It's a controversial topic. A lot of people are certain it is a moot point in the same way that flying machines are (were thought) impossible, and therefore not

It's a controversial topic. A lot of people are certain it is a moot point in the same way that flying machines are (were thought) impossible, and therefore not worthy of discussion among serious people. So my guess is the story was flagged of the front page by this crowd. The comment quality in this thread is very poor, though, so although I would love to see the subject discussed in greater detail, it is clear that the HN community isn't capable of discussing this topic right now.