There are many folks who confuse cynicism with thoughtfulness and intelligence.
Ask HN: Why are HN comments so cynical?
21–30 of 50 posts
Re: Ask HN: Why are HN comments so cynical?
#22Tech used to be much more altruistic and optimistic. People hacking away on things for almost no pay, to genuinely make things for people better, with the belief that technology would unlock a lot of flourishing.
Now, it's the most lucrative industry in the world, attracting lots of grifters and Wall St. types whose only concern is making a lot of money, and the dystopian downsides of technology have become ever more apparent.
Some people are jaded from how bright the future looked to how it's looking now.
Re: Ask HN: Why are HN comments so cynical?
#23HN is my top 1 website when it comes to kindness. I used to regularly visit places out of habit where cynicism was 100x stronger about everything. I quit that long time ago and life became so much better. I think a small dose of cynicism is beneficial in certain situations, but too much of it and it spreads like a disease. Yes, you can encounter it here but for me it's manageable, maybe because other websites set the bar very low.
Re: Ask HN: Why are HN comments so cynical?
#24They have to convince themselves that OP is lucky/lying/their idea couldn't work, otherwise they're forced to confront the fact that they wasted their life working at megacorp when they could've done something else.
Re: Ask HN: Why are HN comments so cynical?
#25Theory: maybe because the HN community values avoiding comments that don't have much substance or are redundant with things that have already been said - and there are only so many ways of saying "wow this is so cool", whereas there are plenty of ways to be cynical about something.
Re: Ask HN: Why are HN comments so cynical?
#26I am convinced that cynicism is a good thing. Often, the people who are not cynical or angry are avoiding the real problems. Or they don't care, are just hanging around collecting a paycheck, etc. You imply that being cynical has become "the norm," but there's always more friction involved in being cynical. Happy bullshitters never get in trouble.
This is a sincere question: is your life, specifically, better because you're cynical and angry? I'm not talking about "the industry" in an abstract sense, but on a personal level are you happy?
I think I'd be happy in life if I believed in god and thought I was going to some happy place after I die and that any of this meant anything at the end of the day. I can't will myself to believe in Christianity or Scientology or Islam or Judaism however. Does that make me cynical?
Re: Ask HN: Why are HN comments so cynical?
#27Yeah, the amount of snark, nitpicking, and cynism has gone through the roof. They should rename the site to Nitpicker News. Case in point. Someone posted their tool to help people with ADHD focus. Most comments were "Aw, don't make me watch a video." The video was 65 seconds long. Or someone posts a chart maker tool and the first complaint is that the poster used the phrase "visually stunning" to describe the tool's…
Here's your nitpick, then. This is a site self-selected for people who like to read, who do a lot of reading professionally as well.
If you're communicating to be understood, principle #1 is "consider your audience, their backgrounds, interests and preferences".
Re: Ask HN: Why are HN comments so cynical?
#28I am convinced that cynicism is a good thing. Often, the people who are not cynical or angry are avoiding the real problems. Or they don't care, are just hanging around collecting a paycheck, etc. You imply that being cynical has become "the norm," but there's always more friction involved in being cynical. Happy bullshitters never get in trouble.
I disagree. First, we need to separate anger and cynicism. Anger is an emotional response which is sometimes useful for motivating action, but I think the vast majority of anger in the world is unjustified and causes unnecessary suffering. Almost all the time, it is better not to respond with anger and instead take a rational, impartial approach to solving problems.
Cynicism is more of a general attitude toward other people -- being distrustful of everyone's motives and assuming they are motivated solely by greed and self-interest. Granted, sometimes people's motives are truly bad. But again, I think the vast majority of cynicism is toxic and poisons our ability to see the good in people. Most people believe that they are doing the right thing. What we really need is to look at the systems and incentives that cause them to behave the way that they do.
Re: Ask HN: Why are HN comments so cynical?
#29I am convinced that cynicism is a good thing. Often, the people who are not cynical or angry are avoiding the real problems. Or they don't care, are just hanging around collecting a paycheck, etc. You imply that being cynical has become "the norm," but there's always more friction involved in being cynical. Happy bullshitters never get in trouble.
Being cynical about everything is intellectual laziness.
It feels like you are being smart and critical but blindly rejecting and doubting everything is no different from blindly accepting or believing everything. Instead of observing each new idea and evaluating it on its merits, you've already determined what your response will be. It's a biased filter on everything you see.
We should aim to be openminded but also willing to reject things that don't make sense (looking at you, NFT bros)
Re: Ask HN: Why are HN comments so cynical?
#30They have to convince themselves that OP is lucky/lying/their idea couldn't work, otherwise they're forced to confront the fact that they wasted their life working at megacorp when they could've done something else.
People that are wildly successful are lucky. They may have "made their own luck" by working hard, being smart, etc., but those factors are at most prerequisites, not predictors of success.
The people wasting their lives at megacorps, were they to quit and follow their dreams, would overwhelmingly be worse off objectively (one can debate whether they are richer in spirit).
I think that they've all confronted the fact that they are unwilling to risk a great deal at a small chance of success. I applaud those that risk like this and win, as well as those that fail. But let's not pretend that greatness is guaranteed by hard work or intelligence.