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Why does there always have to be one bikeshedder in every HN thread who reads too much into another's analogy and comments about how it's flawed/wrong/inaccurat
by Dirlewanger 9y ago
Why does there always have to be one bikeshedder in every HN thread who reads too much into another's analogy and comments about how it's flawed/wrong/inaccurate, thereby completely missing the analogy's point?
- tgtweak 9y agoBeing pedantic can have it's merits but yes, it can get old.
- FussyZeus 9y agoJust wanted to thank you for adding the term "bikeshedder" to my vocabulary.
- ksk 9y agoBecause those people haven't internalized the idea of an analogy. An analogy is necessarily an imperfect abstraction, and some people think finding out those imperfections means you somehow found a flaw somewhere. Their brain (not singling out our friend here, just people in general) goes towards the exceptions in a model, because its far easier to find superficial flaws than it is to realize deeper meaning.
- inopinatus 9y agoThis is a wonderful observation. It is a lesson that I took far too long to learn as a young and somewhat insecure programmer, thereby becoming entangled in many unproductive arguments.
- megous 9y agoPerhaps not this case, but analogies when used as persuasion devices, can get quite dangerous. It's important to realize when they are false, or misleading, or overly reductionist, in order not to fall for them. I certainly fell for a few false ones in the past. Sometimes only deeper meaning is that someone's trying to manipulate you.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- seanmcdirmid 9y agoI also was just thinking about those poor woman who got killed in a Chinese escalator accident a few years ago, totally missing the analogy's point. But that's just a problem with analogies, they trigger different ideas in different people's heads.