Hacker News Highlights

This is a recap of the top 10 posts on Hacker News on Nov 17, 2025.

Feel free to leave feedback on Github: https://github.com/denolfe/hacker-news-highlights

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:18) - Anthropic’s paper smells like bullshit
• (01:31) - Open-source Zig book
• (02:35) - Heretic: Automatic censorship removal for language models
• (03:49) - I have recordings proving Coinbase knew about breach months before disclosure
• (04:53) - Supercookie: Browser Fingerprinting via Favicon (2021)
• (05:57) - Dark Pattern Games
• (07:01) - Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics (2000)
• (07:53) - The fate of "small" open source
• (09:10) - I finally understand Cloudflare Zero Trust tunnels
• (10:13) - A file format uncracked for 20 years
• (11:23) - Outro

Anthropic’s paper smells like bullshit
https://djnn.sh/posts/anthropic-s-paper-smells-like-bullshit/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45944296

Open-source Zig book
https://www.zigbook.net
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45947810

Heretic: Automatic censorship removal for language models
https://github.com/p-e-w/heretic
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45945587

I have recordings proving Coinbase knew about breach months before disclosure
https://jonathanclark.com/posts/coinbase-breach-timeline.html
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45948058

Supercookie: Browser Fingerprinting via Favicon (2021)
https://github.com/jonasstrehle/supercookie
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45947770

Dark Pattern Games
https://www.darkpattern.games
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45947761

Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics (2000)
https://britneyspears.ac/lasers.htm
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45949326

The fate of "small" open source
https://nolanlawson.com/2025/11/16/the-fate-of-small-open-source/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45947639

I finally understand Cloudflare Zero Trust tunnels
https://david.coffee/cloudflare-zero-trust-tunnels
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45946865

A file format uncracked for 20 years
https://landaire.net/a-file-format-uncracked-for-20-years/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45837259