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I like this post very much. HN discussions often end up being about minor details rather than the overarching point, and I think that's unfortunate. Those deta
by samdk 15y ago
I like this post very much. HN discussions often end up being about minor details rather than the overarching point, and I think that's unfortunate.
Those details are often things that are a matter of preference. There are good and bad arguments for both sides, and most of those arguments have been made many, many times already. Different people will hear the same exact arguments, draw on their own experiences and values, and come to different conclusions. And that's okay.
Which isn't to say that details are always irrelevant: just that you're missing a lot when you focus on the details to the exclusion of the larger point. Like in this post: it doesn't really matter whether or not Giles is baiting people intentionally. It may be true, it may be false, but it's not the point. The point is that people are responding as if he's doing it anyway.
- alex_c 15y agoThis is a common failing of... our kind, I suppose. Too often we tend to get stuck on details and miss the bigger picture. My favorite example are analogies. Every single time one is made, it results in a string of other comments attempting to correct it or improve it. "It's like driving a car down the freeway without any wheels"... "No, it's really more like driving a tractor trailer on a country road without wheels and a windshield". Every. Single. Time. And I'm as guilty of this as anyone. It often makes for frustrating reading, especially when you're already familiar with the argument and aware of the most common mental traps, but have to read them over and over again trying to get to the good stuff.