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>self-proclaimed gifted HNers And if they had actually brought any evidence other than their own self claim, imagine how they would've been treated. No way to

>self-proclaimed gifted HNers And if they had actually brought any evidence other than their own self claim, imagine how they would've been treated. No way to win except to shut up and pretend to be normal... one of the most depressing lessons I have learned is that all the social ills of grade school do not disappear when you graduate; they merge into the fabric of daily life.

Joeboy 11y ago
> one of the most depressing lessons I have learned is that all the social ills of grade school do not disappear when you graduate; they merge into the fabric of daily life. For what it's worth I've learned the opposite. Outside of a mass-incarceration type environment, people are mostly pretty OK. It took me way too long to work that out after I left school.
- Lawtonfogle 11y ago
  I think it is that you get far more power in who you surround yourself with and you learn better how to navigate social issues. Also, people are great at faking at being nice... I live in the South (USA) and lots of people seem really nice until they switch to a topic like homosexuality, at which point you find their beliefs are really quite harmful (things like seizing children and force conversion camps). You learn to avoid the topic and keep pretending everything is nice, but when the person things you or perhaps a friend should be in prison because of who they find attractive, I find it hard to describe them as nice. And heaven help you if you are part of an interracial couple. In short, it is us vs them mentality all the same, and while it is really nice when you are part of the us, it is horrendous when you realize you are actually part of the them.
  - selimthegrim 11y ago
    This is a lost cause on HN, where the surround yourself with the 5 people you want to most be like turns into "let's all hole up in SF with liberal people just like us and to hell with the rest of the country"

Joeboy 11y ago

> one of the most depressing lessons I have learned is that all the social ills of grade school do not disappear when you graduate; they merge into the fabric of daily life. For what it's worth I've learned the opposite. Outside of a mass-incarceration type environment, people are mostly pretty OK. It took me way too long to work that out after I left school.

Lawtonfogle 11y ago
I think it is that you get far more power in who you surround yourself with and you learn better how to navigate social issues. Also, people are great at faking at being nice... I live in the South (USA) and lots of people seem really nice until they switch to a topic like homosexuality, at which point you find their beliefs are really quite harmful (things like seizing children and force conversion camps). You learn to avoid the topic and keep pretending everything is nice, but when the person things you or perhaps a friend should be in prison because of who they find attractive, I find it hard to describe them as nice. And heaven help you if you are part of an interracial couple. In short, it is us vs them mentality all the same, and while it is really nice when you are part of the us, it is horrendous when you realize you are actually part of the them.
- selimthegrim 11y ago
  This is a lost cause on HN, where the surround yourself with the 5 people you want to most be like turns into "let's all hole up in SF with liberal people just like us and to hell with the rest of the country"