rsmith05

"fails to address the root causes of class division."

What are the root causes?

I'd imagine that companies would make MORE profit in a world with UBI because more individuals have more disposable income to use on their products.

Would they raise prices? If so, how do we make it work?

As someone that suffers from RSI, I'd be interested in an Opti-mouse.

Does this exist yet?

There's nothing wrong with your setup. I personally just got a Macbook Pro 13 inch because I wanted to become familiar with the Apple ecosystem, coming from mainly Windows and Linux worlds.

I can honestly say given a couple of weeks, I could be productive on any of the platforms. But it just comes down to preference here.

The issues you mention for manipulating windows - that is "fixed" by installing a Window Manager such as one of the following (some free, some paid);

Free:

Spectacle http://spectacleapp.com/

Paid:

Divvy http://mizage.com/divvy/

BetterSnapTool https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bettersnaptool/id417375580?m...

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It sounds like you gave it a fair shot though, which is fine. Use whatever you are most productive in :)

Something interesting that I never thought about before:

Arguably, the BSD license in this case allows for more freedom in the short term (I can do whatever I want with this software...awesome!). But the GPL license, especially the older ones, helps promote a particular version of freedom in the long run. It's an interesting case.

Crazy:

"And the problem is growing. In 1985 most people said they had 3 close friends. In 2004 the most common number was zero...

This is sad, and for more reasons than you might expect. We need friends to keep us healthy. Lack of social support predicts all causes of death.

Having few friends is more dangerous than obesity and is the equivalent health risk of smoking 15 cigarettes a day."

I find it sad that folks seem to not have close friends. I would say I have 3 really close friends (emotionally) although I may not be close to them physically (we are in separate cities since we finished university).

Would most of you concur with the article? Do a lot of people really NOT have very close friends?

This is the talk in audio form:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssDY74nLuLg

I love listening to Alan Watts speak and have heard hours upon hours of his talks. In general, they're pretty good and make you think.

I think that we waste a lot of time in news feeds (HN/Youtube/Facebook/Twitter/etc). We are afraid of missing something important, and seeing that "something new" feels good. But once you've seen it, you move onto something else immediately. There is some neat research in this (see http://healthland.time.com/2013/08/31/this-is-your-brain-on-..., and I'm sure there are other meaningful sources as well).

I personally have noticed that I have this cycle:

1) I want something to do, perhaps for just a little while.

2) I think about doing something meaningful, but get a feeling of the task being overwealming, so I'm not going to do that right now.

3) I think of something that would be easy to do right now, and HN/FB/etc. comes up. You know, just for a little while.

4) I proceed to the FB/Reddit/HN/etc. cycle and before I know it, I've wasted way more time than I have intended.

This is my cycle, but I'm sure there are others that have something similar.

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I have a case of repetitive strain injury (RSI), so I have to minimize my computer use outside of working hours for sure.

How?

I have other things I like to do. I study Buddhism and Meditation at a local center on Wednesday nights. I go out with friends. I read. I listen to audio books. I have a hobby of studying philosophy and religion that takes up a ton of time (personal interest).

I watch Netflix using my gaming systems/tablet (although I try to minimize my gaming time to only on weekends occasionally).

This year I intend to try yoga and tai chi - both are supposed to be good for RSI sufferers.

I have noticed that I tend to read facebook more often if I leave it open on my tablet/phone (as you get notifications constantly). So I stopped that.

I generally try to limit Hacker News / Reddit / etc. to about 1 read a day. I open up all the articles in many tabs, and when I'm through that, I'm through. If I missed something important, it will come up again or someone I know will link me. I still sometimes fall into my cycle above, but at least I am more likely to notice that and avoid it now.

No support for the North? Sad to see Canada not included.

Would you be able to elaborate on "algebraical vs geometrical" thinking?

I've noticed myself that there are two types of "math" that people tend to be good at:

1) Algorithmic - Following a set of steps to achieve a particular result. Algorithms, discrete math, "compsci" math, and procedural and OO programming. Coders tend to be good at this kind.

2) "Abstract" - "Pure Math", what I would label as the harder kind of math, like calculating the intersection of planes, calculus, linear algebra, etc. Pure math majors and theoretical computer science folks are good at this kind.

I have met folks that are good at 1 or 2, or both.

Forgive me for my poor use of terms, I'm one of those folks that is not particularly great at math (mostly due to lack of practice) but I was always curious if my observation was backed up with any "real" terms or if there has been any research into this kind of thing. What you describe seems to be relatively close to what I've observed myself.

What about if you have a lot of student debt? Does that change things?

I have a bunch of student debt and I start paying interest in 6 months. I elected to work at a big company to get out of debt. The benefits and perks are amazing...and the learning opportunity is definitely there. It's turning into a great decision :)

Anyone out there go to a startup while they're in debt?