3 ms·
What does this mean? This sentence especially is quite confusing: "It works! As your competitors rise, eventually they have done to them what they did to you,
by TheSOB88 17y ago
What does this mean? This sentence especially is quite confusing:
"It works! As your competitors rise, eventually they have done to them what they did to you, and if you sit there a while, you don't have to do a thing -- nature takes care of it. "
whaaa???
- jrockway 17y agoEventually people that make fun of you die. Of course, so do you.
- electromagnetic 17y agoBasically hope you're young when you get screwed over, if you're old the chances are you'll die before you get the karmic justice you desperately want . . . at least that's what the authors point seems to be.
- kentosi 17y agoJudging by this thread so far, it seems as if everyone's almost just as confused as I am by this article... :-( What does the "river" represent? The flow of activity/competition/life? Why would you sit still and watch it all pass by you? If A = the point where you and your competitor started in this "river" journey, B = the point at which you got out of the river and sat by it, and C = some distant point where your competitor is still "moving" with the river, then you have a situation where A < B < C. How an earth can your enemy pass you by? Unless there's a tide that makes the river flow in again at some point? My logical brain can't handle this ...
- jrockway 17y agoYou are way overthinking it. The image you are supposed to see is your competitor's corpse floating down the river. That's it.
- blasdel 17y agoI wouldn't be so sure — after all, Winer 'invented' the "river of news" UI Instead of having an inbox of his enemies' obituaries with an unread count, he sees a continuous stream of corpses float by.
- praptak 17y agoSitting by the river means watching the time go by. Conveniently, the river also sometimes carries corpses. The proverb combines the two properties of the river to efficiently deliver its message.
- derefr 17y agoSalmon, swimming upstream.
- kevinh 17y agoWhat it means: When your competitors who smeared your reputation get as big as you were, their own reputation will be smeared by another upstart, and you will have your revenge without lifting a finger.
- glower 17y agoCorrect. You qualify to no longer have to read retarded comments on Hacker News.