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Upon reflection, I want to apologize for the overly pessimistic and harsh tone I chose to use. Japan is almost always presented to the West from a unbalanced,

Upon reflection, I want to apologize for the overly pessimistic and harsh tone I chose to use. Japan is almost always presented to the West from a unbalanced, exaggerated perspective (which has irked me in the past), and upon reading your post, gleaming with optimism, I instinctively reacted by adopting an exaggeratedly grave perspective to attempt to balance it out -- which in retrospect was simply uncalled for. Thanks for your optimism and hope for the good in all of us. I could use some of that too.

Mendenhall 11y ago
I really likes this post for a few reasons. Having retrospect alone is great and then just posting to express it is even better. So thanks for posting your thoughts, I very much appreciate it. It makes me question my own words and how I express them. May you have a wonderful year!
TeMPOraL 11y ago
> Upon reflection, I want to apologize for the overly pessimistic and harsh tone I chose to use. No worries. Your points were fair and your tone wasn't harsh. > Thanks for your optimism and hope for the good in all of us. I could use some of that too. I try. And it's hard, too. But I think we need to do it, we need to learn to refocus on positive things, because our own attitudes on individual and social level form a feedback loop that drive our outlook.
- funkyy 11y ago
  Such a nice conversation is possible only on HN I believe lately.
  - geomark 11y ago
    Agree. I see civil discussions like this one more often on HN than anywhere else. And yet we have big shot VC's bashing HN as "Hater News" if the conversation doesn't support their narrative. When I see a HN thread turn predominately negative on a topic it's usually because it deserves it.
    - funkyy 11y ago
      I didn't even knew about it. Not really "Hater News" but more of Non-Circle Jerk News like PH or Inbound.org
      - TeMPOraL 11y ago
        The things I've seen throughout my life have taught me that even if you'd have a community of saints, who are perfect and know no sin, there will still be people who will find all kind of negative things to say about that community, whether because of misunderstanding, different worldviews or just plain malice. It's best to not be quick to trust criticisms of third parties, especially when they try to paint a group in a very negative light.
- dropit_sphere 11y ago
  "...whose mind is pure machinery!" Now might be a good time to link to Scott Alexander's Meditations on Moloch ( http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/) , if anyone is in for some very accessible (but also very long, and thought-provoking) reading. It does a good job of helping one think about the forces for and against, say, a train station remaining open for a single girl.
acabal 11y ago
Good on both of you. What a pleasant, enlightened, and refreshing exchange to read in today's internet of easy outrage. I really mean that :)
junto 11y ago
As a side note, you're not 'the' H. Murakami, the author are you?
- DanBC 11y ago
  no. http://www.hkmurakami.com/about.html http://www.hkmurakami.com/about.html
- robin_reala 11y ago
  http://www.hkmurakami.com/about.html http://www.hkmurakami.com/about.html My name is Hajime (Haj) Kenneth Murakami, and I am cofounder and COO at a mobile software startup. We are currently in stealth.

Mendenhall 11y ago

I really likes this post for a few reasons. Having retrospect alone is great and then just posting to express it is even better. So thanks for posting your thoughts, I very much appreciate it. It makes me question my own words and how I express them. May you have a wonderful year!

TeMPOraL 11y ago

> Upon reflection, I want to apologize for the overly pessimistic and harsh tone I chose to use. No worries. Your points were fair and your tone wasn't harsh. > Thanks for your optimism and hope for the good in all of us. I could use some of that too. I try. And it's hard, too. But I think we need to do it, we need to learn to refocus on positive things, because our own attitudes on individual and social level form a feedback loop that drive our outlook.

funkyy 11y ago
Such a nice conversation is possible only on HN I believe lately.
- geomark 11y ago
  Agree. I see civil discussions like this one more often on HN than anywhere else. And yet we have big shot VC's bashing HN as "Hater News" if the conversation doesn't support their narrative. When I see a HN thread turn predominately negative on a topic it's usually because it deserves it.
  - funkyy 11y ago
    I didn't even knew about it. Not really "Hater News" but more of Non-Circle Jerk News like PH or Inbound.org
    - TeMPOraL 11y ago
      The things I've seen throughout my life have taught me that even if you'd have a community of saints, who are perfect and know no sin, there will still be people who will find all kind of negative things to say about that community, whether because of misunderstanding, different worldviews or just plain malice. It's best to not be quick to trust criticisms of third parties, especially when they try to paint a group in a very negative light.
dropit_sphere 11y ago
"...whose mind is pure machinery!" Now might be a good time to link to Scott Alexander's Meditations on Moloch ( http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/) , if anyone is in for some very accessible (but also very long, and thought-provoking) reading. It does a good job of helping one think about the forces for and against, say, a train station remaining open for a single girl.

acabal 11y ago

Good on both of you. What a pleasant, enlightened, and refreshing exchange to read in today's internet of easy outrage. I really mean that :)

junto 11y ago

As a side note, you're not 'the' H. Murakami, the author are you?

DanBC 11y ago
no. http://www.hkmurakami.com/about.html http://www.hkmurakami.com/about.html
robin_reala 11y ago
http://www.hkmurakami.com/about.html http://www.hkmurakami.com/about.html My name is Hajime (Haj) Kenneth Murakami, and I am cofounder and COO at a mobile software startup. We are currently in stealth.