4 ms·

Ha, gruseom shows up for pg, which is dang’s old account. A worthy successor. This is a fascinating way to find similar HN users who aren’t the same person. It

Ha, gruseom shows up for pg, which is dang’s old account. A worthy successor. This is a fascinating way to find similar HN users who aren’t the same person. It’s a surprisingly great recommendation engine. “If you like pg, you might also like…” Sure, the privacy concerns are valid, but the cat’s out of the boot. Might as well enjoy the benefits. montrose is almost definitely pg. Someone who talks about ancient history, Occam’s razor, VCs and startups, uses the phrase “YC cos” (relatively uncommon), etc. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17112567 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17112567 Nicely done. One of the best hacks I’ve seen in a long time.

costco 4y ago
> motrose is almost definitely pg. Someone who talks about ancient history, Occam’s razor, VCs and startups, uses the phrase “YC cos” (relatively uncommon), etc. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17112567 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17112567 I had this hunch too. It's either pg or someone trying really hard to be pg.
- roughly 4y ago
  I mean, this is HN - > someone trying really hard to be pg describes half the site.
asveikau 4y ago
> Someone who talks about ancient history, Occam’s razor, VCs and startups, I think these are all common topics among HN readers and commenters.
VyseofArcadia 4y ago
> but the cat’s out of the boot It's my first time hearing that variant. Usually its, "the cat's out of the bag" where I'm from. Do you mean boot in the UK sense, what Americans would call the trunk of a car? Or do you mean a sturdy piece of footwear? Obligatory xkcd https://xkcd.com/2390/ https://xkcd.com/2390/
- sillysaurusx 4y ago
  It’s a little writing trick I leaned from (I think) Orwell. Any time you’re about to use a common metaphor, try to tweak it. You’ll catch readers off guard, which piques their curiosity. It’s a fun game, too. I wish I’d used “the cat’s out of the hat,” but I didn’t think of it till later.
  - InGoodFaith 4y ago
    What you are describing is also known as an eggcorn. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggcorn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggcorn
    - sillysaurusx 4y ago
      Thank you! I was trying to find the original essay I learned it from. I’m now pretty sure it was by Poe, but all I can remember is the main advice: avoid common metaphors. I vaguely remember one of the metaphors in the essay was about a chicken coop melting, or something like that. It was vivid enough to leave a big impression.
      - ewilden 4y ago
        I remember this being from Politics and the English Language (https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/politics-and-the-english-language/ https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwel...): “ Dying metaphors. A newly invented metaphor assists thought by evoking a visual image, while on the other hand a metaphor which is technically ‘dead’ (e. g. iron resolution) has in effect reverted to being an ordinary word and can generally be used without loss of vividness. But in between these two classes there is a huge dump of worn-out metaphors which have lost all evocative power and are merely used because they save people the trouble of inventing phrases for themselves.”
        sillysaurusx 4y ago
        Thank you so much! That’s the one. (It’s remarkable how often a vague description can yield an HN comment with an answer from a clever sleuth like yourself. Much appreciated.)
pyb 4y ago
Why would montrose be pg ? The correlation is not that high. Looks like a few people have picked up pg's mannerisms.
- costco 4y ago
  There are factors that make me think it is more likely than not (just scrolled through the comment history, don't feel like linking everything) that he is pg. - Is bolded on pg's page - Mentions yoga - Talks about Lisp often - Talks about YC often - Talks about kids - Links to Paul Graham's website - Says he uses vi - Writes exactly like you would expect pg to write
  - ethmaxi 4y ago
    I'm sophisticately sure they are not. They recommend a founder to ask users directly what they will pay for. Is that what PG would say?
    - sillysaurusx 4y ago
      Of course. Why wouldn’t he? That’s sound advice.
      - ethmaxi 4y ago
        YC startup videos recommend not asking users directly what they will pay for. Users freq. say they will pay for something but back down against other things.
        costco 4y ago
        With all due respect: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16785542 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16785542 https://twitter.com/paulg/status/1362369484036653058 https://twitter.com/paulg/status/1362369484036653058 I think you are very likely to be wrong.

costco 4y ago

> motrose is almost definitely pg. Someone who talks about ancient history, Occam’s razor, VCs and startups, uses the phrase “YC cos” (relatively uncommon), etc. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17112567 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17112567 I had this hunch too. It's either pg or someone trying really hard to be pg.

roughly 4y ago
I mean, this is HN - > someone trying really hard to be pg describes half the site.

asveikau 4y ago

> Someone who talks about ancient history, Occam’s razor, VCs and startups, I think these are all common topics among HN readers and commenters.

VyseofArcadia 4y ago

> but the cat’s out of the boot It's my first time hearing that variant. Usually its, "the cat's out of the bag" where I'm from. Do you mean boot in the UK sense, what Americans would call the trunk of a car? Or do you mean a sturdy piece of footwear? Obligatory xkcd https://xkcd.com/2390/ https://xkcd.com/2390/

sillysaurusx 4y ago
It’s a little writing trick I leaned from (I think) Orwell. Any time you’re about to use a common metaphor, try to tweak it. You’ll catch readers off guard, which piques their curiosity. It’s a fun game, too. I wish I’d used “the cat’s out of the hat,” but I didn’t think of it till later.
- InGoodFaith 4y ago
  What you are describing is also known as an eggcorn. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggcorn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggcorn
  - sillysaurusx 4y ago
    Thank you! I was trying to find the original essay I learned it from. I’m now pretty sure it was by Poe, but all I can remember is the main advice: avoid common metaphors. I vaguely remember one of the metaphors in the essay was about a chicken coop melting, or something like that. It was vivid enough to leave a big impression.
    - ewilden 4y ago
      I remember this being from Politics and the English Language (https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/politics-and-the-english-language/ https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwel...): “ Dying metaphors. A newly invented metaphor assists thought by evoking a visual image, while on the other hand a metaphor which is technically ‘dead’ (e. g. iron resolution) has in effect reverted to being an ordinary word and can generally be used without loss of vividness. But in between these two classes there is a huge dump of worn-out metaphors which have lost all evocative power and are merely used because they save people the trouble of inventing phrases for themselves.”
      - sillysaurusx 4y ago
        Thank you so much! That’s the one. (It’s remarkable how often a vague description can yield an HN comment with an answer from a clever sleuth like yourself. Much appreciated.)

pyb 4y ago

Why would montrose be pg ? The correlation is not that high. Looks like a few people have picked up pg's mannerisms.

costco 4y ago
There are factors that make me think it is more likely than not (just scrolled through the comment history, don't feel like linking everything) that he is pg. - Is bolded on pg's page - Mentions yoga - Talks about Lisp often - Talks about YC often - Talks about kids - Links to Paul Graham's website - Says he uses vi - Writes exactly like you would expect pg to write
- ethmaxi 4y ago
  I'm sophisticately sure they are not. They recommend a founder to ask users directly what they will pay for. Is that what PG would say?
  - sillysaurusx 4y ago
    Of course. Why wouldn’t he? That’s sound advice.
    - ethmaxi 4y ago
      YC startup videos recommend not asking users directly what they will pay for. Users freq. say they will pay for something but back down against other things.
      - costco 4y ago
        With all due respect: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16785542 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16785542 https://twitter.com/paulg/status/1362369484036653058 https://twitter.com/paulg/status/1362369484036653058 I think you are very likely to be wrong.