5 ms·

Social critique isn't the same as "gratuitous negativity". I got a lot out of reading the projects that came out of last year's hackathon.

jmzwar 12y ago
How can 'Stupid Shit No One Needs' be classified as a social critique by any respectable semantician?
- nl 12y ago
  Because it makes people smile? Also because they are actually going to make it? Emoji is stupid shit no one needs. It also makes people smile.
  - jmzwar 12y ago
    Do you really need to criticise the actions of others as 'stupid' to make yourself smile?
    - zaroth 12y ago
      Is your dogged persistence in this thread simply a test of our collective ability to abide by the new policy?
    - nl 12y ago
      No. They are your own ideas, or ideas of others at the hackathon where they self-identified as stupid.
    - anonbanker 12y ago
      how very meta; I was doing the exact thing to your post (criticizing your actions as stupid, and making myself smile).
- zer0rest 12y ago
  There is nothing sacred enough to be protected from the words stupid, shit, fuck or any other word.
  - jmzwar 12y ago
    My point isn't that stupid ideas don't exist, but that the great ones seem stupid. Dropbox was criticised on here; many thought AirBnb stupid.
    - jasonjei 12y ago
      Agreed! So was Facebook--it was just another MySpace clone. Or Google--another search engine. Sometimes the best ideas are seemingly stupid and pointless. I think the name is tongue-in-cheek because "stupid things" tend to become great ideas. I think it's a great idea this is going on.
      - jmzwar 12y ago
        If you accept that then you've missed the broader point. Not a single founder would want their idea to appear on next years board of stupid ideas to satirise.
      - RobertKerans 12y ago
        No, it's not tongue-in-cheek: staggeringly, stupid ideas generally (like, as in 99.9% generally) aren't, or don't become great ideas.
        mistercow 12y ago
        I agree, except you need more 9s.
    - crpatino 12y ago
      Ok, I am going to bite. AirBnb is stupid. Every child that has heard about the Little Red Riding Hood should be able to figure that out. The fact that we do not hear about even more horrible incidents regarding this service is for the most part due to society being overwhelmingly composed of more or less moral individuals (with an active remediation and PR campaign from the incumbents as a distant second reason). But I find hard to believe that anyone who can do any half decent risk assessment would sign in for that kind of liability.
- coldtea 12y ago
  >How can 'Stupid Shit No One Needs' be classified as a social critique by any respectable semantician? In that we live in a society that, alas, DOES produce "stupid shit no one needs" by the ton?

jmzwar 12y ago

How can 'Stupid Shit No One Needs' be classified as a social critique by any respectable semantician?

nl 12y ago
Because it makes people smile? Also because they are actually going to make it? Emoji is stupid shit no one needs. It also makes people smile.
- jmzwar 12y ago
  Do you really need to criticise the actions of others as 'stupid' to make yourself smile?
  - zaroth 12y ago
    Is your dogged persistence in this thread simply a test of our collective ability to abide by the new policy?
  - nl 12y ago
    No. They are your own ideas, or ideas of others at the hackathon where they self-identified as stupid.
  - anonbanker 12y ago
    how very meta; I was doing the exact thing to your post (criticizing your actions as stupid, and making myself smile).
zer0rest 12y ago
There is nothing sacred enough to be protected from the words stupid, shit, fuck or any other word.
- jmzwar 12y ago
  My point isn't that stupid ideas don't exist, but that the great ones seem stupid. Dropbox was criticised on here; many thought AirBnb stupid.
  - jasonjei 12y ago
    Agreed! So was Facebook--it was just another MySpace clone. Or Google--another search engine. Sometimes the best ideas are seemingly stupid and pointless. I think the name is tongue-in-cheek because "stupid things" tend to become great ideas. I think it's a great idea this is going on.
    - jmzwar 12y ago
      If you accept that then you've missed the broader point. Not a single founder would want their idea to appear on next years board of stupid ideas to satirise.
    - RobertKerans 12y ago
      No, it's not tongue-in-cheek: staggeringly, stupid ideas generally (like, as in 99.9% generally) aren't, or don't become great ideas.
      - mistercow 12y ago
        I agree, except you need more 9s.
  - crpatino 12y ago
    Ok, I am going to bite. AirBnb is stupid. Every child that has heard about the Little Red Riding Hood should be able to figure that out. The fact that we do not hear about even more horrible incidents regarding this service is for the most part due to society being overwhelmingly composed of more or less moral individuals (with an active remediation and PR campaign from the incumbents as a distant second reason). But I find hard to believe that anyone who can do any half decent risk assessment would sign in for that kind of liability.
coldtea 12y ago
>How can 'Stupid Shit No One Needs' be classified as a social critique by any respectable semantician? In that we live in a society that, alas, DOES produce "stupid shit no one needs" by the ton?