from Hacker News

25 things I’ve learned about life the hard way before turning 25

by ednevsky on 5/30/23, 8:16 PM with 49 comments

by narush on 5/30/23, 9:55 PM
To join the quote-and-respond masses in the comments:
> AI will be the single most significant driving factor of change in the world. If we solve AGI (or achieve intelligence close to AGI), we'll likely solve most of the world's problems.
I literally don't get the confidence in this statement. I'm not an AI-doomer by any means, but AGI (if possible) will likely be the most powerful technology humankind has ever invented. Just in terms of possible impact, why would we assume it will solve more problems than it will create (or the opposite)?
Think of recent super-powerful technologies we've invented. Sure, there's the potential for fantastic fixes to many problems that come out of nuclear tech. But there's also... the threat of nuclear annihilation? Is that all net positive? Do we even really have a way to evaluate on the timescale of 100 years? How can we know the net impact of nuclear tech in the next century, or millennium?
How can we call this sort of rhetoric anything other than blind optimism? Why would we have any priors about how AI will go? Why do we say things that make us blindly rush forward?
I'm not being sarcastic, or trying to argue one way or another. I'm genuinely asking. How does anyone have confidence in "AI is good" or "AI is bad" claims? Is confidence even good in this case?
For me, these questions lead into such deep and treacherous waters it's probably best to stop the comment there. There are limits to what even interested HN addicts can ask of each other.
by jstx1 on 5/30/23, 9:54 PM
It's okay to write down one cliche for each year of your life, it's not okay to have so little self awareness that you make it a blog and post it on HN yourself.
by opportune on 5/30/23, 10:05 PM
Before you make fun of this, realize that while to the older HN crowd a 25 year old imparting life advice may seem laughable, to 20 year old college students this is likely very interesting and informative, while being more “fresh” in terms of applicability to the contemporary world than what us older folk could give. Even if we might think it’s inaccurate or lacks perspective for other reasons, it has benefits we can’t give.
It’s also just interesting to read what kind of advice younger people would give to those younger than themselves!
by witchesindublin on 5/30/23, 8:41 PM
I think one of the things I noticed about a lot of Asian tech newbies (both East Asia and South Asian) is how different they were to be in terms of money and wanting to "live it large" in a place such as Los Angeles. Obviously these people were attracted to tech because of the money, but this blog does show me that even these tech newbies will eventually realise the errors of their ways. I rarely drive and never place too much value on money, and realise that a lot of the "socially warm" cultures that some people rave on about are a little pointless.
by chrisbigelow on 5/30/23, 9:34 PM
> If you have a deviated septum, undergo septoplasty
Really? If you have a severely deviated septum you'll likely have a benefit. Talking as someone who has undergone a septoplasty, the ENT wanted to make me perfect and the surgery was horribly painful. What actually helped was treating my allergies.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6616214/
by tester756 on 5/30/23, 9:39 PM
>Working in tech, you're likely able to save >50% of your earnings.
is this naivety or privilege?
by ravenstine on 5/30/23, 9:56 PM
> Fashion is mostly made up. No one cares what you wear as long as you're a cool person.
Cool. I'll wear my giant veiny penis hat to the office from now on.
by skilled on 5/30/23, 8:31 PM
Not to worry, 30 will humble you.
by ftxbro on 5/30/23, 8:29 PM
still waiting for substack to put its paywall so we won't have to be subjected to this
by dgzen07 on 5/30/23, 8:28 PM
i am 50 but loved every bit of it; you are so wise man