Agreed. I'm even more puzzled that folks on HN would misunderstand Feynman's rhetorical style. I get the impression that most folks on HN work in a technical

Agreed. I'm even more puzzled that folks on HN would misunderstand Feynman's rhetorical style. I get the impression that most folks on HN work in a technical role. Most technical people find themselves performing some combination of either explaining complex concepts to folks with varying backgrounds or requirements gathering from folks with a variety of backgrounds. In both activities you will sometimes find yourself obligated to provide background information in order to either steer a conversation in order to make sense of someone's request, or to help someone understand your explanation.