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I’ll be the first to admit that we’re seeing way too much political rhetoric on Hacker News lately but I’d like to defend this article. The point of this artic

I’ll be the first to admit that we’re seeing way too much political rhetoric on Hacker News lately but I’d like to defend this article. The point of this article isn’t that one side is right and the other is wrong it’s that people who are thoroughly entrenched in their positions refuse to listen to each other. When we at Hacker News or out in the blogosphere discuss issues we tend to believe that logic will win out but that isn’t always the case. Knowing that is important and seeing it in a field that’s supposed to revere logic (academia) makes that point very powerfully. So let me give just one example of how this could be considered technology related. Much of the tech surrounding "web 2.0" companies relies on the wisdom of the crowd and the idea that the crowd will be impartial and judge things on their merits. The question about motivations, biases, etc... is never brought up even though it’s a huge flaw in that system and something that should be discussed. This article’s powerful statement on that subject might serve to open some eyes on that.

TomOfTTB 18y ago
Real quick follow up point. How many times have you seen two educated, well thought out comments on a Hacker News item but one has 27 points and the other has 3 because the 27-point item is the one everyone agreed with? I vote items up when I think they're smart whether I agree with them or not and I think others should do the same. That's the point this article makes and that's why I think it should be on Hacker News.
- diN0bot 18y ago
  I like the "vote up smart comments regardless of agreement" approach. My Kantian nature then expects to see interesting comments at the top. I also like the "vote to agree or disagree with the 'poll' (aka comment)". This prevents dozens of "I agree/I disagree" responses. The second approach is my first instinct. They're voting triangles, right? Like a poll? The first approach yields less answer-based statistics but more interesting reading material. One button fits all v too many buttons problem.

TomOfTTB 18y ago

Real quick follow up point. How many times have you seen two educated, well thought out comments on a Hacker News item but one has 27 points and the other has 3 because the 27-point item is the one everyone agreed with? I vote items up when I think they're smart whether I agree with them or not and I think others should do the same. That's the point this article makes and that's why I think it should be on Hacker News.

diN0bot 18y ago
I like the "vote up smart comments regardless of agreement" approach. My Kantian nature then expects to see interesting comments at the top. I also like the "vote to agree or disagree with the 'poll' (aka comment)". This prevents dozens of "I agree/I disagree" responses. The second approach is my first instinct. They're voting triangles, right? Like a poll? The first approach yields less answer-based statistics but more interesting reading material. One button fits all v too many buttons problem.