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Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 8, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Do you suppose their hiring could be good but not perfect?

Of course, since the answer to "is x perfect" is almost always "no", for any important irl task. The actually relevant question is "are their hiring practices EV+, especially compared to whatever deepneuralnetwork wants them to do?" to which the answer is also "of course".

You don't seem to grasp how much money is on the line and/or how important even a small statistical edge can be in ultra-competitive fields.

The actually relevant question is "are their hiring practices EV+, especially compared to whatever deepneuralnetwork wants them to do?" to which the answer is also "of course".

There is no reason their practices are more EV+ than my suggestions. I could very well improve their hiring processes, but this hasn't happened due to lack of the sufficient competition which would require this. Their hiring practices are good enough to let them be profitable firms, while still letting me rationally critique them.