Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

RIP the Broccoli Tree

kottke.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 149 posts

Re: RIP the Broccoli Tree

#11

Post by matt_wulfeck »

craftyguy wrote: post #6
matt_wulfeck wrote: post #3

> Oscar Wilde once wrote that “Each man kills the thing he loves”. I don’t know exactly what Wilde meant by that, but our collective attention and obsession, amplified by the speed and intensity of the internet & social media, tends to ruin the things we love: authors, musicians, restaurants, actors, beloved movies, vacation spots, artists, democracies, and even a tree that became too famous to live. This is exactly…

> he (because it's probably a male) Seriously?

Yes. It was most likely a male who took a saw to that tree. Is that a shocking statement?

Re: RIP the Broccoli Tree

#13

Post by peterwwillis »

schiffern wrote: post #4

Note that it's a willow tree, so the vandal and workers may have "just" unintentionally coppiced it. Far from killing the tree, some of the oldest trees in the world are coppiced. Coppicing is supposed to happen in winter, but it's possible this tree could survive. Looking at the "before" picture, the tree might itself be a spray formed when an older tree was cut. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppicing

"Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which takes advantage of the fact that many trees make new growth from the stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse,"

I finally find out why the "copse of trees" at Gettysburg is called that. Thank you.

Re: RIP the Broccoli Tree

#14

Post by jpttsn »

matt_wulfeck wrote: post #3

> Oscar Wilde once wrote that “Each man kills the thing he loves”. I don’t know exactly what Wilde meant by that, but our collective attention and obsession, amplified by the speed and intensity of the internet & social media, tends to ruin the things we love: authors, musicians, restaurants, actors, beloved movies, vacation spots, artists, democracies, and even a tree that became too famous to live. This is exactly…

Emotionally troubled male, check. Probably also wears an eye patch and rides a motorcycle, lonely child, 5’2”?

That flavor of case cracking only works reliably for Sherlock Holmes.

I’m worried you might be creating a totem of your adversaries. In-group talks about their imagined version of the out-group, furthers polarization, prevents dialogue.

Re: RIP the Broccoli Tree

#15

Post by sydd »

2bitencryption wrote: post #5
ierolastic wrote: post #2

So many things about that are depressing, like, why would someone cut into a tree like that, and why would they decide that, if one of the trunks is gone, the whole thing needs to be decimated? Both are completely absurd.

since this entire topic seems philosophical, I'll go down this path -- someone is sitting at home, feeling worthless, like their life is pointless and they could disappear without anyone noticing. but there's this tree everyone likes. people notice this tree. because you see lots of pictures of it, people must visit it often. it's a confluence. if you were to, say, scratch your name into the bark, people would notice…

Or rather 3 teenagers got drunk, and wanted to do something whats "breaking the law" or "pissing off hipsters" or "really punk". and cut the tree.

Re: RIP the Broccoli Tree

#16

Post by [deleted] »

2bitencryption wrote: post #5
ierolastic wrote: post #2

So many things about that are depressing, like, why would someone cut into a tree like that, and why would they decide that, if one of the trunks is gone, the whole thing needs to be decimated? Both are completely absurd.

since this entire topic seems philosophical, I'll go down this path -- someone is sitting at home, feeling worthless, like their life is pointless and they could disappear without anyone noticing. but there's this tree everyone likes. people notice this tree. because you see lots of pictures of it, people must visit it often. it's a confluence. if you were to, say, scratch your name into the bark, people would notice…

[deleted]

Re: RIP the Broccoli Tree

#17

Post by reviseddamage »

matt_wulfeck wrote: post #3

> Oscar Wilde once wrote that “Each man kills the thing he loves”. I don’t know exactly what Wilde meant by that, but our collective attention and obsession, amplified by the speed and intensity of the internet & social media, tends to ruin the things we love: authors, musicians, restaurants, actors, beloved movies, vacation spots, artists, democracies, and even a tree that became too famous to live. This is exactly…

w0t?

Re: RIP the Broccoli Tree

#18

Post by [deleted] »

sydd wrote: post #15
2bitencryption wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

since this entire topic seems philosophical, I'll go down this path -- someone is sitting at home, feeling worthless, like their life is pointless and they could disappear without anyone noticing. but there's this tree everyone likes. people notice this tree. because you see lots of pictures of it, people must visit it often. it's a confluence. if you were to, say, scratch your name into the bark, people would notice…

Or rather 3 teenagers got drunk, and wanted to do something whats "breaking the law" or "pissing off hipsters" or "really punk". and cut the tree.

[deleted]

Re: RIP the Broccoli Tree

#19

Post by KekDemaga »

matt_wulfeck wrote: post #11
craftyguy wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> he (because it's probably a male) Seriously?

Yes. It was most likely a male who took a saw to that tree. Is that a shocking statement?

For all the down voters I offer 10 to 1 odds if you are willing to bet that the person who did this was female.

Re: RIP the Broccoli Tree

#20

Post by minikites »

2bitencryption wrote: post #5
ierolastic wrote: post #2

So many things about that are depressing, like, why would someone cut into a tree like that, and why would they decide that, if one of the trunks is gone, the whole thing needs to be decimated? Both are completely absurd.

since this entire topic seems philosophical, I'll go down this path -- someone is sitting at home, feeling worthless, like their life is pointless and they could disappear without anyone noticing. but there's this tree everyone likes. people notice this tree. because you see lots of pictures of it, people must visit it often. it's a confluence. if you were to, say, scratch your name into the bark, people would notice…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herostratus
Post reply on HN