4 ms·
I don't know what I just read but it comes across as a delusion of grandeur. There is nothing about the original article that makes it a 'thesis', or a 'piece'
by ljm 7y ago
I don't know what I just read but it comes across as a delusion of grandeur.
There is nothing about the original article that makes it a 'thesis', or a 'piece', or even an 'essay' by any standard. I was scrolling up and down wondering if I'd missed something, expecting some seriously detailed research. It is being given an inflated opinion of itself.
'Privacy vs. User Experience' is a 500 word long opinion. It starts off like this:
> Apple is going to realize very soon that it has made a grave mistake by positioning itself as a bastion of privacy against Google, the evil invader of everyone’s secrets. The truth is that collecting information about people allows you to make significantly better products, and the more information you collect, the better products you can build.
There is no thesis or structure here, it's a fucking blog post. There are no references, there is no research. It's opinion.
In my personal opinion this follow up is even more dumb than the earlier post it criticises.
Edit: if I was to offer something more constructive, this follow up post should be called 'Famous Last Words'.
- esrauch 7y agoI think that's an uncharitable view of the author's choice of words. He also doesn't even use "thesis" in the way you imply, he refers to "the thesis of the essay", which unambiguously is the meaning of the word that is "the central claim of the essay".
- ljm 7y agoI disagree. You accept his blog post as an essay and in those terms I'll agree, you can see a thesis in there. But it's not an essay. It's a blog post. There are no references or sources. There is no way for you to take that post and research the underpinnings of its conclusion. It is wholly self-referential. The original post is a hot-take, it's pure opinion. It's not even a noteworthy post, it's just part of the Svtble echo chamber and has inflated worth. There is no essay in either the original post or the apology for it, and similarly so there is no thesis. Language changes and a thesis now is commonly accepted as a significant body of work with academic significance and a grounding in empiricism or at least extensive research. Going back to the Ancient Greek (and beyond) roots of 'thesis' to claim an innocent usage of the term is a monumental stretch.
- esrauch 7y agoI don't think the lack of sources make it "not an essay". You can dispute the value of the writing, but it's a bit weird to think it's pompous to use words with the definition of the most common usage: Essay 1. A short piece of writing on a particular subject Thesis 1. A statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved.
- JohnFen 7y ago> The original post is a hot-take, it's pure opinion. Sure. And it's also an essay.
- axiom92 7y agoWhat the author said: > It has a strong thesis. As in, the gist/central meaning is good/strong. What I think that you think he said: > It is a strong thesis. As in, PhD thesis.
- ljm 7y agoDo you say your opinion has a good thesis? Or are you checking up on the dictionary to see the traditional definition? In any case, it's high flung language for a blog.
- dang 7y agoThat word is used in different ways. This level of nitpicking breaks the site guidelines, which ask: "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html