The hottest Substack posts right now

according to Hacker News
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Bet On It Book Club: For a New Liberty, Chapter 2

Bet On It • 75 implied HN points • 13 Feb 26
📖 Philosophy Property Rights Political Philosophy Ethics Rights Libertarianism
  1. The non-aggression axiom says no one may initiate physical force or threats against another person or their property, and that same standard should apply to governments, so actions like war, conscription, or taxation are morally suspect if done by the state.
  2. Property rights follow from self-ownership and rules of initial acquisition (Locke-style mixing), which ground the right to transfer or trade what you own and thus justify voluntary exchange.
  3. Basing rights on vague appeals to "natural" law is philosophically weak and calling rights "absolute" is misleading, yet treating property rights as flexible building blocks helps explain many social rules (for example, false alarms or trespass can be framed as property violations).

Cloudflare took down our website after trying to force us to pay 120k$ within 24h

Robin’s Substack • 848 HN points • 26 May 24
🕹 Technology Cloud Services Online Privacy
  1. Cloudflare may escalate demands to switch to Enterprise plan aggressively, leading to potential downtime and loss of customer trust.
  2. Cloudflare's communication may be misleading or unclear, causing confusion about required actions and escalating the situation.
  3. Consider alternatives to Cloudflare and be prepared to swiftly move away if necessary, keeping backups of configurations.

Why I've Joined Pattern Ventures as the Firm's Newest GP!

patternventures • 119 implied HN points • 17 Sep 24
💼 Business Startups Entrepreneurship Investment Venture Capital Finance
  1. The venture capital world is changing, with smaller emerging managers expected to yield better returns than larger, established firms. Smaller funds need less total value to achieve strong returns, making them more appealing.
  2. Finding the right emerging managers is really tough. Not all of them will succeed, so it's important to pick those with unique skills and a track record of success.
  3. Emerging VC firms now have a lot of opportunities, especially with many new operators starting their own funds. The early-stage landscape is hot right now, and there's excitement about investing in it.

Normalization is not enough anymore.

System Design Classroom • 559 implied HN points • 23 Jun 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Information Systems Database Design Data processing Performance optimization
  1. Normalization is important for organizing data and reducing redundancy, but it's not sufficient for today's data needs. We have to think beyond just following those strict rules.
  2. De-normalization can help improve performance by reducing complex joins in large datasets. Sometimes, it makes sense to duplicate data to make queries run faster.
  3. Knowing when to de-normalize is key, especially in situations like data warehousing or when read performance matters more than write performance. It's all about balancing speed and data integrity.
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Infographics: The Fed's Repo Rate "Sweet Spot"

Concoda • 286 implied HN points • 28 Dec 25
💰 Finance Liquidity Fixed income Banking Money Markets Central Banking Interest Rates Monetary Policy
  1. The Fed wants repo rate benchmarks to sit in a narrow "sweet spot" just below the Interest on Reserve Balances (IORB) rate.
  2. It will actively force those repo rates to print inside that zone, even when market pressures push them elsewhere.
  3. Opposing forces can move repo benchmarks off-target, but the Fed intends to counteract them to keep rates anchored just below IORB.

4.3.3 Cross Coupling

Fields & Energy • 259 implied HN points • 31 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Signal Processing History Electronics Telecommunications Music technology
  1. Thaddeus Cahill invented an early electronic music system called the Telharmonium in 1897, aiming to broadcast music through telephone lines. However, his venture failed because the music interrupted phone calls, causing complaints from users.
  2. Cahill's difficulties were largely due to a problem called cross coupling, where signals from one line affect nearby lines. This was common back in the day when many phone lines ran close together.
  3. The situation shows that electrical signals can spread beyond their wires, not just following what we'd think of as direct paths. This understanding is important in telecommunications and electrical engineering.

“We Are Not as Wealthy as We Thought We Were”: Part 2

Erdmann Housing Tracker • 421 implied HN points • 22 Dec 25
💰 Finance Macroeconomics Housing Real Estate Investment Public Policy
  1. Home prices jumped far above their long-term trend even though residential investment and real housing consumption fell, meaning the housing stock didn’t improve while market values rose.
  2. Rising rents drove much of the value increase — rent inflation has outpaced overall prices and a 1% rise in rent is associated with about a 1.68% rise in price/income, in part because land trades at higher price/rent multiples than structures.
  3. Because real investment in homes has declined, families pay more for housing, and if demand-side forces are blamed for higher prices that necessarily implies very tight supply; historically, large federal homeownership programs raised ownership without inflating values when they boosted housing supply.

Satya Nadella and the three stages of scientific truth

Marcus on AI • 8023 implied HN points • 23 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Innovation Philosophy Computing Science AI
  1. New ideas in science often face resistance at first. People may ridicule them before they accept the change.
  2. Scaling laws in deep learning may not last forever. This suggests that other methods may be needed to advance technology.
  3. Many tech leaders are now discussing the limits of scaling laws, showing a shift in thinking towards exploring new approaches.

Resilient Cyber Newsletter #12

Resilient Cyber • 79 implied HN points • 03 Sep 24
🕹 Technology Venture Capital Cybersecurity AI Security Data Privacy Software Development
  1. Many companies believe they are prepared for cyber threats, but actually, most lack strong leadership involvement in their cybersecurity efforts. That's making them more vulnerable.
  2. Despite spending a lot on security solutions, many enterprises still face breaches, showing that having many tools doesn't always mean better protection.
  3. There's a debate about how founders should manage their startups. Some say founding leaders need to be hands-on rather than relying on traditional management styles that don’t always work for fast-growing companies.

The CTO’s Consulting Rate Calculator

The CTO Substack • 499 implied HN points • 29 Jun 24
💼 Business Leadership Consulting Entrepreneurship Startups Technology
  1. Determine your consulting rate based on client revenue and C-Suite salaries. This helps set a fair price for your services.
  2. Consider the complexity of the company and its engineering team size. A larger or more complicated organization may require a higher fee due to increased work.
  3. Always get paid before starting the work. This ensures that clients respect your time and commitment right from the beginning.

The Hidden World of Undersea Cables

The Garden of Forking Paths • 2869 implied HN points • 10 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Internet Geopolitics Security Data Infrastructure
  1. The internet largely runs through undersea cables spanning about 900,000 miles, connecting the world in a hidden network.
  2. Early undersea cables were made possible by materials like gutta-percha and played a key role in rapid communication during events like the US Civil War.
  3. Specialized ships lay and repair undersea cables made of fiber optics, and even guard against threats like sharks and sabotage by SCUBA divers.

The Magic of Deep Linking

jDeploy Newsletter • 84 implied HN points • 10 Feb 26
🕹 Technology Cross-platform User Experience Software Development Programming Developer Tools Java
  1. Deep linking is critical to a smooth desktop app experience because it lets links open directly in the native app instantly, avoiding slow web reloads and reducing friction.
  2. Making apps behave as singletons on Windows and Linux is essential so opening a link brings the existing app to the front instead of launching new processes or windows, which saves RAM and avoids clutter.
  3. jDeploy 6 delivers a cross-platform deep-linking solution for Java desktop apps by adding singleton support, simple package.json flags (singleton=true and urlSchemes), and a small desktop library to handle URL/file callbacks.

This Week in Marketing: Instagram Alerts, QuitGPT, Paramount-WBD deal, and Snap Awards

The Social Juice • 34 implied HN points • 01 Mar 26
💼 Business Platforms Advertising Social media AI Media Mergers Privacy Regulation
  1. Big social platforms are under pressure to protect kids and enforce age checks, leading to new safety features, fines, and delayed verification rollouts.
  2. AI is reshaping content, ads, and search at speed, but it’s also provoking user backlash, legal fights, and growing regulatory scrutiny.
  3. The creator economy and media landscape are shifting: user-generated content and creator tools are rising while big mergers and advertiser moves reshape where brands spend.

4.3.2 Inductive Telegraphy at a Distance

Fields & Energy • 299 implied HN points • 24 Jul 24
🕹 Technology
  1. Inductive telegraphy was one of the first ways to send signals wirelessly over distances. Scientists like Joseph Henry made early experiments that showed electricity could work at a distance.
  2. Wireless technology progressed with experiments by inventors like William Preece, who managed to send signals over several miles. These early developments paved the way for later communication technologies.
  3. Although some early wireless systems were practical, they often faced challenges in business. Ideas like train telegraphs were innovative, but people weren’t ready for constant communication as we see today.

80 characters? In this economy?

Bite code! • 733 implied HN points • 17 Nov 25
🕹 Technology Programming Best Practices Code Quality Readability Standards
  1. Keeping lines of code to 80 characters makes it easier for our eyes to read. It helps us quickly find where the next line starts.
  2. Having shorter lines is useful when using multiple tools side by side, like browsers and code editors. It makes coding and comparing changes easier.
  3. Sticking to the 80-character limit can improve programming habits, like using clear variable names and reducing complexity in code. This helps create better overall code.

The Bear Cave #303

The Bear Cave • 443 implied HN points • 07 Dec 25
💰 Finance Financial Reporting Stock Market Investing Corporate Governance Market Trends
  1. Grizzly Research accused Trustpilot of unethical practices like fake reviews and bullying businesses into paying for better ratings, which caused its shares to drop significantly.
  2. Recent resignations of key executives from several companies highlight instability and potential issues within those firms, like a drastic drop in KinderCare's value since its IPO.
  3. Paid stock promotions are on the rise, indicating that companies are actively trying to influence their market image through marketing initiatives.

We need SpaceTech founders for customer interviews

Space Ambition • 299 implied HN points • 24 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Innovation Startups Entrepreneurship Interviews
  1. Space Ambition is looking for founders in the SpaceTech field to join in customer interviews. This is a chance for them to share their challenges and needs.
  2. The interviews will last about 20-30 minutes and will help Space Ambition create new services tailored to these founders.
  3. Founders are encouraged to fill out a form to participate and to share this opportunity with other SpaceTech founders.

Hot take on an AI catfight

Marcus on AI • 6165 implied HN points • 22 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Infrastructure Environmental Impact Economics National Security AI
  1. OpenAI is launching a big project called The Stargate Project, which plans to invest $500 billion to improve AI infrastructure in the U.S. Over the next four years, they hope this will help the country's economy and national security.
  2. Elon Musk is skeptical about the funding and the true financial health of OpenAI. He suggests that previous promises may not hold true and questions whether this project will really benefit the American people.
  3. There are several uncertainties about this project, like whether developing AI will actually be profitable and how it might impact jobs. People worry if the profits will help everyone or just the rich, and if the U.S. can truly keep up with China's advancements in AI.

Calendar of events: Spring of 2026

Respectful Leadership • 163 implied HN points • 18 Jan 26
💼 Business Sustainability Legal Fundraising Leadership Artificial Intelligence Healthcare Startups
  1. Events focus on three industries driving change: health care, green sustainability, and AI.
  2. The schedule features panels and founders sharing real-world work across health‑tech, green‑tech, and AI — including AI and law — and health‑care sessions repeat by popular demand.
  3. The series also includes practical startup workshops on pitching, selling, team management, and delegation to help founders grow.

And in the juxtapositions may lie the meaning.

The Future Does Not Fit In The Containers Of The Past • 49 implied HN points • 15 Feb 26
💼 Business HR Diversity Leadership Strategy Marketing Innovation Culture
  1. Data and algorithms are powerful but can't capture human imagination and messy emotions, so decisions must blend math with empathy and creativity.
  2. True diversity is more than representation—it means actually hearing different voices, because varied perspectives drive innovation and fairness.
  3. People join jobs for pay but stay for connection, purpose, and growth, and businesses should also value older customers and employees since age and experience hold huge economic and creative power.

Why do programmers need private offices with doors?

Shenisha’s Substack • 5 HN points • 02 Oct 24
🕹 Technology Productivity Work Environment Team Dynamics Software Development
  1. Programmers often need private offices to focus better on their work. Short interruptions can really disrupt their thought processes and lower their productivity.
  2. There are two types of work: those that can be interrupted easily and those that cannot. Knowing the difference helps in managing how we communicate in the workplace.
  3. Leaders should protect their team's focus time and understand the value of uninterrupted work. This can lead to greater creativity and better results.

The Sequence Radar #807: Last Week in AI: From Mega-Rounds to Mathematical Breakthrough

TheSequence • 91 implied HN points • 15 Feb 26
🕹 Technology Research Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Hardware Funding Machine Learning
  1. Huge funding and strong enterprise revenue are accelerating AI research and infrastructure, letting big labs scale up ambitious agentic systems.
  2. Model and hardware advances are driving both extreme speed and open competition — from ultra-fast self-debugging models on specialized chips to powerful open-weight models trained on domestic hardware.
  3. Agentic AI is maturing into professional tools: systems that generate, verify, and revise math proofs are hitting high benchmarks and solving open problems, showing AI can enhance scientific research.

What Progress Has There Been in Industrial Robots?

Construction Physics • 18999 implied HN points • 10 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Robotics Evolution Performance Cost Industrial
  1. Industrial robots have become more cost-effective over time, making them more accessible for various applications.
  2. Advances in industrial robots have led to significant improvements in precision and smooth, continuous motion capabilities.
  3. There has been a trend towards standard robotic architectures, with modern robots primarily consisting of robotic arms with electric drives and servo motors.

Near-Field Technology - An Emerging RF Discipline

Fields & Energy • 259 implied HN points • 29 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Wireless Technology Communications Sensors
  1. Near-field technology focuses on short-range wireless communication, which is useful for applications like NFC and RFID. This tech works well because lower frequencies can pass through obstacles and provide reliable connections.
  2. The near-field zone, where signals are stronger and behave differently than in far-field, is often overlooked. Understanding this area can improve antenna design and application.
  3. There is a growing demand for near-field applications in everyday uses like contactless payments and real-time location tracking. This presents new opportunities for innovation and development in the tech industry.

Quick Essay: The Federal Reserve and Critical Moments in U.S. Monetary Policy

Chamath Palihapitiya • 3871 implied HN points • 15 Nov 23
💰 Finance Inflation Federal Reserve Monetary Policy Economic History Financial Crisis
  1. Before the Federal Reserve, the U.S. had banking issues and crises, leading to the need for a central bank in 1913.
  2. The Great Depression prompted key reforms like the Banking Act of 1933 and the Gold Reserve Act of 1934.
  3. The end of the Bretton Woods system in 1971 marked a shift to Fiat currency and the decline of the gold standard.

Why Did Social Media Go to War Against Writers?

The Honest Broker • 23970 implied HN points • 22 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Social media Platforms Writers Content creation
  1. Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are becoming hostile towards writers, leading many to leave.
  2. Substack and similar platforms are providing alternative models that support writers and creators more effectively.
  3. The economics of social media platforms prioritize generating revenue from ads and scrolling, making it challenging for long-form content like articles to thrive.

Visualizing Research: How I Use Gemini 3.0 to Turn Papers into Comics

Gonzo ML • 630 implied HN points • 24 Nov 25
🕹 Technology Science communication AI Tools Graphic design Visual communication Content creation
  1. The Gemini 3.0 Pro Image model, also known as Nano Banana Pro, is great for creating infographics and comics from academic papers. It can really change how we visualize research.
  2. Generating graphic novels from paper summaries is a fun way to review research. Using visuals can make complex ideas much easier to understand.
  3. For the best results with image generation, it's helpful to break tasks into steps and use precise prompts. This means creating a script first and then generating images based on that script.

Flow State #4 - Mastering the Meta and Your Own Personal Tutor

Superfluid • 92 implied HN points • 02 Feb 26
💼 Business Productivity Venture Capital Fundraising Strategy Talent AI Startups
  1. Playing the right game matters more than playing well. Instead of just mastering the current playbook, look for ways to change the rules and zig when everyone else zags because the meta shifts fast.
  2. Massive early fundraising and soaring pay are changing incentives and making loyalty weaker. Big rounds can buy credibility and talent but also make companies fragile and leave little room for error.
  3. Turn curiosity into lasting knowledge by building a personal learning assistant tailored to your style. Tweak it over time so learning stays fun and what you read actually sticks.

Senior Developers understand Composition Over Inheritance.

System Design Classroom • 599 implied HN points • 15 Jun 24
🕹 Technology Development Practices Software Design System Architecture Modularity
  1. Using composition is often better than inheritance because it allows for more flexible and maintainable code. You can mix and match simpler components to create complex systems.
  2. With composition, you can easily swap out parts of your code at runtime, making it better for projects that change frequently. It's all about keeping things modular and manageable.
  3. Though inheritance can be useful for stable hierarchies, focusing on composition is generally a safer bet, especially when you expect to make a lot of changes to your code.

The best growth tactics of 2025

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 465 implied HN points • 17 Dec 25
💼 Business Product Sales Marketing Growth Partnerships Events AI
  1. Outbound/ABM, partner/ecosystem plays, and events/community were the biggest growth channels in 2025 — they generated the most pipeline despite the AI hype.
  2. AI-driven content and discovery plus product-led tactics also paid off, with wins from AEO/LLM work (JSON-LD, custom GPTs) and freemium/mini tools that captured high-intent leads.
  3. Execution mattered most: tried-and-true tactics succeeded when done exceptionally — examples include automated intent-based outbound, "give-to-get" partner programs, and intimate in-person or virtual events.

Static, Dynamic, Mergeable, oh, my!

Jacob’s Tech Tavern • 7872 implied HN points • 18 Nov 24
🕹 Technology iOS Development Frameworks Libraries Software Development Programming
  1. Libraries are just code you use in your projects. There are two types: static and dynamic, which impact how they are linked to your app.
  2. Dynamic linking happens at runtime, making builds faster but can slow down app launch times. Static linking copies everything into the app, which can make the app bigger but loads faster.
  3. Mergeable libraries combine the benefits of both static and dynamic linking, aiming to speed up builds while keeping app launch times quick.

Some Responses to Skepticism

Fake Noûs • 194 implied HN points • 17 Jan 26
📖 Philosophy Perception Skepticism Epistemology Mind Metaphysics
  1. Perceptual experiences can directly justify beliefs without needing further reasons, so conscious appearances stop the regress rather than forcing an infinite chain or vicious circularity.
  2. You needn't first prove a method's reliability before using it; basic belief-forming methods (like perception, memory, and reasoning) can be rational starting points, and some epistemic circularity is acceptable for knowing they work.
  3. We are directly aware of external objects through perception, so we don't have to infer that impressions are mere signs of things — direct perception provides immediate justification for beliefs about the world.

Generative AI’s Continuing Copyright Problems, an Essay in Memory of Suchir Balaji, 1998 - 2024

Marcus on AI • 7035 implied HN points • 14 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Legal issues Innovation Copyright AI Ethics
  1. Generative AI is raising big questions about copyright. Many people are unsure if the way it uses data counts as fair use under copyright laws.
  2. There have been cases where outputs from AI models were very similar to copyrighted material. This has led to lawsuits, showing that the issue isn't going away.
  3. Speaking out against big tech companies can be risky. There needs to be more protection for those who voice concerns about copyright and other serious issues.

Introducing $50K in Moku Creator Bounties!

Ronin’s Newsletter • 245 implied HN points • 08 Jan 26
🔮 Crypto NFTs Gaming Blockchain Community Marketing Tokens
  1. A $50,000 creator bounty program rewards content about Grand Arena over a 12-week period, with submissions accepted from January 12 to April 6 and anyone eligible regardless of follower count.
  2. The prize structure includes a shared pool (about $7,500 every 4 weeks, with an extra $7,500 if 100 approved pieces are reached) that pays roughly $150 per approved piece, plus a $5,000 bonus pool for weekly and top content awards; payouts are distributed every 4 weeks in Ronin (RON equivalent).
  3. Creators can submit many content types—threads, videos (30s–10min), art, memes, music, cosplay, and podcasts—via the submission form starting Jan 12, and entries are judged on quality, originality, and consistency while spam, stolen, or low-effort work won’t be rewarded.