For those who don't think it's possible to argue about such technical subjects (with a threshold for expertise) as JavaScript, take a look at any recent convers

For those who don't think it's possible to argue about such technical subjects (with a threshold for expertise) as JavaScript, take a look at any recent conversation involving mathematics and the infamous JSH on the sci.math USENET group. (I'm not posting a link, but just Google "sci.math".) JSH is an amateur pseudo-mathematician who believes (falsely) that he has solved numerous difficult problems in mathematics...he has his own proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, he has (most recently) proposed a (wrong) solution to the integer factorization problem, he has attempted to solve the Traveling Salesman problem, etc. My point is not that JSH is not very good at math, but rather that there are people who hate this guy more than Hitler. People waste hours bashing him, trying to diagnose psychiatric conditions that they believe he has (the consensus seems to be "narcissistic personality disorder"), and generally tearing this guy to shreds. Over math. Here's a brief excerpt from a recent conversation about JSH's factoring algorithm: "Do you realize you are full of s---? You have nothing! You can't demonstrate remarkable claims on a worthwhile problem. That is [sic] classi[c] snake oil salesman, charlatan and cheat. It speaks of your narcissism! Get your head out of your a--! You have zero!" Anyway, does anyone really think that mathematics is a part of these people's identities? I found the essay thought-provoking as well...but anything can be controversial. The people involved in this thread DO have expertise, and they definitively know that JSH is wrong. This doesn't stop them from spending hours hashing out their arguments. Why can't they just ignore him? I think, quite honestly, that some people just find it fun/stimulating to argue with and insult each other.