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> HN has a particular fascination with aviation disasters. HN has a fascination with Boeing's incompetency, greed and corner cutting that resulted in lost live

> HN has a particular fascination with aviation disasters. HN has a fascination with Boeing's incompetency, greed and corner cutting that resulted in lost lives. That evolved tangentially into an interest in aviation incidents and accidents.

lucb1e 2y ago
> That evolved tangentially into I really think that's some reverse causality here (source: been here since at least 2012, eyeing my account registration date). The Boeing thing is of recent years but commercial airline crashes have always been interesting to many people from my perception
- willis936 2y ago
  You can see it in CGPGrey's long defunct Hello Internet podcast. He talked about aviation disasters often and name dropped hacker news a few times.
FredPret 2y ago
Just wanted to point out that Boeing's various disasters are not due to greed but to the combination of stupidity and greed. When smart people get greedy, they build things that last and that they can be proud of, because that's what's best for them long term. Whereas when smart people have zero greed, they build nothing at all. You need a strong motivation to power you through the pain of creating something good.
- walthamstow 2y ago
  Sounds like Hammerstein's classification of soldiers, the stupid/smart/lazy/industrious matrix.
- account42 2y ago
  > because that's what's best for them long term Is it? Many greedy people seem to happily fail upwards (or sideways to different companies). The baseline for compensation is generally what your previous compensation was, not the long-term success of your creations.
  - FredPret 2y ago
    The people in charge could have made billions more if they held stock for the rest of their lives in a successful company that they helped build. A long term success is a safer bet, a bigger payout, less stressful, and something to be proud of on your deathbed. Compare causing and then jumping from one shipwreck to another like a stressed out little rat. A smart person who wants a great life will choose a long-term orientation.

lucb1e 2y ago

> That evolved tangentially into I really think that's some reverse causality here (source: been here since at least 2012, eyeing my account registration date). The Boeing thing is of recent years but commercial airline crashes have always been interesting to many people from my perception

willis936 2y ago
You can see it in CGPGrey's long defunct Hello Internet podcast. He talked about aviation disasters often and name dropped hacker news a few times.

FredPret 2y ago

Just wanted to point out that Boeing's various disasters are not due to greed but to the combination of stupidity and greed. When smart people get greedy, they build things that last and that they can be proud of, because that's what's best for them long term. Whereas when smart people have zero greed, they build nothing at all. You need a strong motivation to power you through the pain of creating something good.

walthamstow 2y ago
Sounds like Hammerstein's classification of soldiers, the stupid/smart/lazy/industrious matrix.
account42 2y ago
> because that's what's best for them long term Is it? Many greedy people seem to happily fail upwards (or sideways to different companies). The baseline for compensation is generally what your previous compensation was, not the long-term success of your creations.
- FredPret 2y ago
  The people in charge could have made billions more if they held stock for the rest of their lives in a successful company that they helped build. A long term success is a safer bet, a bigger payout, less stressful, and something to be proud of on your deathbed. Compare causing and then jumping from one shipwreck to another like a stressed out little rat. A smart person who wants a great life will choose a long-term orientation.