It really only takes a couple-few math wizards seeing a thing to vote it onto the front page for a bit, where other math wizards have a good chance of seeing it

It really only takes a couple-few math wizards seeing a thing to vote it onto the front page for a bit, where other math wizards have a good chance of seeing it and upvoting it further. Notice that 100 upvotes only requires 100 wizards amongst the HN population. I also agree with others that the assumptions about 'mostly devops' may well be very wrong. Control theory should be at least somewhat familiar to anyone who's worked in robotics and/or aviation, as well. A whoooole lot of people dabble in robotics during undergrad, and many older software engineers get into drones (like the author of the monograph!) or flying.