4 ms·

I'll bite (woe is me, poor karma...) HN is all about showing people how extraordinary you are (or at least, how extraordinary you think you are). Normal is equ

by rmk2 13y ago

I'll bite (woe is me, poor karma...) HN is all about showing people how extraordinary you are (or at least, how extraordinary you think you are). Normal is equated with a state of stasis that needs to be overcome (or, as the cool kids/rockstars/codeninjas[sic] call it, "disrupted"). The same HN regularly upvotes and heavily "discusses" stories about people who were "screwed over by the normal [education] system", who were too special without other people realising. HN is about getting rich, or at least richer than average (or, as the boring average-Joe lives are sometimes called, normal), about creating, sticking out, being the one-in-a-million, yes-you-can wholesale embodiment of the American Dream(tm), according to which we will all one day be rich and famous if we only work hard enough with as little interference as possible (regulation is a horror, HORROR, I tell you) from state, ethics or, worse even, "average" users, the normal users very much akin to imbeciles. Is it a surprise many here do not want (or cannot?) understand why aspiring to be "normal" and to fit in might be a diserable thing for other people?

wtvanhest 13y ago
I agree with you partially, and upvoted you, but part of what makes HN great is that it makes me feel normal to be ultra motivated. Maybe some people make pompous comments, or complain about first world/high class problems, but it is the only place I have found, on the net or otherwise which the ultra motivated outweigh those seeking to fit in.
georgemcbay 13y ago
I spend a fair amount of time on HN (probably too much) and write lots of comments here and enjoy a pretty good amount of upvotes and I'm a big fan of being normal and not much of a limelight seeker. I'm also basically a socialist and roll my eyes at most calls for deregulation of (whatever). I'm not sure you can lump all of HN so cleanly into one bucket.
- rmk2 13y ago
  My comment might involve a certain mount of hyperbole. In this case, it is exactly lumping all of HN together for the sake of making a point. I see this as a function of self-reflexion and self-critique, which no functioning system in my opinion can do without. Don't forget that I am also a member of this site, I read the articles, I vote and I post. This obviously suggests that HN is not homogenous but instead can serve as a platform for differing opinions. I do think, however, that my hyperbole describes a certain active (and, dare I say very vocal?) portion of the posters here. If you (and some of the other posters who have replied below) don't fall within that group then that is a good thing.
  - nknighthb 13y ago
    You describe a certain very vocal portion of the American public. I'm not sure their proportions on HN are significantly out of whack.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
nknighthb 13y ago
Like georgemcbay, I'm basically a socialist. I have no fundamental objection to regulation in general. Some regulations are deeply flawed, but this doesn't justify pitching them all overboard any more than some humans committing crimes justifies locking all humans in prison. Though I do consider the American educational system broken, you'd find I don't agree with many of the libertarian views of how it's broken, and strongly disagree about the correct solutions, which I do not believe lie in the private sector. I'm content with making a good salary not screwing people over. I'm often the first to raise any legal or ethical concerns if a plan looks like it might get close to (or cross) the line. I also view sane, well-run startups as a kind of end in themselves. I like the working environment and feeling like I can make a meaningful contribution based on my personal strengths, rather than being another fungible cog in an inflexible bigco machine. The chance of a big payoff is a nice bonus, not the primary goal. I do view professed desires to be "normal" with suspicion, primarily because in America, "normal" has been used with shocking candor to justify oppression of novel ideas or forms of expression, homosexuality, and in enforcement of gender norms. It's even been used to justify physical abuse of children who dare do something so harmless and mundane as writing with their left hand. It is the embodiment of othering and fear of the unknown. So you see, HN is not entirely homogenous, and even attitudes that may look similar can emerge from people with diametrically opposed political views.
foobarbazqux 13y ago
And here I thought YC was just a place where reasonably intelligent people with an interest in computers could talk.

by rmk2 13y ago

wtvanhest 13y ago

I agree with you partially, and upvoted you, but part of what makes HN great is that it makes me feel normal to be ultra motivated. Maybe some people make pompous comments, or complain about first world/high class problems, but it is the only place I have found, on the net or otherwise which the ultra motivated outweigh those seeking to fit in.

georgemcbay 13y ago

I spend a fair amount of time on HN (probably too much) and write lots of comments here and enjoy a pretty good amount of upvotes and I'm a big fan of being normal and not much of a limelight seeker. I'm also basically a socialist and roll my eyes at most calls for deregulation of (whatever). I'm not sure you can lump all of HN so cleanly into one bucket.

rmk2 13y ago
My comment might involve a certain mount of hyperbole. In this case, it is exactly lumping all of HN together for the sake of making a point. I see this as a function of self-reflexion and self-critique, which no functioning system in my opinion can do without. Don't forget that I am also a member of this site, I read the articles, I vote and I post. This obviously suggests that HN is not homogenous but instead can serve as a platform for differing opinions. I do think, however, that my hyperbole describes a certain active (and, dare I say very vocal?) portion of the posters here. If you (and some of the other posters who have replied below) don't fall within that group then that is a good thing.
- nknighthb 13y ago
  You describe a certain very vocal portion of the American public. I'm not sure their proportions on HN are significantly out of whack.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

nknighthb 13y ago

Like georgemcbay, I'm basically a socialist. I have no fundamental objection to regulation in general. Some regulations are deeply flawed, but this doesn't justify pitching them all overboard any more than some humans committing crimes justifies locking all humans in prison. Though I do consider the American educational system broken, you'd find I don't agree with many of the libertarian views of how it's broken, and strongly disagree about the correct solutions, which I do not believe lie in the private sector. I'm content with making a good salary not screwing people over. I'm often the first to raise any legal or ethical concerns if a plan looks like it might get close to (or cross) the line. I also view sane, well-run startups as a kind of end in themselves. I like the working environment and feeling like I can make a meaningful contribution based on my personal strengths, rather than being another fungible cog in an inflexible bigco machine. The chance of a big payoff is a nice bonus, not the primary goal. I do view professed desires to be "normal" with suspicion, primarily because in America, "normal" has been used with shocking candor to justify oppression of novel ideas or forms of expression, homosexuality, and in enforcement of gender norms. It's even been used to justify physical abuse of children who dare do something so harmless and mundane as writing with their left hand. It is the embodiment of othering and fear of the unknown. So you see, HN is not entirely homogenous, and even attitudes that may look similar can emerge from people with diametrically opposed political views.

foobarbazqux 13y ago

And here I thought YC was just a place where reasonably intelligent people with an interest in computers could talk.