4 ms·

> I think it's super cool that Olympia HS has a student run newspaper, but I don't think this is something that should be posted to HN. Why shouldn't it? The t

> I think it's super cool that Olympia HS has a student run newspaper, but I don't think this is something that should be posted to HN. Why shouldn't it? The thoughts and opinions of high schoolers matter just as much as those of adults.

stvltvs 7mo ago
Yeah, that was a classic ad hominem, addressing the author instead of the content of what's said.
- supern0va 7mo ago
  I pointed out the very specific major flaw, which is that it had one not entirely relevant source, which makes sense for a high school newspaper. I'm sure that high school journalism has some great outliers, but in general, I don't think we're the intended audience, nor that the journalistic standards are up to what we'd expect from a better source. Did you read the article? It's six tiny paragraphs and provides hardly any actual data or reporting. If this was a positive piece about AI of similar quality, I can't help but suspect you'd be responding differently.
  - stvltvs 7mo ago
    > It's six tiny paragraphs and provides hardly any actual data or reporting. That's a fair criticism that doesn't rely on the identity of the author.
    - supern0va 7mo ago
      It wasn't about the identity of the author. It was about the identity of the institution, which is not designed to have the rigor and other institutional structures of a proper journalistic organization. I just meant to convey that "don't post a news piece from a high school newspaper" is a reasonable rough heuristic that might want to be applied before posting something here.
tacitusarc 7mo ago
No they don’t. Do you really believe that? Maybe on certain niche issues the opinions of a HS student are useful, but mostly they are still growing into some understanding that can contribute in a meaningful way. Which means mostly their opinions are dumb and useless.
- jakelazaroff 7mo ago
  I mean, take your position to its natural conclusion: there are people who understand more than you about basically any given topic, which means your opinions are dumb and useless.
  - tacitusarc 7mo ago
    This is absolutely true for many topics. There is a threshold of expertise where opinion that does not meet that threshold has no value. There is also a large gray area where there is sufficient expertise such that the opinion might have value. And then there is some point quite bit after that where someone has sufficient expertise such that it is very important to take what they say on the subject seriously. I occupy the first two regions in almost all areas, possibly all. High school students occupy the first area almost exclusively.
pseudalopex 7mo ago
> The only source quoted on the water issue is an EE professor from a school in California, who I am guessing is not a subject matter expert on water in Washington state.
supern0va 7mo ago
>The thoughts and opinions of high schoolers matter just as much as those of adults. But...it's not purporting to be an opinion piece. It seems intended to be a factual news article. If this was an opinion column, I'd almost be more inclined to give it a pass.

stvltvs 7mo ago

Yeah, that was a classic ad hominem, addressing the author instead of the content of what's said.

supern0va 7mo ago
I pointed out the very specific major flaw, which is that it had one not entirely relevant source, which makes sense for a high school newspaper. I'm sure that high school journalism has some great outliers, but in general, I don't think we're the intended audience, nor that the journalistic standards are up to what we'd expect from a better source. Did you read the article? It's six tiny paragraphs and provides hardly any actual data or reporting. If this was a positive piece about AI of similar quality, I can't help but suspect you'd be responding differently.
- stvltvs 7mo ago
  > It's six tiny paragraphs and provides hardly any actual data or reporting. That's a fair criticism that doesn't rely on the identity of the author.
  - supern0va 7mo ago
    It wasn't about the identity of the author. It was about the identity of the institution, which is not designed to have the rigor and other institutional structures of a proper journalistic organization. I just meant to convey that "don't post a news piece from a high school newspaper" is a reasonable rough heuristic that might want to be applied before posting something here.

tacitusarc 7mo ago

No they don’t. Do you really believe that? Maybe on certain niche issues the opinions of a HS student are useful, but mostly they are still growing into some understanding that can contribute in a meaningful way. Which means mostly their opinions are dumb and useless.

jakelazaroff 7mo ago
I mean, take your position to its natural conclusion: there are people who understand more than you about basically any given topic, which means your opinions are dumb and useless.
- tacitusarc 7mo ago
  This is absolutely true for many topics. There is a threshold of expertise where opinion that does not meet that threshold has no value. There is also a large gray area where there is sufficient expertise such that the opinion might have value. And then there is some point quite bit after that where someone has sufficient expertise such that it is very important to take what they say on the subject seriously. I occupy the first two regions in almost all areas, possibly all. High school students occupy the first area almost exclusively.

pseudalopex 7mo ago

> The only source quoted on the water issue is an EE professor from a school in California, who I am guessing is not a subject matter expert on water in Washington state.

supern0va 7mo ago

>The thoughts and opinions of high schoolers matter just as much as those of adults. But...it's not purporting to be an opinion piece. It seems intended to be a factual news article. If this was an opinion column, I'd almost be more inclined to give it a pass.