HackerNews Summary (2023-05-09 10AM)

Source: Downtown S.F. has 18.4 million square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy

Summary
Downtown San Francisco is experiencing its worst office vacancy crisis on record, with 31% of space for lease or sublease. Several tech giants have cut back, leaving a surge of empty offices leading to calls for converting offices into housing or fun features like bars or roof decks to the workplace. Though it has dire implications for the city’s tax base, it allows for negotiating power between tenants and landlords to exploit for commercial real estate lessors.

Fact

💼 31% of downtown San Francisco’s office space is available for lease or sublease, with 18.4 million sq ft empty, enough to house 92k employees and 13 Salesforce Towers.

💻 Tech giants Salesforce and Meta have sought to cut costs with mass layoffs and office consolidations.

🏛️ The empty 345 Montgomery St was intended for co-working, but the landlord sued when the tenant tried to break the lease.

👥 More leases are expected to expire this year, leading to a higher vacancy rate and implications for the city’s tax base.

🛋️ Landlords need to offer more features such as lounges, bars, restaurants, roof decks, and outdoor parks to attract tenants.

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Source: Good conversations have lots of doorknobs

Summary
Conversational dynamics can be described as ‘give-and-take vs take-and-take.’ When one person predominantly gives and the other predominantly takes, conversations can become unproductive. This doesn’t mean either style is virtuous or villainous. Take-and-take can be helpful, allowing conversation to flow more naturally between multiple people.

Fact

🗣️ In conversations, givers think conversations are a series of invitations while takers think conversations are a series of declarations.

🤝 When giver meets giver or taker meets taker in a conversation, it usually goes well.

🚀 Takers can help propel conversation by taking the spotlight and generating the next idea.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Multi-person conversations can become bogged down if one individual doesn’t adapt to take-and-take conversational style.

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Source: Language models can explain neurons in language models

Summary
Interpretability research aims to understand the internal workings of language models, which have become more capable and widely deployed. An automated process that uses GPT-4 can help to produce natural language explanations of neuron behavior, making it easier to identify features of data that are represented. This approach is part of alignment research that aims to automate the research work.

Fact

🤖 Language models have become more capable and widespread in recent years

🧠 Understanding the internal workings of these models is difficult

🔬 Interpretability research looks inside models for additional information

💻 GPT-4 can produce natural language explanations of neuron behavior in models

🚀 The automated approach scales with the pace of AI development

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Source: Ten thousand ways to use chopsticks

Summary
There are many ways to hold chopsticks, including the Standard Grip, the Idling Thumb grip, the Vulcan Grip, and the Chicken Claws grip. While the Standard Grip is the most balanced for efficiency, dexterity, reach, and power, all grips work for those who wield them well.

Facts

🥢 There are more than the traditional “correct” and “incorrect/crossed” ways to use chopsticks.

🥢 The Standard Grip provides the most balanced profile for efficiency, dexterity, reach, and power.

🥢 Other grips, including the Idling Thumb grip, the Vulcan Grip, and the Chicken Claws grip, are also fine ways of using chopsticks.

🥢 Some people may have anatomical differences that make certain grips better suited for them, such as the Count-to-4 and Equal Opportunity grips.

🥢 The Caswellian thumb is a documented issue related to grip style for certain individuals.

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Source: Study finds elevated levels of toxic metals in some mixed-fruit juices and soft drinks

Summary
A study from Tulane University found that five out of 60 beverages tested contained toxic metals exceeding the federal drinking water standards. The highest level of lead was detected in a lime sports drink, while a cranberry juice, a mixed carrot and fruit juice and oat milk all had cadmium levels exceeding the 3 parts per billion standard. Mixed-fruit juices and plant-based milks had, in general, higher toxic metal concentrations than the other drinks tested.

Fact

💦 5 of the 60 beverages tested exceeded federal drinking water standards for toxic metals.

🥕 A mixed carrot and fruit juice, cranberry juice, and oat milk all had cadmium levels exceeding the 3 parts per billion standard.

🍹 Two mixed juices had levels of arsenic above the 10 microgram/liter standard.

🧃 Mixed fruit juices and plant-based milks had higher toxic metal concentrations than other drinks tested.

🩺 All told, 7 of the 25 elements tested exceeded drinking water standards in some of the drinks, including nickel, manganese, boron, cadmium, strontium, arsenic, and selenium.

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