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

Mark Zuckerberg's Hoodie

quietbabylon.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 88 posts

Re: Mark Zuckerberg's Hoodie

#51

Post by callum85 »

beatpanda wrote: post #25
nkwiatek wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, that's the thing: I don't find that interesting, I find it lazy. It's already lazy to write about Facebook, especially in a negative or fearful tone. (How much of that mongering do you see in a day? One article on the frontpage a day on average, yes?) When a writer chooses Facebook's ethos as a topic I'm looking very critically for true insight, but most end up punting on this -- this author included.

I don't think it was really about Facebook's ethos at all, and I think people are going to continue writing about Facebook negatively until we all find some way to solve the problems they're causing. It's not just going to go away because it's a dead horse. That's like saying that anti-war protesters should just stop showing up, "because, duh, we all know war is bad, so just put your little placard down, already."

That's not a fair comparison. A protester's purpose is simply to make it known that they are for/against a certain cause – to increment the number of visible proponents/opponents.

A blog post needs to do a lot more than that if it is to be deemed a success. Especially if it is quite long. It should bring some insight. @nkwiatek thinks this particular blog post didn't bring much insight. If this is true, then it's valid to use this as a criticism. A long blog post with a reflective tone implicitly promises to bring something more to the table than "I think X is wrong".

Re: Mark Zuckerberg's Hoodie

#52

Post by etfb »

"It's 1945. I sit in a Brooklyn kitchen, fascinated by an arrangement of cogs on black velvet. I am sixteen years old. It is 1985. I am on Mars. I am fifty six years old..."

That's what the style of this article instantly reminded me of. Like the source I quote, the article was done very well indeed; well enough that I picked up what was happening without the use of Dave Gibbons' art. Good language, even good poetry. Impressive.

And the point he's making? Memorable. Doesn't matter if I agree with his point or the connections he's drawing. This is quality stuff all round.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg's Hoodie

#53

Post by Luyt »

freshfunk wrote: post #5
neumann_alfred wrote: post #3

"Making the world open"? Facebook doesn't even offer RSS feeds, so thanks for the chuckle. "Making the world connected"? The world is connected anyway, introducing middlemen into it makes it arguably less connected, that is, it introduces more connectedness that sucks, instead of the kind that doesn't. Thanks for honing my doublethink radar or something.

1B people disagree with you.

Ah, "If many believe so, it is so", the Argumentum Ad Populum [1]. In Roman times, 1 million people believed that you could foretell the future by 'reading' the entrails of animals. That so many people believed this, doesn't make it necessary a reliable way to predict the future ;-)

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_populum

Re: Mark Zuckerberg's Hoodie

#54

Post by Lost_BiomedE »

kevinalexbrown wrote: post #21

What a thoughtful essay. "But it uses a silly writing device to illustrate a point it could have just made plainly!" Whoa there, critical-thinking-by-the-numbers guy, maybe the article is also about fashion. As a child, I considered style choices a silly and inconsequential distraction from the beautiful truths of the universe: e^(ipi) + 1 doesn't care what I'm wearing, so neither should I, therefore it doesn't matte…

“A fashion is merely a form of ugliness so unbearable that we are compelled to alter it every six months.” Oscar Wilde

There is a threshold where good enough is good enough. Once above that threshold, your e^(ipi)+1 still rings true. It is one of many of our versions of the peacock frock.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg's Hoodie

#56

Post by Karunamon »

chanux wrote: post #49

Off topic but I've heard that Zuck has a cupboard full of same hoodie (or t-shirt) so he doesn't have to worry about what he is going to wear in the morning.

That's a pretty common trope - supposedly Steve Jobs was the same way.

I wonder how true it is.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg's Hoodie

#57

Post by corporalagumbo »

etfb wrote: post #52

"It's 1945. I sit in a Brooklyn kitchen, fascinated by an arrangement of cogs on black velvet. I am sixteen years old. It is 1985. I am on Mars. I am fifty six years old..." That's what the style of this article instantly reminded me of. Like the source I quote, the article was done very well indeed; well enough that I picked up what was happening without the use of Dave Gibbons' art. Good language, even good poetry.…

Damn, I gotta read Watchmen again soon.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg's Hoodie

#58

Post by corporalagumbo »

nkwiatek wrote: post #20
beatpanda wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's giving you some things to think about without coming to a conclusion for you, and it's interesting how disorienting you find this.

Well, that's the thing: I don't find that interesting, I find it lazy. It's already lazy to write about Facebook, especially in a negative or fearful tone. (How much of that mongering do you see in a day? One article on the frontpage a day on average, yes?) When a writer chooses Facebook's ethos as a topic I'm looking very critically for true insight, but most end up punting on this -- this author included.

Nicely said.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg's Hoodie

#59

Post by gench »

Jobs had black turtlenecks as a signature style. I think Zuckerberg sees Jobs as a role model and imitates his practice with hoodies. What else could he choose to look "cool"?

Re: Mark Zuckerberg's Hoodie

#60

Post by corporalagumbo »

Karunamon wrote: post #56
chanux wrote: post #49

Off topic but I've heard that Zuck has a cupboard full of same hoodie (or t-shirt) so he doesn't have to worry about what he is going to wear in the morning.

That's a pretty common trope - supposedly Steve Jobs was the same way. I wonder how true it is.

I recently bought ~30 pairs of the same underwear which I prefer. I definitely see locking down a set of favourite items for the basics of your daily wardrobe, and then buying those items in bulk, as a big efficiency boost if you have more important things to do with your mind than worry about the what you're going to wear each day. Makes sense to focus on basic items: socks, undies, t-shirts, pants, jerseys. Then you don't have to worry about needing to do laundry all the time, running out of items you prefer, choosing between different models, choosing when you go shopping again. Ultimately you would want to extend this beyond clothes: food, household items etc. and automate it as much as possible, so you don't even have to worry about re-buying - your system is set up to order replacements on schedule as required.

Edit: just realised I'm in the process of doing basically the same thing with discovering and standardising my favourite haircut.

Post reply on HN