All of razor11's Comments + Replies

razor11130

I found a review on ff.net that probably echoes with many others who are not as immersed in LW culture and even those that are. I thought a discussion of this person's points would be constructive so I've copied the review here: " So.

I have a few problems with this.

First of all, the use of terms and situations that the readers don't understand. In earlier chapters, you would do this, and then you would EXPLAIN the reference. That was something I liked. It was educational. Now, however, you're simply calling on references and expecting the audience to ... (read more)

6Qiaochu_Yuan
That "science forbids" statement is not great. I can dismiss lots of arguments in the name of countering privileging the hypothesis. I shouldn't need to argue against them specifically unless they were brought to my attention for good reasons. That's why I dismiss cranks who claim they've proven the Riemann hypothesis without reading through their proofs to find out where the error is. The mechanism that generates these proofs isn't correlated with mathematical truth, and the space of possible proofs is large.
razor1100

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/opinion/sunday/neuroscience-under-attack.html

What are your thoughts on this article? How can a layman discern between good and bad neuroscience in books?

razor1100

Can anyone recommend a good book on improving social intelligence? This is probably a subject that would be helpful to many of us.

razor1100

One method I use to share files quickly and anonymously is to use DropCanvas ( http://www.dropcanvas.com ). It has a simple interface, allows direct linking, and does not require signing up.

razor1100

It's still the same in the original post. Maybe you forgot to change it?

0avichapman
I hadn't realised I could. I've just done so. I didn't write any kind of note to that effect. Is one needed for a spelling edit?
razor1100

those who are effected by our actions

Minor nitpick: effected' should be 'affected'.

-1lightpurpledye
To be fair, we do also owe it to those who are effected by our actions (e.g. our children).
0avichapman
Point taken.
razor1100

What about Learning Python the Hard Way? Would you recommend it for a newbie to programming who wants to pursue a career in CS? I downloaded that book due to Internet recommendations but havent dived into it yet. I would appreciate insight into what i should start with if i want to program seriously for the long haul.

3sketerpot
For most people who've never programmed before, Learn Python the Hard Way is what I would recommend for getting started. It builds intuitions for programming little by little, without any huge "leap a tall building in a single bound!" parts of the learning curve. Most programming books are written by people who have forgotten what was once hard for them; LPtHW doesn't have that problem.
2thomblake
I recommend Udacity.
-2XiXiDu
I did not want to overload the list. I have read 'Learn Python The Hard Way' and thought it was good but not outstanding. I have added it to the list now as the second book to read. The list is mostly based on my personal research of what to read. I am not a CS person. But if you are a complete newbie then you have to start somewhere and 'Learn Python The Hard Way' is a good choice, yes. That's up to your background in mathematics I would say. I guess if you know all the math over at Kahn Academy (probably excluding linear algebra), then you are well equipped to start programming and probably earn money with it at some point. And here I would recommend to start with Python. It is also possible to start with web programming. Maybe try Murach's PHP and MySQL or JavaScript and DOM Scripting, but I am not sure. From what I have heard it is not recommended to start with languages used in an engineering, science or industrial background like C/C++ or Java. But if you are really devoted that probably won't be problem either. I recommend C++ Programming in Easy Steps followed by Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example. After that there are quite a few very good advanced books. For Java check out Introduction to Programming in Java: An Interdisciplinary Approach, which is probably going to be a tough but thorough introduction.
razor11110

There is a website called ezproxy dot blogspot dot com which posts occasionally working password to library sites and universities' online resources. It might prove useful to some people here.

6demented
password2password dot eamped dot com also offers the same feature as well as a subforum specifically for article requests. It makes sense to have an account there. 55face dot blogspot dot com too posts occasional passwords to library sites. It makes sense to bookmark it too. Of course, the best option would be to use your local library itself..
razor11160

One possible deterrent to implementing that might be that people who initially came here to discuss the story might also participate in other non-HP related reading activities, such as going through the Sequences and discussing other posts, becoming better rationalists in the process. I don't have the statistics either though so I don't know how accurate this is.

4Alsadius
I read a couple of the Sequences as a result of these discussion threads, FWIW. I've been familiar with EY's work for some years, but this brought me back in.
Xachariah130

If the 'How did you come to find less wrong' thread is accurate, a lot of people came here through HPMoR. I'm not sure how many would have come if the HPMoR forums were elsewhere, but it seems like a non-negligible fraction of the community.

2rorschach
Seconded. Please do this.
razor1100

Or maybe it's just a departure from the original story? This Voldemort doesn't have much in common with the canon one.

The monastery, Bellatrix, and Dementor!Harry evidences of Voldemort's violent behavior cited above are original creations in HPMOR. HPMOR doesn't just ignore canon!Voldemort's punishment fixation; it reaffirms it.

There should be a reason.

razor11390

Not HPMOR talk, just a suggestion for these discussion threads:

I think that it would make far more sense to start a new thread after every new update rather than when they reach a certain number of comments. New people starting in this thread will miss a lot of good ideas posted in the last one, and also that it is better to have all ideas in one thread than scattered so we can refer to them. Having two threads without any new update in between could also create unnecessary rehashing of old posts.

Since the update schedule seems to be spaced about a week ap... (read more)

Blueberry100

No. Please don't.

The way the web interface works, it automatically shows only 500 comments, and only the top few levels. You have to click a bunch of times to see more comments.

I'd rather have it separated out than to have a really really long thread to wade through. Very long threads are difficult to read and keep track of.

Now, if you wanted to start a new thread after every new update AND when they reach a certain number of comments, that makes sense.

2Alsadius
Agreed. Call this the Ch. 81 thread, and stick to the previous one until it posts. Edit: Close to 300 posts, and 81 won't even go live for 26 hours yet. I think I failed.
8RobertLumley
This. Please.
razor1120

Harry doesn't know whether whoever framed Hermione knew her closely or not. He knew that her mind was probably tampered with on several different occasions, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the criminal interacted with her on a regular basis, or enough to empathize with her. Otherwise I think he would have considered Quirell as a lead suspect early on.

razor11110
  1. If Hermione's testimony had changed from last time, I'd have guessed that McGonagall was mouthing a spell or trying to Confound Hermione so she gave a different testimony under Veritaserum.
  1. Since that isn't the case, she was either trying to: a) provide moral support for Hermione ("Keep strong" and such)

b) communicating something. If it's this, then I strongly suspect that McGonagall is cooperating with future Harry in some rescue plan. She might be communicating a simple message like "Don't worry" or "We'll get you out"... (read more)

0dspeyer
Dumbledore says "if it is not dismissed soon, some of us may miss their entire luncheon". That means the hearing is taking place in the morning. The earliest future!Harry can show up is 3pm. Of course, she could have information from future!Dumbledore or Harry could have sent a note via Margaret Bulstrode.
4Normal_Anomaly
Extra supporting evidence for this: McGonagall isn't the sort of person who would give false reassurance. If she didn't see any way to get Hermione out of this, she would say "keep strong." If she's saying "don't worry" then Hermione has some reason not to worry.