4 ms·

Yeah I really don't understand the point... Obviously thieves have sad lives for the most part. No reason to put this man's shame on display, especially when yo

Yeah I really don't understand the point... Obviously thieves have sad lives for the most part. No reason to put this man's shame on display, especially when you baited them in the first place.

jasonkostempski 10y ago
If anything, stories like this being out in the wild are a good deterrent.
- kiliantics 10y ago
  I don't get the feeling that the thief here had all the wonderful opportunities that the student or most readers of HN have. I'm sure he's making the best of a bad situation and making choices that many of us would if we were in his position, given the deterrents or not.
  - mikekchar 10y ago
    To be fair, I've known a fair number of people with serious problems in their life and a large percentage of them started out life in an advantageous position. I don't doubt that there are people who would consider that just being born in the US is advantage enough. Advantage is a relative term. People often make bad choices in their life. Sometimes it is easy to understand why, other times it is really obscure. It is my experience that even when someone makes such a bad choice, they rarely understand how bad it is. People are strangely optimistic in this way. People weigh alternatives based on the best case outcome. If an alternative does not give them what they want, they will disregard it out of hand -- even if it turns out to be the best course of action. Ironically they will consider it stupid to pursue something that has no chance of leading to what they desire. Instead they will dig themselves a pit they can't get out of. Having done so, they will often remark, "It is so unfair. All I wanted was X, which should be everyone's right. Society has let me down so badly, why should I care about anyone else?" I remember being taught in high school that a tragedy is a type of story where the main character's own actions lead to their downfall. In that way, I have witnessed many tragic stories. I have, indeed, been party to my own personal tragedies. I also believe that deterrents are not particularly effective in these cases (because people optimistically believe that the deterrent will not apply to them). I don't, however, believe that most people will make the same choices in the same circumstances. Neither do I believe that most people's situations are hopeless from the beginning. Having said all that, I am powerless to act because I have no idea how to help people who make bad choices. I have a hard enough time doing it when people decide to choose some ridiculous framework rather than to write code. I hope, over time, we as a society will be able to help people like this more effectively, though.
briandear 10y ago
Why not? The thief deserves it. It wasn't like they sold the phone to feed starving kids.

Yeah I really don't understand the point... Obviously thieves have sad lives for the most part. No reason to put this man's shame on display, especially when you baited them in the first place.

jasonkostempski 10y ago

If anything, stories like this being out in the wild are a good deterrent.

kiliantics 10y ago
I don't get the feeling that the thief here had all the wonderful opportunities that the student or most readers of HN have. I'm sure he's making the best of a bad situation and making choices that many of us would if we were in his position, given the deterrents or not.
- mikekchar 10y ago
  To be fair, I've known a fair number of people with serious problems in their life and a large percentage of them started out life in an advantageous position. I don't doubt that there are people who would consider that just being born in the US is advantage enough. Advantage is a relative term. People often make bad choices in their life. Sometimes it is easy to understand why, other times it is really obscure. It is my experience that even when someone makes such a bad choice, they rarely understand how bad it is. People are strangely optimistic in this way. People weigh alternatives based on the best case outcome. If an alternative does not give them what they want, they will disregard it out of hand -- even if it turns out to be the best course of action. Ironically they will consider it stupid to pursue something that has no chance of leading to what they desire. Instead they will dig themselves a pit they can't get out of. Having done so, they will often remark, "It is so unfair. All I wanted was X, which should be everyone's right. Society has let me down so badly, why should I care about anyone else?" I remember being taught in high school that a tragedy is a type of story where the main character's own actions lead to their downfall. In that way, I have witnessed many tragic stories. I have, indeed, been party to my own personal tragedies. I also believe that deterrents are not particularly effective in these cases (because people optimistically believe that the deterrent will not apply to them). I don't, however, believe that most people will make the same choices in the same circumstances. Neither do I believe that most people's situations are hopeless from the beginning. Having said all that, I am powerless to act because I have no idea how to help people who make bad choices. I have a hard enough time doing it when people decide to choose some ridiculous framework rather than to write code. I hope, over time, we as a society will be able to help people like this more effectively, though.

briandear 10y ago

Why not? The thief deserves it. It wasn't like they sold the phone to feed starving kids.