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Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work

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Re: Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work

#71

Post by dxdm »

nchmy wrote: post #66
dxdm wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no rule against being surprised, and especially not against _ever_ being surprised. They are asking people not to express surprise, real or not, when responding to a question, as a courtesy to the person asking. Like: Keep your surprise in check in situations when it's not helping. I don't think that's too much to ask, just like it's generally considered preferable to not chew with your mouth open when in com…

Sorry for the ninja edits. Writing from phone and didn't think there'd be people replying right away. Seems like we're in agreement. But I reiterate that it's not a good rule if it should be regularly broken, for the good. Thus, for a project that's been around for seemingly a very long time, it's hard to imagine that they haven't had ample time and feedback to vastly improve the wording of it all. Thus, they seem to…

I don't think that the rule should regularly be broken. That's not what they say, and it's not what they mean. The strongest interpretation is: err on the side of not acting surprised at people's questions, because it tends to put people off asking them.

I do think you're simply reading their rule in a way that's not intended by them. Could the rule be written to convey the intent more clearly? Yes, I think so. Is it only their own responsibility how the rule is interpreted? No, I don't think so.

The hacker news guidelines ask us to:

> respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith.

This is good advice in general. It is your choice to pick an the interpretation that you disagree with the strongest, and subsequently use it to condemn them: "puts me off entirely", "no room for nuance", and (paraphrasing:) it's on them to prevent me from interpreting the rule in the most severe way.

No. The spirit of the rule is clear. The nuance is there. What you do with it, that is all you.

Re: Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work

#73

Post by ayewo »

amelius wrote: post #69
andrew_eu wrote: post #4

I like the definition of social rules [0]. I also wonder whether the roof rule was written preemptively or retrospectively -- I hope the former. I have my own thanks to give to HN. It's connected me to interesting people, online and IRL. It's led to some very strong friendships. It's led me to multiple job opportunities, and usually the better ones. It's changing of course, but I've had a great time in this community…

I wonder if they have a rule on using AI and what their general stance is there.

They do. It’s a reasonable stance [1] that is aptly captured by this quote:

“I doubt very much if it is possible to teach anyone to understand anything, that is to say, to see how various parts of it relate to all the other parts, to have a model of the structure in one’s mind. We can give other people names, and lists, but we cannot give them our mental structures; they must build their own.” — John Holt

1: https://www.recurse.com/blog/191-developing-our-position-on-...

Re: Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work

#74

Post by zahlman »

anonu wrote: post #72

First off, congrats. This sounds incredibly fulfilling on many levels. Second, I'm curious how your business changes with AI coding tools. I would wager humans will seek out your offering in greater numbers.

By my read of the intended culture, it shouldn't really change anything within the RC experience itself. The "social rules" are such that enthusiasts and skeptics should be able to work side by side, and show each other things they can learn from. Just like with any other technology.

Edit: Looks like there was better discussion of this already (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48956925).

Re: Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work

#75

Post by zahlman »

dxdm wrote: post #71
nchmy wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry for the ninja edits. Writing from phone and didn't think there'd be people replying right away. Seems like we're in agreement. But I reiterate that it's not a good rule if it should be regularly broken, for the good. Thus, for a project that's been around for seemingly a very long time, it's hard to imagine that they haven't had ample time and feedback to vastly improve the wording of it all. Thus, they seem to…

I don't think that the rule should regularly be broken. That's not what they say, and it's not what they mean. The strongest interpretation is: err on the side of not acting surprised at people's questions, because it tends to put people off asking them. I do think you're simply reading their rule in a way that's not intended by them. Could the rule be written to convey the intent more clearly? Yes, I think so. Is it…

> I do think you're simply reading their rule in a way that's not intended by them.

I share a similar apprehension, although it's hard to put into words exactly. Across the entire document, really. Like, it's clearly well intended, and not too bad of a match for things I would advocate myself. But at the same time it's suggestive of an impossibly high standard, and I have trauma from seeing "standards that can be interpreted as impossibly high" being applied inconsistently.

Especially the concept of "no subtle -isms": too often have I seen one side of a discussion accused of "-isms" they couldn't understand, while "-isms" they found more sympathetic/obvious went unnoticed. (That's, er, tangentially related to how I ended up making an account here in the first place.)

Re: Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work

#76

Post by zahlman »

serial_dev wrote: post #56
sincerely wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well there is no “roof rule” on the page they linked

It might have been AutoCorrect, and the “social rules” the original comment makes hundred times more sense that way

I can't imagine what word might have been autocorrected to "roof" that would make more sense here.

Re: Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work

#77

Post by zahlman »

hack1312 wrote: post #46
nullbyte808 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.recurse.com/virtual-rc

> I see there’s a remote option but the in-person aspect of this really feels key to the experience.

Personally I'd be interested in trying it remotely, but I don't have a webcam and don't really want to transmit my voice or image over the Internet.

Re: Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work

#78

Post by zahlman »

golly_ned wrote: post #49
guessmyname wrote: post #14

I attended a Recurse Center batch, and while I understand that others had amazing experiences, mine was quite bland. I can't blame anyone but myself for this. Most of the other attendees were intelligent or highly self-motivated, or both. Many people seemed to connect instantly, forming small work groups, sharing project ideas, and even going out for lunch or dinner together. They were constantly talking about how aw…

Everyone I’ve met personally who attended RC was insufferable. Condescending to the point they couldn’t disguise their contempt for people who they thought knew less. So extreme to the point they simply refused to learn from other people. One even literally bullied a teammate to tears.

That sounds like the opposite of what they expect from each other…

Re: Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work

#79

Post by pjg1 »

hack1312 wrote: post #46
nullbyte808 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.recurse.com/virtual-rc

> I see there’s a remote option but the in-person aspect of this really feels key to the experience.

I've been part of RC community entirely remotely for a few years, and have no intentions of going to the hub yet. Being at the hub might be a better overall experience, but a remote batch alone was life-changing for me, so the mindset and principles can be very much felt and experienced online too. It takes more effort, but it is possible.

Re: Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work

#80

Post by jagged-chisel »

I’m not sure I understand Recurse. Self-directed self-improvement. “Attending remotely” is even more self-directed.

Ok, so Recurse is providing accountability partners or something similar?

How is Recurse making money? I don’t see a pricing or tuition page.

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