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This is the kind of article I need to read in the morning. It gives a sense of purpose. We are seeing a shift in our collective consciousness. The system we are

This is the kind of article I need to read in the morning. It gives a sense of purpose. We are seeing a shift in our collective consciousness. The system we are part of is not the best. In fact it is arguably the worst system since the caveman era. We are the first generation that truly believes we can, need and will improve our world without hurting anyone.

deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
GrandMasterBirt 18y ago
This puts my faith back into humanity. I've heard people say "we should have nuked Afghanistan, to show that we are not to be messed with... you punch a bully in the face, you don't talk to him trying to work out your differences." I've always felt that taking people out of ignorance will always make them less inclined to kill. The more logical justification people have for doing good and not doing bad vs purely faith-based, the harder it is for some religious nut-job to come in and say "kill the infidels in the name of god".
- rbanffy 18y ago
  "you punch a bully in the face" The fun part is that it goes both ways. In the end, both bullies will need reconstructive surgery.
  - aspirant 18y ago
    "An eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind" - Gandhi
    - pfedor 18y ago
      Except in reality, it doesn't. In reality, an eye for an eye is a very good strategy, with examples ranging from biology to military history to the results of iterated prisoner's dilemma tournaments played by computer programs.
- aspirant 18y ago
  "I've always felt that taking people out of ignorance will always make them less inclined to kill." Actually, taking people out of ignorance always results in warding off some error. The thing to be doing with the great bounty of western prosperity is reducing ignorance in ourselves and in others, not entertaining ourselves to imbecility. People figured out at least 2,500 years ago that knowledge is the antidote for ignorance and even laid out the specific conditions for its acquisition. Unfortunately, designating that the economy is full of "knowledge workers" doesn't cut it.
maw 18y ago
Here's another one: http://www.reason.com/news/show/117328.html http://www.reason.com/news/show/117328.html It isn't news anymore, but I find it very heartening all the same.
wheels 18y ago
Then I might suggest subscribing to the New York Times. Can the rest of us keep our Hacker News feed?
- deleted 18y ago
  [deleted]
- rms 18y ago
  >Can the rest of us keep our Hacker News feed? The Hacker News RSS feed is in the same place it has always been.
  - wheels 18y ago
    Uhm, the point was that this isn't hacker news.
    - rms 18y ago
      I understood your point. I disagree with you because this isn't Hacker News for you. The main Hacker News page is never going to be 30 perfect stories for every single hacker in the world because it isn't a customized page so it can't be perfectly individualized. Hackers like different stories. More than 50 people liked this. Hacking doesn't have to be in python. The hacking Mr. Mortenson is doing is incredibly noble. Why do you find this story to be so objectionable? From the guidelines: >Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic.
      - davidw 18y ago
        > I understood your point. I disagree with you because this isn't Hacker News for you If it gets bad enough, then eventually people will start moving on to something better, that is actually about hacker news, and not the political article du jour. This article and discussion were both extremely off topic. And it's not just any off topic, it's politics, which brings out the lowest common denominator in most forums it's introduced in. I mean, how can people vote up stuff like "The system we are part of is not the best. In fact it is arguably the worst system since the caveman era." ? Apologies to rokhayakebe, but that's not serious, interesting discussion, it's hyperbole typical of thousands of other internet forums. I would prefer to try and keep HN from becoming just like all those other forums, although perhaps it's a vain hope.

deleted 18y ago

[deleted]

GrandMasterBirt 18y ago

This puts my faith back into humanity. I've heard people say "we should have nuked Afghanistan, to show that we are not to be messed with... you punch a bully in the face, you don't talk to him trying to work out your differences." I've always felt that taking people out of ignorance will always make them less inclined to kill. The more logical justification people have for doing good and not doing bad vs purely faith-based, the harder it is for some religious nut-job to come in and say "kill the infidels in the name of god".

rbanffy 18y ago
"you punch a bully in the face" The fun part is that it goes both ways. In the end, both bullies will need reconstructive surgery.
- aspirant 18y ago
  "An eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind" - Gandhi
  - pfedor 18y ago
    Except in reality, it doesn't. In reality, an eye for an eye is a very good strategy, with examples ranging from biology to military history to the results of iterated prisoner's dilemma tournaments played by computer programs.
aspirant 18y ago
"I've always felt that taking people out of ignorance will always make them less inclined to kill." Actually, taking people out of ignorance always results in warding off some error. The thing to be doing with the great bounty of western prosperity is reducing ignorance in ourselves and in others, not entertaining ourselves to imbecility. People figured out at least 2,500 years ago that knowledge is the antidote for ignorance and even laid out the specific conditions for its acquisition. Unfortunately, designating that the economy is full of "knowledge workers" doesn't cut it.

maw 18y ago

Here's another one: http://www.reason.com/news/show/117328.html http://www.reason.com/news/show/117328.html It isn't news anymore, but I find it very heartening all the same.

wheels 18y ago

Then I might suggest subscribing to the New York Times. Can the rest of us keep our Hacker News feed?

deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
rms 18y ago
>Can the rest of us keep our Hacker News feed? The Hacker News RSS feed is in the same place it has always been.
- wheels 18y ago
  Uhm, the point was that this isn't hacker news.
  - rms 18y ago
    I understood your point. I disagree with you because this isn't Hacker News for you. The main Hacker News page is never going to be 30 perfect stories for every single hacker in the world because it isn't a customized page so it can't be perfectly individualized. Hackers like different stories. More than 50 people liked this. Hacking doesn't have to be in python. The hacking Mr. Mortenson is doing is incredibly noble. Why do you find this story to be so objectionable? From the guidelines: >Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic.
    - davidw 18y ago
      > I understood your point. I disagree with you because this isn't Hacker News for you If it gets bad enough, then eventually people will start moving on to something better, that is actually about hacker news, and not the political article du jour. This article and discussion were both extremely off topic. And it's not just any off topic, it's politics, which brings out the lowest common denominator in most forums it's introduced in. I mean, how can people vote up stuff like "The system we are part of is not the best. In fact it is arguably the worst system since the caveman era." ? Apologies to rokhayakebe, but that's not serious, interesting discussion, it's hyperbole typical of thousands of other internet forums. I would prefer to try and keep HN from becoming just like all those other forums, although perhaps it's a vain hope.