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Reminder of the HN Guidelines [1]: "Be kind. Don't be snarky. Have curious conversation; don't cross-examine. Please don't fulminate. Please don't sneer, inclu

Reminder of the HN Guidelines [1]: "Be kind. Don't be snarky. Have curious conversation; don't cross-examine. Please don't fulminate. Please don't sneer, including at the rest of the community." [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

pixelgeek 5y ago
I am quite serious in my praise for this blog. It is breathtaking. I disagree with almost everything he says but I am still reading it.
Certhas 5y ago
This is a direct quote from the blog: "The main upside to all this for me anyway is middle aged to old men like me have giant cocks compared to 20-somethings because we weren’t exposed to this shit in the womb. Of course most of the 20-something year old American women are obese and mentally ill anyway, so it’s a wash." How do you appropriately comment on something like this? Other than to point out that this is not someone worth having a conversation with? And yet this blog hits the front page,and therefore requires engagement of some sort. Pretending, against all evidence, that you are engaged in a good faith, curiosity driven conversation when faced with stuff like this does not seem like an appropriate, rational strategy to me.
- inkblotuniverse 5y ago
  Average penis size has shrunk, though, right? And obesity does have negative effects on pregnancy, and you'd rather your mother weren't mentally ill. Obesity's definitely exploded over the last 60 years. (Isn't obesity in 20-30 y.o. women in america above 50%?) What's wrong with what he's said, here?
  - teachrdan 5y ago
    > Of course most of the 20-something year old American women are obese and mentally ill anyway Do you not recognize this as misogynist? I can't tell if you're trolling or not.
    - throwaway2331 5y ago
      Yes, in the upper middle class bubble this is misogynist. Everywhere else -- that doesn't require one to adhere to trends in order to survive -- this is just a histrionic take. Scott is lambasting both sexes, so he gets a pass as a conflict-seeking goblin speaking his mind. Or perhaps we've been too sheltered for far too long that this is what the "real" world is like? Impossible to discern; we are a reflection of our environment.
- exolymph 5y ago
  I'm a 20-something woman and I'm not offended by that. He's using hyperbole for effect, obviously. Don't take everything you read personally; very rarely is it intended as such. > And yet this blog hits the front page,and therefore requires engagement of some sort. It really doesn't. If someone's writing bothers you, just move on with your life. I promise that railing against this dude will not stop him from blogging.
  - EricE 5y ago
    I'm not sure this much common sense is appropriate for the Internet; thank you for trying to inject some much needed perspective. I don't know how people like the OP and many others in this thread have the energy to be constantly offended and wound up over so many things utterly out of their control. Nor how anyone that has to live with them can put up with it too.
  - Certhas 5y ago
    I was not complaining about the snippet being offensive. I was saying that it's not based in an honest attempt at rational discourse. It's performative not informative. It's hyperbole written to evoke a reaction rather than to illuminate. So the HN guidelines for keeping things within the bounds of rational discourse are useless when engaging with it. Not engaging is of course an option, but yet, here we are. I replied to something, your replied to me. And I do feel that just letting irrational things stand when they already have gained some prominence is risky as well (c.f. covid vaccine). Finally, yes I do find it offensive, and that does not hinge on it offending you. But it's also obviously irrelevant whether I find it offensive. There are plenty of people who take offence at gay marriage, or women driving, or blue hair. I'd rather have/debate general norms of civility than outsource the decision making on what's inappropriate or not to self appointed spokesperson of affected groups.
- newbie789 5y ago
  People have a fascinating tendency to blindly defend people that are perceived to be rich or academically gifted. I see it very often on Twitter and here on HN. Considering that this entire article is nothing but some guy’s opinions, I think that a post like the following would be fully germane and on-topic: “I get the distinct impression that this guy thinks very highly of himself, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a good chunk of his worldview exists solely as a collection of subjective ‘truths’ that serve only to prop up his massive ego. Some people have an inability to distinguish between the behavior of a smart person and the behavior of a blowhard asshole. This can lead to the very embarrassing tendency to defend or mimic blowhard assholes because they think maybe that they will be perceived as more intelligent by doing so, or even more embarrassingly some folks might actually think that by publicly agreeing with this guy’s ridiculous stances that maybe they’ll get noticed and let into some imaginary Cool Kids Club where they can rub elbows with the Financial Elites. Neither are really the case. Scott Locklin isn’t going to Kramer into this thread and hire folks that post in agreement with him about COVID or mental health or whatever, nor are the posters defending this stupid asshole[1] coming off as Big Brain Geniuses. I did not care for this review, and I do not care for his opinions about anything, really. I wasn’t aware that this book existed and the subject matter sounds vaguely interesting, I’ll put it on my maybe list.” [1] Yes. It’s entirely possible to be good at math and still be an insufferably stupid asshole. That might be the only thing Scott and I agree on, though I suspect that from his perspective that doesn’t apply to him, Mr. Big Brain Genius.

pixelgeek 5y ago

I am quite serious in my praise for this blog. It is breathtaking. I disagree with almost everything he says but I am still reading it.

Certhas 5y ago

This is a direct quote from the blog: "The main upside to all this for me anyway is middle aged to old men like me have giant cocks compared to 20-somethings because we weren’t exposed to this shit in the womb. Of course most of the 20-something year old American women are obese and mentally ill anyway, so it’s a wash." How do you appropriately comment on something like this? Other than to point out that this is not someone worth having a conversation with? And yet this blog hits the front page,and therefore requires engagement of some sort. Pretending, against all evidence, that you are engaged in a good faith, curiosity driven conversation when faced with stuff like this does not seem like an appropriate, rational strategy to me.

inkblotuniverse 5y ago
Average penis size has shrunk, though, right? And obesity does have negative effects on pregnancy, and you'd rather your mother weren't mentally ill. Obesity's definitely exploded over the last 60 years. (Isn't obesity in 20-30 y.o. women in america above 50%?) What's wrong with what he's said, here?
- teachrdan 5y ago
  > Of course most of the 20-something year old American women are obese and mentally ill anyway Do you not recognize this as misogynist? I can't tell if you're trolling or not.
  - throwaway2331 5y ago
    Yes, in the upper middle class bubble this is misogynist. Everywhere else -- that doesn't require one to adhere to trends in order to survive -- this is just a histrionic take. Scott is lambasting both sexes, so he gets a pass as a conflict-seeking goblin speaking his mind. Or perhaps we've been too sheltered for far too long that this is what the "real" world is like? Impossible to discern; we are a reflection of our environment.
exolymph 5y ago
I'm a 20-something woman and I'm not offended by that. He's using hyperbole for effect, obviously. Don't take everything you read personally; very rarely is it intended as such. > And yet this blog hits the front page,and therefore requires engagement of some sort. It really doesn't. If someone's writing bothers you, just move on with your life. I promise that railing against this dude will not stop him from blogging.
- EricE 5y ago
  I'm not sure this much common sense is appropriate for the Internet; thank you for trying to inject some much needed perspective. I don't know how people like the OP and many others in this thread have the energy to be constantly offended and wound up over so many things utterly out of their control. Nor how anyone that has to live with them can put up with it too.
- Certhas 5y ago
  I was not complaining about the snippet being offensive. I was saying that it's not based in an honest attempt at rational discourse. It's performative not informative. It's hyperbole written to evoke a reaction rather than to illuminate. So the HN guidelines for keeping things within the bounds of rational discourse are useless when engaging with it. Not engaging is of course an option, but yet, here we are. I replied to something, your replied to me. And I do feel that just letting irrational things stand when they already have gained some prominence is risky as well (c.f. covid vaccine). Finally, yes I do find it offensive, and that does not hinge on it offending you. But it's also obviously irrelevant whether I find it offensive. There are plenty of people who take offence at gay marriage, or women driving, or blue hair. I'd rather have/debate general norms of civility than outsource the decision making on what's inappropriate or not to self appointed spokesperson of affected groups.
newbie789 5y ago
People have a fascinating tendency to blindly defend people that are perceived to be rich or academically gifted. I see it very often on Twitter and here on HN. Considering that this entire article is nothing but some guy’s opinions, I think that a post like the following would be fully germane and on-topic: “I get the distinct impression that this guy thinks very highly of himself, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a good chunk of his worldview exists solely as a collection of subjective ‘truths’ that serve only to prop up his massive ego. Some people have an inability to distinguish between the behavior of a smart person and the behavior of a blowhard asshole. This can lead to the very embarrassing tendency to defend or mimic blowhard assholes because they think maybe that they will be perceived as more intelligent by doing so, or even more embarrassingly some folks might actually think that by publicly agreeing with this guy’s ridiculous stances that maybe they’ll get noticed and let into some imaginary Cool Kids Club where they can rub elbows with the Financial Elites. Neither are really the case. Scott Locklin isn’t going to Kramer into this thread and hire folks that post in agreement with him about COVID or mental health or whatever, nor are the posters defending this stupid asshole[1] coming off as Big Brain Geniuses. I did not care for this review, and I do not care for his opinions about anything, really. I wasn’t aware that this book existed and the subject matter sounds vaguely interesting, I’ll put it on my maybe list.” [1] Yes. It’s entirely possible to be good at math and still be an insufferably stupid asshole. That might be the only thing Scott and I agree on, though I suspect that from his perspective that doesn’t apply to him, Mr. Big Brain Genius.