4 ms·

You know, I get that it's a holiday and all, but what's with all the bike shedding threads? What's next? A discussion of knot theory, as pertaining to balloon

You know, I get that it's a holiday and all, but what's with all the bike shedding threads? What's next? A discussion of knot theory, as pertaining to balloon animals?

DanBC 10y ago
...that's not what bike shedding is.
- shedShedding 10y ago
  Okay, there are two types of threads on HN (cue false dichotomy): 1. Threads that everybody tries to sound smart in. 2. Threads that you can't actually post a constructive comment in unless you're a subject matter expert, with substantial experience within the given problem domain. Bike shedding posits a similar premise. Ask for an opinion about a difficult problem, say the plumbing in a nuclear cooling tower, and very few people will have much to say. Contrast this with opinions on the color of the bike shed next to the cooling tower, et cetera, et cetera... So, care to clarify specifically how this is not a bike shedding thread?
  - akerl_ 10y ago
    Because bike shedding is when there's something to discuss and people debate the trivial detail because it's what they understand. The act of debating the trivial facet is bike shedding. The presence of a spectrum of topics on HN, with this post falling where lots of folks have relevant knowledge, is not.
    - shedShedding 10y ago
      Your response pretty much confirms this thread's status as a bike shedding thread. with this post falling where lots of folks have relevant knowledge people debate the trivial detail because it's what they understand Red Solo Cups being a trivial detail, juxtaposed with the rest of the forum.
  - echlebek 10y ago
    Well, I hate to belabour such a boring point, but the solo cup is the result of an invention by a single person. At least, there's only one person's name on the patent. From the article: "some of the most underappreciated aspects of the cup can be traced to a simple design aimed at solving a rather sticky problem." So, a tricky problem solved by the ingenuity of an individual.

You know, I get that it's a holiday and all, but what's with all the bike shedding threads? What's next? A discussion of knot theory, as pertaining to balloon animals?

DanBC 10y ago

...that's not what bike shedding is.

shedShedding 10y ago
Okay, there are two types of threads on HN (cue false dichotomy): 1. Threads that everybody tries to sound smart in. 2. Threads that you can't actually post a constructive comment in unless you're a subject matter expert, with substantial experience within the given problem domain. Bike shedding posits a similar premise. Ask for an opinion about a difficult problem, say the plumbing in a nuclear cooling tower, and very few people will have much to say. Contrast this with opinions on the color of the bike shed next to the cooling tower, et cetera, et cetera... So, care to clarify specifically how this is not a bike shedding thread?
- akerl_ 10y ago
  Because bike shedding is when there's something to discuss and people debate the trivial detail because it's what they understand. The act of debating the trivial facet is bike shedding. The presence of a spectrum of topics on HN, with this post falling where lots of folks have relevant knowledge, is not.
  - shedShedding 10y ago
    Your response pretty much confirms this thread's status as a bike shedding thread. with this post falling where lots of folks have relevant knowledge people debate the trivial detail because it's what they understand Red Solo Cups being a trivial detail, juxtaposed with the rest of the forum.
- echlebek 10y ago
  Well, I hate to belabour such a boring point, but the solo cup is the result of an invention by a single person. At least, there's only one person's name on the patent. From the article: "some of the most underappreciated aspects of the cup can be traced to a simple design aimed at solving a rather sticky problem." So, a tricky problem solved by the ingenuity of an individual.