> Its too bad that my comment kicked off just the sort of nonproductive back-and-forth I was hoping to avoid I appreciate the genuine question, and I don't min

> Its too bad that my comment kicked off just the sort of nonproductive back-and-forth I was hoping to avoid I appreciate the genuine question, and I don't mind explaining my reasoning. It's a complex subject, highly nuanced and riddled with early and inaccurate data and conflicting studies. There's also a huge political component to it, which inevitably drags personal identity and emotion into the conversation. Back-and-forth and hostility are going to require a lot of disciple to avoid, which we thankfully mostly see on HN. It's been strange to watch my karma fluctuate wildly from my comments in this thread. I would love it if there was some sort of indicator on HN about magnitude on votes. Right now, my comments are roughly net-neutral, but my karma has swung about 10 points either way in this discussion.