This makes me think of another domain where it could happen: electricity generation and distribution. If solar+battery becomes cheap enough we could see the demise of the country-scale grid.
> most companies will still have more work to do than resources to assign to those tasks
This is very important yet rarely talked about. Having worked in a well-run group on a very successful product I could see that no matter how many people would be on a project there was alway too much work. And always too many projects. I am no longer with the company but I can see some of the ideas talked about back then being launched now, many years later. For a complex product there is always more to do and AI would simply accelerate development.
There was a time 10-15 years ago when there was a lot of discussion (including here on hn) on whether it's best to stay at a fang job or join a startup. It was basically a choice between making millions at a steady but intellectually unrewarding job or risking it all at a fun startup.
I will have surgery soon. If I ask the surgeon to allow me to listen to music during the surgery, will they allow it? I know it depends on hospital/surgeon/etc, but I'm wondering how much doctors are willing to deviate from protocol in general.
Depends on the surgery and how you want to listen.
Ask to have it played in the room? Sure. Want to listen on your own device? We don’t want to be responsible for loss or damage to that device. Want to use earbuds? Same problem if you’re going to be sedated at all, plus there is also the risk of damage to you if there’s metal anywhere.
One of the most commonly used instruments in surgery is electrocautery. A large pad is placed on (usually) a leg and is one electrode; the other is the instrument tip that does the burning. In theory, any metal in the current path could be a point for arcing. This is why you are asked to remove piercings (see your piercer for silicone plugs to fill the holes during surgeries). We don’t want to torch you.
I’m an anesthesiologist. Some of the risks we are guarding against are more theoretical than practical, but until the 1950’s all useful anesthetic gases were flammable and so protocols were focused on not setting the patients or the operating room on fire, and while we no longer have conductive floors and grounding chains around our waists, we do still worry about setting patients on fire (alcohol is still a common solvent for skin prep solutions). And we don’t want to lose or damage your stuff.
I wore a VR headset during a "simple" outpatient surgery with local anesthetic. The anesthetic wore off halfway through. The VR headset did not help. I nearly passed out from the pain.
Yeah, there were some other, serious issues of lack of informed consent during that instance.
I had the option of a local or general anesthetic, but everyone acted like it was no big deal so I chose the local. I've had tooth cavities drilled without anesthesia and was expecting something like that. It was the most painful thing I've ever experienced, where I've also experienced severe food poisoning. I almost threw up and almost passed out just from the pain.
When it happened, the doctor gaslit me and told me it was just in my head. In my follow-up appointment, he admitted it was a common occurrence in that procedure, but they didn't like to tell people about it because it might scare them away and they didn't stop to administer more anesthesia because "it's a quick procedure."
> I get it—they’re expensive and so on—but they really are a superior product.
Where are you? Here in France they are not expensive. I bought them at Carrefour when I moved here because I liked the Picardie shape and I thought they were just one of many companies that makes them. They were surprisingly cheap (a bit more than 1 euro per glass iirc).
I’m in the USA. I can drop into the local Target and pick up a set of 6 pint glasses for around $10. Meanwhile a set of 6 Picardie 500ml glasses is $48 at Williams-Sonoma. (A bit cheaper online.) Worth every penny so far.
Bought one in Berlin and I would say they are 2-3 times the price of the cheapest competitor, but still worth it. I believe the US used to have their own more rectangular version of the glass.
Remember a few years ago when people were asking what will big tech do with all that cash they were hoarding? Well this is the answer. It might be a bubble it might burst but they went all in and it's hard to disagree with their thinking.
You can change it yourself and Google will accept it but if the owner is adamant they will change it back.
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