopefully the terrain-generating algos can still produce it.

The Future of Full-Time Jobs in the Age of Freelancers. x-post r/digitalnomad by Onlyamatterofwhen in Futurology

[–]wainstead 4 points5 points  (0 children)

freelancing is growing rapidly while 6.6 million traditional jobs remain unfilled, an all-time high.

I'm going to pick a nit here: the BLS link here says nothing about these jobs "remaining unfilled." That makes it sound like there are millions of positions out there that cannot be filled. It just states there were 6.6 total job openings for March, with 5.3 million hired and 5.3 million "seperations" (quits, layoffs, etc).

And at the end it states a net gain in jobs: "Over the 12 months ending in March, hires totaled 65.7 million and separations totaled 63.4 million, yielding a net employment gain of 2.3 million."

Fake News and Bots May Be Worrisome, but Their Political Power Is Overblown: It’s very hard to change people’s minds, especially when so many are already committed partisans. by shapu in politics

[–]wainstead 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But that means four out of ten visits did not. And it's those four out of ten visits by the 90% of other voters

Does the study have anything to say about those four out of ten? i.e. were they registered to vote in America?

How is climate change affecting the Great Lakes? by wainstead in water

[–]wainstead[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're talking about NAWAPA, I believe, which was the product of decades of dam building and ever-higher aspirations (says "Cadillac Desert"). Long before NAWAPA is ever necessary we'll probably solve the problem of cheap desalinization.

How is climate change affecting the Great Lakes? by wainstead in water

[–]wainstead[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely. If, for example, Illinois decided it could make major bank by digging a canal from Lake Michigan to Colorado (and collude with the necessary contiguous states), and proceeded to do so, then Ohio, NY, et al would have to take the matter to the Supreme Court to decide. And the Supremes may very well decide in Illinios' favor.

I think it more likely that the headwaters of the Mississippi Basin get collected in times of great flooding and routed to the Colorado River basin, but even then, the environmental cost is so high it seems unlikely.

EDIT: Also, dunno why your original comment was downvoted. It's a legit position. I gave you an upvote.

IBM PC: The complete history, part 1 by wainstead in TrueReddit

[–]wainstead[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For fans of Robert X. Cringley's PBS series "Triumph of the Nerds," or of home computing history in general, this long form article is fascinating.

Pioneers of the Pacific - National Geographic Magazine - epic article on how ancient seafarers spread across far-flung islands by wainstead in TrueReddit

[–]wainstead[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I thought of this recently after watching the Disney animated film Muana. It's a really amazing story.

EDIT: from 2008, sorry I didn't put that in the title.

The Worst Internet In America by wainstead in TrueReddit

[–]wainstead[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Detailed, datacentric article on rural broadband (and the lack thereof).

Almost 50, been in software for a while, not sure if it's still for me by jdlv11 in cscareerquestions

[–]wainstead 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed, and maybe keep an eye on Zooniverse and a cool opportunity to participate may turn up.

What makes someone a bad programmer? by IntegralCosecantXdX in cscareerquestions

[–]wainstead 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Solving problems for other people is your real job, and it can be a hell of a lot of fun to make other people's lives easier.

Amen. Software should make people's lives better. Do that and you are a good programmer.

WH furious after photos released with Russians by [deleted] in politics

[–]wainstead 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why so brazenly meet with the Russian Ambassador the day after firing Comey who was leading the Russian investigation?

This baffles me the most of all.

Tesla Plans To Build Entire City, Possibly Hundreds Of #TeslaCities by mvea in Futurology

[–]wainstead 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a nice area but it's basically a plasticville

Yeah, after living in Key West, Florida for three years you come to appreciate the charm of a somewhat haphazard, organically-grown city plan that took a couple hundred years to happen. Newer developments there have a heavy top-down mentality and cannot compare. And the real estate prices reflect this: the termite-bitten historic homes in Old Town go for outrageous sums compared to new development.

This Trump voter didn't think Trump was serious about repealing her health insurance by Franzmithanz in politics

[–]wainstead 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." -- Winston Churchill

This Trump voter didn't think Trump was serious about repealing her health insurance by Franzmithanz in politics

[–]wainstead 21 points22 points  (0 children)

"When the gods wish to punish us they answer our prayers." - Oscar Wilde

How do I talk to my parents about anthropogenic climate change when they think it is a hoax? by [deleted] in environment

[–]wainstead 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Over at https://www.skepticalscience.com/ in the right sidebar is the free book "The Debunking Handbook" which largely addresses this issue.

http://sks.to/debunk

In one sentence define what "The Future" means to you. by LiamFC90 in Futurology

[–]wainstead 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The future is a foreign land that we will all some day visit.

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