Interesting how the majority of the comments are about how HackerNews is less toxic than many other social media outlets, or how OP is simply using it too much.

Interesting how the majority of the comments are about how HackerNews is less toxic than many other social media outlets, or how OP is simply using it too much. The truth is HackerNews is much MORE toxic than most commenters would care to admit, and it's not because everyone is too analytical or dismissive of technology ideas (though that's part of it). The root cause is exactly what OP is talking about - substituting intelligence for empathy. Whenever there is a discussion of social policy in the United States vs other countries, HN - as a community of entrepreneurs and entrepreneur-adjacents - optimizes for the "freedom" of the US at the expense of all other detriments to society. That is one blindspot. Whenever there is a discussion of racial injustices or inequalities, or of gender issues, the more radical right-wing/libertarian points of view get dramatically more upvotes over time than the equivalent progressive points of view. It's hard to tell what is the "center" line in society, in American society, in the tech industry, and specifically in the largest companies in the tech industry. But I can confidently say that HackerNews - by what it upvotes - is more right-of-center of the kinds of policies that say the FAAMNG companies promote internally (for hiring, racial justice). Let's just say HackerNews is more sympathetic to the Coinbase/37Signals perspective than the Google/Microsoft perspectives. Does this inherently make it toxic? Obviously my perspective on it reveals my own biases. But I would say yes, because it comes from a very fundamental dislike of the human/societal implications of technology and a privileged "it doesn't affect me, so it can't be a problem" stance. And I think for young nerds being exposed to this worldview in an unbalanced ratio skews and pulls you in a direction away from empathy.