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32ftpersecond

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B.S. Mathematics, B.A. Philosophy, M.I.T. 2008; PhD. Number Theory, Columbia University 2014; current location: New York, NY, USA

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> We don't need more philosophers.

Disagree. There would be no computer science without philosophy (but not the other way around).

> ...imagine how boring CS would be if people were ignorant of all of those other subjects.

If we eliminate philosophy from our curriculum, et cetera, I poise that kids entering high school this year will be obsolete by the time they have graduated. Because CS without philosophy is really just machine learning, right?

Stuy High alumnus here ('04). Applications to the Stuy, BK Tech and BX Sci are more rigorous than most college applications - considering this high school is not basing entrance acceptance on GPA/Attendance, what could they possibly be using as an acceptance metric? While it might be good for a few kids who believe (or are told to believe) that Comp Sci is the only way to a six figure job and a life of happiness, something tells me the other aspects of High School might be largely deficient and ultimately, dare I say, self destructive.

W/r/t penny auctions:

In November, an Oregon man filed a federal lawsuit alleging that one of the largest auction sites, Quibids.com, was really a gambling site masquerading as an auction site. The suit seeks class-action status and asks for damages for everybody who lost money at the site.

I agree with you - casinos are gigantic for a reason; just an interesting thought given that gambling sites in the USA are prohibited.

The Classics are timeless and thus always relevant, that's why they're still read today. Can anyone really argue that reading Jimmy Carter over Cicero or Marcus Aurelius is preferable because of temporal relevancy factors?

Facebook Timeline 15 years ago

Now all they need is a text-to-speech feature to fully rip off Qwiki in this new(ish) innovation.

Right, but aren't we sort of underestimating GS's ability to tag oss with just about anything proprietary-ish, then, when one of your top programmers quits to join (or co-found) a firm in a competing industry (H-FT), maybe hold it over their shoulders. Considering the scope of this and the dollars to be made, Mr Aleynikov should have been aware of his former firm's contractual small print and should not have copied anything without an IP lawyer present.