4 ms·
Many people on HN are wrong, but it's the quality of wrong on HN that is vastly superior to the wrong you'll find anywhere else.
by ravenstine 4y ago
Many people on HN are wrong, but it's the quality of wrong on HN that is vastly superior to the wrong you'll find anywhere else.
- gfody 4y agothere's something like Knoll's Law for HN where everything seems like intelligent opinions until the topic is in your area of expertise and then...
- version_five 4y agoI've definitely seen this, but I also think HN had a decent list of base competencies where you actually do get comments from informed people. Knowing which topics attract trustworthy comments is still tough I'd say "mainstream" tech topics attract more uninformed comments because everyone thinks they know something, while more obscure stuff gets better comments (but obviously I could myself be falling for the bias of believing stuff I don't know about)
- jodrellblank 4y agoAlso like "Gell-Mann Amnesia" after physicist Murray Gell-Mann: “Briefly stated, the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect is as follows. You open the newspaper to an article on some subject you know well. In Murray’s case, physics. In mine, show business. You read the article and see the journalist has absolutely no understanding of either the facts or the issues. Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backward—reversing cause and effect. I call these the “wet streets cause rain” stories. Paper’s full of them. In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story, and then turn the page to national or international affairs, and read as if the rest of the newspaper was somehow more accurate about Palestine than the baloney you just read. You turn the page, and forget what you know.” – Michael Crichton (1942-2008) - some blog post https://www.epsilontheory.com/gell-mann-amnesia/ https://www.epsilontheory.com/gell-mann-amnesia/
- spacechild1 4y agoI'm not so sure about that. On HN it can be harder to spot the bullshit because people can sound very authoritative even when they are completely wrong or clueless. I experienced this a couple of times with topics I happen to know very well.
- LAC-Tech 4y agoIf this is ever me, happy to be called out. I'm only copying everyone else!!!
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- krapp 4y agoIndeed. As a gentleman of intellect I insist upon only the highest quality, artisinally crafted bullshit. No mere pedestrian mind-muffins will satisfy the refined palate of the HN sophisticate.
- maxFlow 4y agoI'll have my bullshit served only on the highest quality silver platter. Please and thank you.
- lolbert2 4y ago
- tomcam 4y agoWhen it comes to tech, yes. When it comes to areas outside of tech... not so much