This has not been my experience. While it's true that some topics do seem to draw contrarian viewpoints immediately, not all do; and while reflexive reactions a

This has not been my experience. While it's true that some topics do seem to draw contrarian viewpoints immediately, not all do; and while reflexive reactions are most likely to be found immediately on almost all topics, they need not be negative. For non-controversial topics, the reflexive reactions tend to be memes (less common but not unheard of on HN) or affirmative standard talking points - suportive statements generated from common associations. For example, an HN post about a new organizational technique will often fill up with replies explaining how users implement those practices themselves, what tools they use, etc. Because these topics are generally uncontroversial, the defensiveness that is the impetus for contrarian reactionism doesn't arise. The answer to the issue is fairly simple but relies entirely on the humility of HN's userbase, particularly in regard to topics that seem easy to expound upon "logically" but for which they generally are lacking in knowledge of or experience with. Therefore, I have little hope. I'll keep pointing out the fallacy when I see it, though.