codersarepeople

There are 2 schlumpf drives; there is a bottom bracket-compatible one like you describe. That is used for recumbent bikes and a few niche things like Kiwgglebikes. However, they still power the wheel with a chain. The unicycle hubs, which are the same as shown in the cyclauto, have no chain; the hub is also the center of all the spokes on the wheel. But yes, they are basically the same thing.

I'm sure it doesn't cost $1500 to produce, that's just the cost to consumers. My point wasn't that it's ridiculously expensive (which it is), but that this seems like a really high hurdle to produce the cyclauto; no other company is currently producing the unicycle version, and even if they can manufacture them for, say $500, that's still astronomical compared to if they used the cruzbike model.

It's true that internally geared bikes are common, especially in Europe. But internal gear hubs that are coaxial with pedals are almost unheard of. The only production one ever is the Schlumpf Unicycle hub, which costs $1500 and only a few hundred have ever been made. It also has only 2 gears. It's certainly possible to do, but I have doubts about a company opting for that incredibly expensive option of creating a new hub instead of reusing standard bike parts.

What are you even saying? Facebook and Google engineers are just writing code, just like (presumably) you. Very few of them make any key decisions, and most of them work on good things. For every engineer working on disallowing FB signout on oculus, there are 10 writing tools for small businesses to more easliy share their pages, helping people stay in contact with loved ones.

We (rightly) don't go after Northrop Grumman engineers when the US decides to bomb Yemen. Put down your pitchfork and show some compassion.

But Amazon doesn't have anywhere close to a monopoly on retail? There are many more options for retail, in particular buying a HDD, than there are for search. And while it's clear that Amazon does engage in some anti-competitive behavior, the pricing you complain about doesn't really have to do with Amazon; the seller set that price, not Amazon.

This is aimed at solving one of several problems people without bank accounts have. So let's just figure out why people don't have bank accounts and account for that:

> People who are unbanked often cite distrust of the banking system, lack of access to government-issued ID, or inability to maintain a minimum balance as reasons they don’t have bank accounts.

Seems easy enough to me. Make government-issued IDs free, make account minimums illegal for FDIC insured banks, and if you don't trust banks, you have nobody to blame but yourself (plus, if you don't trust banks, why would you trust gvmt-venmo?). These fixes would also address a lot of other problems (voter ID issues, other negatives of not having a bank account)

Would you also support a ban on stores that don't accept $100 bills? What about stores that refuse to accept payment only in pennies? The issue is in those cases that $100 bills make them targets for robbery and therefore cause undue burden on those stores. In fact, the same could be said of cash in general over other forms of payment. From what I've heard, China's mostly cashless system is a dream for both consumers and stores.

If you go into a store, they can reject you for any reason (unless it's due to being a member of a protected class). Cash must be accepted to settle debts, but if I refuse to serve you, there is no debt. It's legal for stores to say "we don't accept $100 bills" and it's legal to say "we don't accept cash". However, if you eat dinner, THEN pay, you have a debt, and cash must be accepted.

Feynman was talking about IAS in his days. I've been a PhD student in Princeton for 5 years, and there's plenty of interaction between students and IAS faculty. The difference is IAS people aren't responsible for their students. You could make the argument that IAS people aren't FORCED to interact with students, but the opportunities are there I think.

I am a current Princeton Ph.D. student in CS. Let me say that if one sees an article saying "Princeton study finds..." they are more likely to pay attention to it. Thus, unfortunately, we must also bare the brunt of bad press like this.

On the OTHER hand, this was a non-peer reviewed thought experiment by some MAE students outside their area. It would be akin to me turning in an assignment for a class and the media ran with it saying "Princeton study..."

Unfortunately, readers are going to read this rebuttal as an attack on Princeton, which it really isn't; if anything it's only funny because of how strong Princeton really is.