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> If you have any sense, you should publicly disclaim any familiarity with him or his works. Why would broadcasting one’s ignorance of a topic be a good thing?
by antidesitter 8y ago
> If you have any sense, you should publicly disclaim any familiarity with him or his works.
Why would broadcasting one’s ignorance of a topic be a good thing?
- nkurz 8y agoAre you familiar with the standard joke about the engineer and the guillotine? The basis is "if the guillotine fails, you go free". In the joke, several more practical people of other professions are put under the broken guillotine, nothing happens, and they are set free. The engineer is positioned underneath, sees the issue from his new vantage point, and can't help but crying out "Wait, wait, I think I see the problem!" Look at the level of hatred directed against Curtis in just this thread. Then realize that HN is one of the more measured and rational parts of the internet. Realize that the mostly unspoken landscape of the blog post is that he's leaving the company of his dreams so it won't be doomed by his presence. Professionally, he and his ideas are simply too hazardous to touch. If you even come close, you will be treated as contaminated. Even disavowal will leave you suspect --- ignorance is a better strategy. I exaggerate for effect, but only slightly. If you need deeper explanation, you could try Venkatesh Rao's series on the "Gervais Principle" for some parallel examples of the role of strategic ignorance in business communication: https://www.ribbonfarm.com/the-gervais-principle/ https://www.ribbonfarm.com/the-gervais-principle/.