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This is a cool, fun and obviously impractical project. It makes for good content and showcases some interesting engineering and fabrication skills.

So could someone please explain to me what is to be gained by posting comments complaining about the use of the word "generation" or the exact definition of "truck"?



A lot of this is just the contrarian dynamic: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20101711. The thread now has a bunch of curious, enthusiastic comments, just like most HN threads on cool projects eventually get.

The trouble with an indignant anti-crap objection is that it amplifies the crap it's objecting to. Usually it gets upvoted to the top, since people love defending the unfairly criticized and everyone loves indignation. But then it sits there, choking interesting discussion with meta fumes. (I've marked this one off topic now.) Crap subthreads usually get moderated by users, but that doesn't happen with their anti-crap counterparts.

Better ways to combat crap are to (a) downvote and flag, or (b) post something interesting and on-topic. Also, when you notice that a thread is still dominated by the negative wave, sending a heads-up to hn@ycombinator.com is helpful. We're likely to see it sooner that way.


because they are nitpicking in a sexist way. it's the same reason people are doubting how much work she "actually did" on the project

people should just embrace it as a cool, slightly ridiculous project that turned out well.


I doubt it is sexism, HN tends to be fairly equal in its pointless bikeshedding


You think if adam savage had done this project he would be subject to questions about how much work he did or whether it’s a pickup or a ute?


Yes. Not only do they do that for men, but Elon specifically, and even calling him out on taking credit for work that an uncredited woman working for him did.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18093145

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19636499

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20078510

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9812261


Yes? I saw some number of comments along these lines on Adam Savages' 3D printed titanium Iron Man suit. That "he just paid someone to do the hard/interesting part".

And I've seen comments along these lines on Colin Furze's builds. Among others, mostly men.

It seems explicitly sexist to leap to the defense of female creators in this way. Why not just assume they can handle the criticism, just as well as males can, and don't need anyone defending them?


Agreed HN can be fairly negative. Especially anything regarding taking a chance or tesla. All those big tech IPOs go back to their HN launch they all have negative comments.


it wouldn't be HN unless somebody claimed "I could build this in a weekend".


[flagged]


Middlebrow dismissals are so common on HN that we had to invent the term to talk about it.

Seems to be a pattern with programmers in general. A lot of criticisms of new projects seem to fit.


I agree. I tend to see the "I'm smart enough to solve any problem, even if I know nothing about it" personality trait expressed much more in software developers than I see in other people.

It's one thing to have self confidence in your reasoning abilities - it's another to think that, where other very smart people have struggled with finding a certain solution, you can just drop in out of no where and cut the gordian knot.


Unless, you can drop in out of nowhere and cut the Gordian Knot. If we follow the analogy of the story about Alexander the Great, maybe the pattern involves a story about someone who comes in and decides to ignore conventions or "the way it's always been done" because they have some insight from direct experience or first principles?




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