Yes and no. It can be very counter-productive to engage in difficult discourse, which may interrupt your flow and disturb your productivity for days, knowing t

Yes and no. It can be very counter-productive to engage in difficult discourse, which may interrupt your flow and disturb your productivity for days, knowing that you are incurring a lot of online turmoil for sharing a view counter to mainstream narrative. But reading HN regularly also can provide daily insight into the workings of an industry that is notoriously obfuscated by all and sundry. Use it productively: don't spend more than 30 minutes a day on HN, in total, over the course of a day. Open the articles that interest you, participate as you can, and ignore the stuff that isn't relevant. Its a valuable feed.