3 ms·

...it was my honest and well-intentioned thought... I know that. And I suspect that anyone who follows your writing here realizes that, too. I'll lay low for

by edw519 16y ago

...it was my honest and well-intentioned thought... I know that. And I suspect that anyone who follows your writing here realizes that, too. I'll lay low for a while... Please don't. One of the memes constantly reinforced here at hn is pushing the envelope. How many times have we heard, "If you don't ruffle a few feathers, you're not pushing hard enough." You pushed. You ruffled. You learned. You stood up like a man. And we all survived. "Laying low" contradicts the expected behavior of so many outliers and achievers here. Respect.

run4yourlives 16y ago
Well said. This type of a reaction to making a mistake should be encouraged and emulated, not only on HN but beyond. I think Sebastian is handling this extremely well, and there is a lot to be learned from that.
brendonjason 16y ago
>> One of the memes constantly reinforced here at hn is pushing the envelope. edw519, this is not by any means a personal attack on you and I admire your appreciation for the general value that this place gives you. But I gotta call this one out - sorry. Reinforced. Really? How is this reinforced? In my experience pushing the envelope is barely tolerated, and then only if done superficially or regarding trivial issues. For example, as another incarnation (yamada) I countered one of pg's "go forth and conquer, there's no risk" assertions back in I think april/may 07 with a simple post that a variety of macro variables were purposely allowed to develop in such a way by the powers that be that would result in a not-too-distant economic malaise that would be not only much larger than any recession any HN'rs had ever experienced, but also of a fundamentally different nature and so not lending itself to the standard and known (and thus immediately applicable) cures. I even went out on a limb and said there was a very real possibility that the next 10 years or so for the U.S., once the S#$% hit the fan, may resemble Japan's lost decade (plus) since it fell apart in the 90s. I put forth some verifiable things that would not take a rocket science intellect to connect into a likely scenario. I got close to 100 karma points within hours (that being my first ever post) back when karma point accumulation algorithms didn't exist yet, only to watch all my karma magically disappear in tandem with pg issuing one-liner retorts to EACH and EVERY single comment I had made on any topic whatsoever on any day on any subject. They all disappeared. Pushing the envelope? Seriously? Seems obvious now, in retrospect. But keep in mind I put this all out there in spring of 2007 before anyone here even heard of mortgage backed securities or credit default swaps or what have you. I'd say that was pushing the envelope back in 07. You know, ahead of it actually happening. What was reinforced for me? Nothing - my account was deleted. All because I held conflicting (and eventually to be proven correct) economic views of the near future. Oh ... btw ... I won't name names but to the two gentlemen who referred to me as a "paranoid lunatic with baseless reasoning" and ... let's see ... what was it, a "quasi-logical conspiracy bot" ... how's the economy doing these days? Not so good? The government/industry rallying around to fix it? Ha! Told you so! Nya nya nya nya nya nya! Epic nya nya for me! Global, internationally-spanning nya nya for me! Worth more than all the karma points on HN combined!
- bigglesworth 16y ago
  Lets be very clear about this, PG is a rank hypocrite. Do as I say, not as I do. Like many he's perfectly willing to stand beside and bask in the glow of his ideas when they work, but is nowhere to be found when they regularly fail. He got lucky in the internet mania of the 90's, now he's an expert in everything. These days he has a very good sales pitch to very young kids.

by edw519 16y ago

run4yourlives 16y ago

Well said. This type of a reaction to making a mistake should be encouraged and emulated, not only on HN but beyond. I think Sebastian is handling this extremely well, and there is a lot to be learned from that.

brendonjason 16y ago

>> One of the memes constantly reinforced here at hn is pushing the envelope. edw519, this is not by any means a personal attack on you and I admire your appreciation for the general value that this place gives you. But I gotta call this one out - sorry. Reinforced. Really? How is this reinforced? In my experience pushing the envelope is barely tolerated, and then only if done superficially or regarding trivial issues. For example, as another incarnation (yamada) I countered one of pg's "go forth and conquer, there's no risk" assertions back in I think april/may 07 with a simple post that a variety of macro variables were purposely allowed to develop in such a way by the powers that be that would result in a not-too-distant economic malaise that would be not only much larger than any recession any HN'rs had ever experienced, but also of a fundamentally different nature and so not lending itself to the standard and known (and thus immediately applicable) cures. I even went out on a limb and said there was a very real possibility that the next 10 years or so for the U.S., once the S#$% hit the fan, may resemble Japan's lost decade (plus) since it fell apart in the 90s. I put forth some verifiable things that would not take a rocket science intellect to connect into a likely scenario. I got close to 100 karma points within hours (that being my first ever post) back when karma point accumulation algorithms didn't exist yet, only to watch all my karma magically disappear in tandem with pg issuing one-liner retorts to EACH and EVERY single comment I had made on any topic whatsoever on any day on any subject. They all disappeared. Pushing the envelope? Seriously? Seems obvious now, in retrospect. But keep in mind I put this all out there in spring of 2007 before anyone here even heard of mortgage backed securities or credit default swaps or what have you. I'd say that was pushing the envelope back in 07. You know, ahead of it actually happening. What was reinforced for me? Nothing - my account was deleted. All because I held conflicting (and eventually to be proven correct) economic views of the near future. Oh ... btw ... I won't name names but to the two gentlemen who referred to me as a "paranoid lunatic with baseless reasoning" and ... let's see ... what was it, a "quasi-logical conspiracy bot" ... how's the economy doing these days? Not so good? The government/industry rallying around to fix it? Ha! Told you so! Nya nya nya nya nya nya! Epic nya nya for me! Global, internationally-spanning nya nya for me! Worth more than all the karma points on HN combined!

bigglesworth 16y ago
Lets be very clear about this, PG is a rank hypocrite. Do as I say, not as I do. Like many he's perfectly willing to stand beside and bask in the glow of his ideas when they work, but is nowhere to be found when they regularly fail. He got lucky in the internet mania of the 90's, now he's an expert in everything. These days he has a very good sales pitch to very young kids.