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Hotz's story is our story. He is the embodiment of the top comment of every HN thread in existence. "Of course the author doesn't know a damn about what their w

Hotz's story is our story. He is the embodiment of the top comment of every HN thread in existence. "Of course the author doesn't know a damn about what their writing about. They're wrong. And no I won't deliver a better solution," is Hotz in a nutshell. To be critical of him is to be critical of us. It's great if we can do that, but I'm not sure we can. There's a certain essence of digital rhetoric that runs through our veins and we wouldn't be the same without it.

andrewmcwatters 4y ago
Well put, except occasionally he actually did put his time where his mouth is when he was interested enough in the problem.
kypro 4y ago
> There's a certain essence of digital rhetoric that runs through our veins and we wouldn't be the same without it. Both in the case of HN and with Hotz, I'm 50/50 on whether this is even a bug. It's hard to do anything interesting if you're not both highly opinionated and highly critical about the current way of doing things. That said, I think some of us are more self-aware of this mentality than others. In my case I know that self-awareness has emerged slowly from being wrong a lot, which I suppose isn't the case with someone as successful as Hotz. Maybe he's never needed to self-reflect in the same way some of us have, or need to. I know I was a lot like him when I was younger anyway.
- ryandrake 4y ago
  I think one can be opinionated and critical without being arrogant. I do not know who the author is, but reading the post, I'm getting huge Main Character Syndrome[1] vibes. I mean, calling it "The Hero's Journey"? Seriously? Sure, buddy. The world is a story and you're the protagonist hero, venturing forth among a world of NPCs. I don't care how much of a literal genius someone is: that kind of life attitude is pretty off-putting. 1: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/digital-world-real-world/202106/the-trouble-main-character-syndrome https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/digital-world-real-w...
- runlevel1 4y ago
  One can have nerve without being arrogant. One can have confidence and still be humble enough to be open to being wrong. One can be idealistic without being cynical. And you, and the people around you, will be happier and more effective because of it. Some lessons I wish I had learned earlier in my career.
zymhan 4y ago
I do think we'd all benefit from second-guessing that arrogant part of us before we speak.
Dylan16807 4y ago
Even if that is true, people don't point at such a top comment and say "here is an expert".
LastTrain 4y ago
Nah. But I do recognize his story. I've worked with many people who have the same story, not all of them software engineers. They trade on the fact that it only takes 20 percent of the time to get the first 80 percent. So they do the 80 percent, and people are impressed. Then they bail. It is pure genious, because you leave on a high note - knowing that the last 20% is going to be difficult to impossible to deliver on. It is where all the problems built up while building the easy 80% get solved. That is the boat.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- martini333 4y ago
  > Nah. how ironic
  - LastTrain 4y ago
    Yes it is the perfect post, no one can disagree with it!
runlevel1 4y ago
> He is the embodiment of the top comment of every HN thread in existence. Occasionally, but I think HN comments are usually more cynical than arrogant. More often, it's pointing out flaws without saying, "I could do better." I do think that we, as a community, would be better off if we approached those flaws with more open-ended curiosity rather than mere dismissal.

andrewmcwatters 4y ago

Well put, except occasionally he actually did put his time where his mouth is when he was interested enough in the problem.

kypro 4y ago

> There's a certain essence of digital rhetoric that runs through our veins and we wouldn't be the same without it. Both in the case of HN and with Hotz, I'm 50/50 on whether this is even a bug. It's hard to do anything interesting if you're not both highly opinionated and highly critical about the current way of doing things. That said, I think some of us are more self-aware of this mentality than others. In my case I know that self-awareness has emerged slowly from being wrong a lot, which I suppose isn't the case with someone as successful as Hotz. Maybe he's never needed to self-reflect in the same way some of us have, or need to. I know I was a lot like him when I was younger anyway.

ryandrake 4y ago
I think one can be opinionated and critical without being arrogant. I do not know who the author is, but reading the post, I'm getting huge Main Character Syndrome[1] vibes. I mean, calling it "The Hero's Journey"? Seriously? Sure, buddy. The world is a story and you're the protagonist hero, venturing forth among a world of NPCs. I don't care how much of a literal genius someone is: that kind of life attitude is pretty off-putting. 1: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/digital-world-real-world/202106/the-trouble-main-character-syndrome https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/digital-world-real-w...
runlevel1 4y ago
One can have nerve without being arrogant. One can have confidence and still be humble enough to be open to being wrong. One can be idealistic without being cynical. And you, and the people around you, will be happier and more effective because of it. Some lessons I wish I had learned earlier in my career.

zymhan 4y ago

I do think we'd all benefit from second-guessing that arrogant part of us before we speak.

Dylan16807 4y ago

Even if that is true, people don't point at such a top comment and say "here is an expert".

LastTrain 4y ago

Nah. But I do recognize his story. I've worked with many people who have the same story, not all of them software engineers. They trade on the fact that it only takes 20 percent of the time to get the first 80 percent. So they do the 80 percent, and people are impressed. Then they bail. It is pure genious, because you leave on a high note - knowing that the last 20% is going to be difficult to impossible to deliver on. It is where all the problems built up while building the easy 80% get solved. That is the boat.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
martini333 4y ago
> Nah. how ironic
- LastTrain 4y ago
  Yes it is the perfect post, no one can disagree with it!

runlevel1 4y ago

> He is the embodiment of the top comment of every HN thread in existence. Occasionally, but I think HN comments are usually more cynical than arrogant. More often, it's pointing out flaws without saying, "I could do better." I do think that we, as a community, would be better off if we approached those flaws with more open-ended curiosity rather than mere dismissal.