4 ms·

Yeah sure, there's this impending Euro zone collapse, millions of death due to famine in Africa, rampant obesity throughout the world, decades of war in the mid

Yeah sure, there's this impending Euro zone collapse, millions of death due to famine in Africa, rampant obesity throughout the world, decades of war in the middle east. What really is destroying the world is an internet software feature 99% of the planet never heard of. Should I use dental floss tonight or not? Because you know, I like to ponder about the important things in the world.

joelrunyon 14y ago
I don't really think that tone is needed here on HN. Matt does bring up a valid point. Ability to concentrate will be a differentiating factor in an information age defined by the ability to create efficiently.
- nedwin 14y ago
  I'm glad that he's actually thinking about this stuff versus pure profit.
  - ajhit406 14y ago
    I agree- we need more thought leaders with integrity. The scoreboard in the valley these days is skewing towards MAUs / DAUs & valuation. "Impact" is getting polluted with vanity metrics and wealth.
    - joelrunyon 14y ago
      I know the valley loves the idea of "changing the world" and some companies really are - but I agree that a lot of startups are focusing on the easy bandwagon trends rather than focusing on solving truly difficult problems.
- tikhonj 14y ago
  I think the tone is just a reaction (and an appropriate one, at that) to the hyperbole in the title. Just saying "the title is a bit of a hyperbole" would actually make for a worse comment.
  - andyjohnson0 14y ago
    Its not appropriate here. Snarky/sarcastic comments just encourage more of the same, which degrades the conversation. Also, its not really a comment on the subject of the article (which has something useful to say), but on the headline (which is poor). Appropriate for Reddit/Slashdot, not HN.
    - MrMan 14y ago
      Sarcasm is one of the most sophisticated modes of communication. Sanctimony is not.
- rockarage 14y ago
  Matt does not bring up a valid point, there has always been ways for people to distract themselves. The ability to concentrate has always been important. If you can't concentrate it will be very hard if not impossible to learn. Discipline is the key here, the discipline to turn off distractions. Turn off distractions wether it be notifications, games, reddit, HN, etc. Notifications are not ground breaking or required. Wordpress notification cannot destroyed the world. You can turn them off.
tar 14y ago
I am fairly sure he he did not literally mean what he said. He was merely employing hyperbole.
- simonw 14y ago
  It also looks like it was a jokey throw-away comment in the middle of an interview which was then turned in to a headline by the journalist that wrote the piece.
  - tar 14y ago
    Technology journalism these days is embarrassingly bad.
mattront 14y ago
Well, even though distractions are not direct cause of suffering, they are taking our attention away from coming up with creative solutions to those problems.
puppymaster 14y ago
sometimes I wonder why people post comment like this. I mean does every articles or point of view posted here has to be 100% politically correct, addressed all the little semantic issues and cover all possible counter-arguments? it's called opinion for a reason. people do think out loud. discuss or dissect it. don't belittle it with snark.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
suprememoocow 14y ago
#firstworldproblems
robryan 14y ago
So if your not saving the world, your problems/ solutions aren't worth posting here?
- Zarathust 14y ago
  If you are not saving the world, don't pretend you are. You might be saving the internet, or the american youth, or New York's elderly. You might be worried for smartphone ecosystem or smartphone users and all of these are very valid things to do. These are interesting things to do and to read about and I fully support that. But when I see an article about "the destruction of the world", and really, it's about push notifications reducing the ability to concentrate for some workers (too many, by the article/speaker argument) well I feel that the author either wants self gratification (I do have an impact on the world after all!) or that it is a misleading/linkbaiting operation.
  - robryan 14y ago
    Yeah your right, your comment makes sense in terms of the linkbait title.

joelrunyon 14y ago

I don't really think that tone is needed here on HN. Matt does bring up a valid point. Ability to concentrate will be a differentiating factor in an information age defined by the ability to create efficiently.

nedwin 14y ago
I'm glad that he's actually thinking about this stuff versus pure profit.
- ajhit406 14y ago
  I agree- we need more thought leaders with integrity. The scoreboard in the valley these days is skewing towards MAUs / DAUs & valuation. "Impact" is getting polluted with vanity metrics and wealth.
  - joelrunyon 14y ago
    I know the valley loves the idea of "changing the world" and some companies really are - but I agree that a lot of startups are focusing on the easy bandwagon trends rather than focusing on solving truly difficult problems.
tikhonj 14y ago
I think the tone is just a reaction (and an appropriate one, at that) to the hyperbole in the title. Just saying "the title is a bit of a hyperbole" would actually make for a worse comment.
- andyjohnson0 14y ago
  Its not appropriate here. Snarky/sarcastic comments just encourage more of the same, which degrades the conversation. Also, its not really a comment on the subject of the article (which has something useful to say), but on the headline (which is poor). Appropriate for Reddit/Slashdot, not HN.
  - MrMan 14y ago
    Sarcasm is one of the most sophisticated modes of communication. Sanctimony is not.
rockarage 14y ago
Matt does not bring up a valid point, there has always been ways for people to distract themselves. The ability to concentrate has always been important. If you can't concentrate it will be very hard if not impossible to learn. Discipline is the key here, the discipline to turn off distractions. Turn off distractions wether it be notifications, games, reddit, HN, etc. Notifications are not ground breaking or required. Wordpress notification cannot destroyed the world. You can turn them off.

tar 14y ago

I am fairly sure he he did not literally mean what he said. He was merely employing hyperbole.

simonw 14y ago
It also looks like it was a jokey throw-away comment in the middle of an interview which was then turned in to a headline by the journalist that wrote the piece.
- tar 14y ago
  Technology journalism these days is embarrassingly bad.

mattront 14y ago

Well, even though distractions are not direct cause of suffering, they are taking our attention away from coming up with creative solutions to those problems.

puppymaster 14y ago

sometimes I wonder why people post comment like this. I mean does every articles or point of view posted here has to be 100% politically correct, addressed all the little semantic issues and cover all possible counter-arguments? it's called opinion for a reason. people do think out loud. discuss or dissect it. don't belittle it with snark.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

suprememoocow 14y ago

#firstworldproblems

robryan 14y ago

So if your not saving the world, your problems/ solutions aren't worth posting here?

Zarathust 14y ago
If you are not saving the world, don't pretend you are. You might be saving the internet, or the american youth, or New York's elderly. You might be worried for smartphone ecosystem or smartphone users and all of these are very valid things to do. These are interesting things to do and to read about and I fully support that. But when I see an article about "the destruction of the world", and really, it's about push notifications reducing the ability to concentrate for some workers (too many, by the article/speaker argument) well I feel that the author either wants self gratification (I do have an impact on the world after all!) or that it is a misleading/linkbaiting operation.
- robryan 14y ago
  Yeah your right, your comment makes sense in terms of the linkbait title.