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Ask HN: What's the best writing you've ever seen online?
If you had to point to one thing as "Something Everyone Else Should Read", what would it be, and why?
- visakanv 13y agoI'll start. My personal submission is The Information: How the internet gets inside us, by Adam Gopnik, for The New Yorker. When I read this piece I got overwhelmed with jealousy at the this guy's ability to navigate ideas. It encapsulates all the perennial arguments for and against technology, with most if not all of its nuance, and I finished it feeling "full" and more clear-headed, which is something I rarely encounter when reading online. http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2011/02/14/110214crat_atlarge_gopnik http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2011/02/14/110...
- gamegoblin 13y agoNone of these are to be taken super seriously, but they are nonetheless very brain tickling. Three Worlds Collide http://robinhanson.typepad.com/files/three-worlds-collide.pdf http://robinhanson.typepad.com/files/three-worlds-collide.pd... The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect http://localroger.com/prime-intellect/mopiall.html http://localroger.com/prime-intellect/mopiall.html The Last Question http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html The Last Answer http://www.thrivenotes.com/the-last-answer/ http://www.thrivenotes.com/the-last-answer/ Let's Help Germinate This Seed http://www.thrivenotes.com/lets-help-germinate-this-seed/ http://www.thrivenotes.com/lets-help-germinate-this-seed/ The Egg http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html
- ASpring 13y agoIt seems your link for The Last Question is dead, which is a shame because it's surely my favorite out of the ones you listed. An alternate mirror can be had here: http://www.thrivenotes.com/the-last-question/ http://www.thrivenotes.com/the-last-question/
- gamegoblin 13y agoGood call. I just yanked this comment from an old reddit comment I made on a similar post.
- 0xdeadc0de 13y agohttp://www.ebonmusings.org/atheism/ghost.html http://www.ebonmusings.org/atheism/ghost.html
- suprjami 13y agoThe first thing which came to mind is Spiderweb Software's role playing video games. I've been playing them since the 90s. On the surface they're just another turn-based isometric CRPG, but once you start playing, you're drawn into an excellently written tale of intrigue and conflict and fictional politics which is never boring. For me, the writing is just as good as a book which cannot be put down.
- dmamills 13y ago__why's guide to ruby. It's like if Vonnegut was a programmer.
- mercurialshark 13y agoGeorge Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," 1946 While it's nothing new, it offers context into writing well that is as sophisticated and thought provoking as i've ever seen. English/American prose have changed dramatically in the last century and it's important to understand why. https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm
- visakanv 13y agoOh wow, this was precisely the sort of thing I'm looking for. Thank you so much!