4 ms·

In other words it's a great clickbait title, yet still a bad title.

by duozerk 5mo ago

seszett 5mo ago
I wouldn't say that. The current title indicates that the article is likely written in a less clinical manner than an article called "Using computer vision to score rifle shooting cards" would have been.
- lucb1e 5mo ago
  Thanks for that, now I know I don't care about the contents before clicking. Misleading titles (something about smartphones and metals?) is why people open comments before reading the article
greg_dc 5mo ago
Clickbait is where the title leads you to believe the article is more interesting than it is. I'd argue this was the opposite of that.
satvikpendem 5mo ago
Would you call titles of other media click bait too, like 1984 or Gone with the wind? Sometimes an article doesn't have to have a literal title, sometimes it's an artistic decision to have a more vague title that nevertheless relates to the media.
saaaaaam 5mo ago
No - just because a title inspires curiosity doesn’t mean it is clickbait. Clickbait titles are urgent and generally either over-egg something or are misleading. This was just a good title. Thinking about this a little more: the reason I opened and read the piece was because it inspired questions. First of all, a phone and a brass plug are conceptually different things. So immediately I thought “how can a phone replace a plug? What sort of plug?” Then I thought more about plugs - is it a bath plug? An electrical plug? This doesn’t make sense! How can a phone replace a plug? And then the specific fact it was a BRASS plug made me even more curious. What sort of plugs are made from brass? It’s a strange and specific thing to make a plug from… there’s clearly something I’m missing here and I’d like to find out more. So then I opened the piece, and the quality of the writing meant that, invested in the question as I already was, I didn’t really mind that the answer wasn’t immediate. I was prepared to go on the journey the writer had contradicted for me to find what I needed to know. That’s why it’s a great title, because the questions it prompted meant that by the time I clicked and started reading I was already mentally invested in the journey.

In other words it's a great clickbait title, yet still a bad title.

by duozerk 5mo ago

In other words it's a great clickbait title, yet still a bad title.

I wouldn't say that. The current title indicates that the article is likely written in a less clinical manner than an article called "Using computer vision to score rifle shooting cards" would have been.

lucb1e 5mo ago
Thanks for that, now I know I don't care about the contents before clicking. Misleading titles (something about smartphones and metals?) is why people open comments before reading the article

greg_dc 5mo ago

Clickbait is where the title leads you to believe the article is more interesting than it is. I'd argue this was the opposite of that.

satvikpendem 5mo ago

Would you call titles of other media click bait too, like 1984 or Gone with the wind? Sometimes an article doesn't have to have a literal title, sometimes it's an artistic decision to have a more vague title that nevertheless relates to the media.

saaaaaam 5mo ago

No - just because a title inspires curiosity doesn’t mean it is clickbait. Clickbait titles are urgent and generally either over-egg something or are misleading. This was just a good title. Thinking about this a little more: the reason I opened and read the piece was because it inspired questions. First of all, a phone and a brass plug are conceptually different things. So immediately I thought “how can a phone replace a plug? What sort of plug?” Then I thought more about plugs - is it a bath plug? An electrical plug? This doesn’t make sense! How can a phone replace a plug? And then the specific fact it was a BRASS plug made me even more curious. What sort of plugs are made from brass? It’s a strange and specific thing to make a plug from… there’s clearly something I’m missing here and I’d like to find out more. So then I opened the piece, and the quality of the writing meant that, invested in the question as I already was, I didn’t really mind that the answer wasn’t immediate. I was prepared to go on the journey the writer had contradicted for me to find what I needed to know. That’s why it’s a great title, because the questions it prompted meant that by the time I clicked and started reading I was already mentally invested in the journey.