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> we don't tend to get so many of them around West London. how many of them do you need? they were only burglarizing one place at a time. and it seems like if

> we don't tend to get so many of them around West London. how many of them do you need? they were only burglarizing one place at a time. and it seems like if you're going to be a rare book thief, london would be a reasonable place to set up shop.

jameshart 6y ago
I don’t understand this studied attitude of worldly nonchalance here. ‘Oh of course, everyone should know there are dozens of rare book experts with alpine rescue skills operating in London. Everybody knows that’s the obvious business to get into given the ridiculous cost of commuting from zone C. It was only a matter of time before one of them went rogue and joined a Romanian criminal gang.’ Does the fact someone carried out this crime, in this way, not surprise anyone even a little bit?
- pc86 6y ago
  Of course it does, it's just that people on HN need to pretend to never be surprised about anything, ever, and to always be "in the know" about everything discussed here.
- bopbeepboop 6y ago
  It’s not particularly surprising. The level of technique is something tens of thousands of people have in my city — 1% of the few million people in the metro. There’s hundreds of similar metros near mountains, globally. The level of information necessary for the alarms is all over the dark web, and something someone with a criminal background would be able to find and understand. Another 1% of the population. So, 100 * 1M * 0.01 * 0.01 = 10,000. So globally, we’d expect around ten thousand criminals with that level of climbing skill — and it’s not surprising to find a dozen of them stealing books in London. They’re going to be doing something, somewhere: it turned out to be this, here. I think the story is fascinating, like finding a pretty flower, so I don’t share the bored cynicism — but it’s about as surprising as finding a pretty flower in a meadow.
- sigstoat 6y ago
  i’ve been reading police reports for years. i’m only surprised by human decency and politeness, now.

jameshart 6y ago

I don’t understand this studied attitude of worldly nonchalance here. ‘Oh of course, everyone should know there are dozens of rare book experts with alpine rescue skills operating in London. Everybody knows that’s the obvious business to get into given the ridiculous cost of commuting from zone C. It was only a matter of time before one of them went rogue and joined a Romanian criminal gang.’ Does the fact someone carried out this crime, in this way, not surprise anyone even a little bit?

pc86 6y ago
Of course it does, it's just that people on HN need to pretend to never be surprised about anything, ever, and to always be "in the know" about everything discussed here.
bopbeepboop 6y ago
It’s not particularly surprising. The level of technique is something tens of thousands of people have in my city — 1% of the few million people in the metro. There’s hundreds of similar metros near mountains, globally. The level of information necessary for the alarms is all over the dark web, and something someone with a criminal background would be able to find and understand. Another 1% of the population. So, 100 * 1M * 0.01 * 0.01 = 10,000. So globally, we’d expect around ten thousand criminals with that level of climbing skill — and it’s not surprising to find a dozen of them stealing books in London. They’re going to be doing something, somewhere: it turned out to be this, here. I think the story is fascinating, like finding a pretty flower, so I don’t share the bored cynicism — but it’s about as surprising as finding a pretty flower in a meadow.
sigstoat 6y ago
i’ve been reading police reports for years. i’m only surprised by human decency and politeness, now.