4 ms·

Your point about genetic engineering capability is true (source: spent two years working in an advanced plant science lab). The latter one I'm not sure about,

Your point about genetic engineering capability is true (source: spent two years working in an advanced plant science lab). The latter one I'm not sure about, it's complicated. The downvoting of this comment seems a little strange to me. Edit: Thanks for explaining, I get it now, I shouldn't have mentioned it anyway, I was just interested in the scientific substance of parent comment and wondered why others seemed not to be (I get it now, it wasn't the scientific aspect of the comment which was against HN guidelines).

dang 7y ago
I imagine it was downvoted because of "You can just stop reading right there", which is an internet trope (-> repetitive -> bad for HN) and also needlessly aggressive. The comment would be just fine without that bit—well, plus the snarky "magical". Snark is deprecated on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.
- DenisM 7y ago
  Can you add sarcasm next to snark in the guidelines? I’ve never seen sarcasm improve a conversation and it inflames passions unnecessarily. Thanks for considering this, whatever you decide.
  - dang 7y ago
    How would you define the difference?
    - DenisM 7y ago
      It’s not to signify a difference, but to expand coverage. I wouldn’t want to argue with someone saying “I was sarcastic, but not snarky”. There are many comments ending with /s to signify sarcasm or even /sarcasm or such. It’s easier to point out a transgression when the user has agreed in his mind or his words that he was in fact being sarcastic.
      - dang 7y ago
        I think we'd just reply that they're close enough to count as the same thing for HN purposes. "Don't be snarky" is nice and short.
        DenisM 7y ago
        It’s not so much for you as it is for me. I often quote the rules, this would make it easier for me.
        dang 7y ago
        Ah I see. If it comes up, you can point to this subthread, or you can always ping us at hn@ycombinator.com. Thanks for quoting the rules and helping to preserve this place!
    - lonelappde 7y ago
      Sarcasm is writing the opposite of what you mean. It doesn't work in short form text (similar to Poe's Law) but people do it anyway because it works in their internal monologue that has vocal intonation. Even when it works, it's an obnoxious outburst and intellectually devoid of value. Snark is general obnoxiousness that adds no intellectual value.
Causality1 7y ago
It's hero worship. Dyson was an innovator and very much an outside the box thinker. He was also fond of what rationalists call "magical thinking". "What the secular faith of Dysonism offers is, first, a hypertrophied version of the technological fix, and second, the fantasy that, should the fix fail, we have someplace else to go." https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/12/the-danger-of-cosmic-genius/308306/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/12/the-dan...

dang 7y ago

I imagine it was downvoted because of "You can just stop reading right there", which is an internet trope (-> repetitive -> bad for HN) and also needlessly aggressive. The comment would be just fine without that bit—well, plus the snarky "magical". Snark is deprecated on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.

DenisM 7y ago
Can you add sarcasm next to snark in the guidelines? I’ve never seen sarcasm improve a conversation and it inflames passions unnecessarily. Thanks for considering this, whatever you decide.
- dang 7y ago
  How would you define the difference?
  - DenisM 7y ago
    It’s not to signify a difference, but to expand coverage. I wouldn’t want to argue with someone saying “I was sarcastic, but not snarky”. There are many comments ending with /s to signify sarcasm or even /sarcasm or such. It’s easier to point out a transgression when the user has agreed in his mind or his words that he was in fact being sarcastic.
    - dang 7y ago
      I think we'd just reply that they're close enough to count as the same thing for HN purposes. "Don't be snarky" is nice and short.
      - DenisM 7y ago
        It’s not so much for you as it is for me. I often quote the rules, this would make it easier for me.
        dang 7y ago
        Ah I see. If it comes up, you can point to this subthread, or you can always ping us at hn@ycombinator.com. Thanks for quoting the rules and helping to preserve this place!
  - lonelappde 7y ago
    Sarcasm is writing the opposite of what you mean. It doesn't work in short form text (similar to Poe's Law) but people do it anyway because it works in their internal monologue that has vocal intonation. Even when it works, it's an obnoxious outburst and intellectually devoid of value. Snark is general obnoxiousness that adds no intellectual value.

Causality1 7y ago

It's hero worship. Dyson was an innovator and very much an outside the box thinker. He was also fond of what rationalists call "magical thinking". "What the secular faith of Dysonism offers is, first, a hypertrophied version of the technological fix, and second, the fantasy that, should the fix fail, we have someplace else to go." https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/12/the-danger-of-cosmic-genius/308306/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/12/the-dan...