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Ask HN: What Lived Up to the Hype?

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Re: Ask HN: What Lived Up to the Hype?

#101

Post by WhompingWindows »

dgfitz wrote: post #87
st1x7 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Man... there is way too much deus ex machina at every plot point of that book to give it any credit. If you have the end of the 6th book as a starting point and the end of series that Rowling had in mind as an end, then Deathly Hallows is just connecting those two points using plot conveniences at every single opportunity. Too many fortunate coincidences in a very short period o…

Couldn’t agree more. I wish I hadn’t read it. HBP was the peak. In DH they just run around the woods for a while. I was extremely disappointed with DH.

"They just run around the woods for a while."

I'm sorry, that's plain incorrect. First, they're at Privet Drive, then the Burrow, then Grimmauld Place, then they camp for a few weeks-months but it's highly condensed plot-wise. They don't "run around the woods" at any point, that silly chase scene with the snatchers is onlyin the film.

Why do they hide? Because there is ZERO safe-space in the rest of the UK. They are forced into hiding to maintain their safety until such time as the horcruxes are gone and battle can commence. How is that much different from Frodo and Sam wandering the wilds alone at the last 2 LotR books? In HP, they are in society and non-wilderness far more than Frodo and Sam. And then they do a lot of epic shit at the end that has nothing to do with the woods.

Re-read the book, the woods part is a very small aspect.

Re: Ask HN: What Lived Up to the Hype?

#102

Post by marvion »

keiferski wrote: post #16

- A lot of people watch it with no background knowledge and subsequently don’t quite understand the “best film ever” label, but Citizen Kane is indeed a fantastic film. Just read about Orson Welles first. - Most religious books that have stood the test of time have lived up to the hype. The Bible (especially certain books like Ecclesiastes or Proverbs), The Quran, The Upanishads, to name a few. Again, don’t just go i…

> - Lifting weights is indeed worth the hype, and its benefits are more diffuse than just “being able to lift heavy things.”

This was unexpected, but true. I started a few month ago, because I moved and noticed that carrying the goceries in the 4th floor interrupted my whole day...

Every movement includes moving weight. It basically makes the whole life easier

Re: Ask HN: What Lived Up to the Hype?

#104

Post by WhompingWindows »

st1x7 wrote: post #52
101008 wrote: post #38

Two finales: - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. When the seventh book came out in 2007 there was this fear among the fandom that JK Rowling couldn't deliver a great ending. I think most people agreed she did very well (even more than expected, considering the complexity of the story in the prior six books). - Breaking Bad last season / last episode: there aren't many tv shows that can end in a high note (check G…

> Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Man... there is way too much deus ex machina at every plot point of that book to give it any credit. If you have the end of the 6th book as a starting point and the end of series that Rowling had in mind as an end, then Deathly Hallows is just connecting those two points using plot conveniences at every single opportunity. Too many fortunate coincidences in a very short period o…

How is there too much deus ex machina? You threw out that label and never mentioned a single plot point to substantiate your claim.

I believe there's very little deus ex machina. The main point is that Voldemort delved too greedily into dark magic, weakening himself very much, while Lily's love magic was pure and protected her son against Voldemort's evil magic. This is why Harry can see into his mind and why he manages amazing feats like Gringotts or escape at Godric's Hollow, because Voldemort's hubris handed Harry the tools. It's all explained in the chapter "King's Cross", re-read that chapter and you'll gain fresh clarity.

JKR does introduce new concepts and history unknown previously to Harry, but name a book she doesn't do that. She'd be raked over the coals if she didn't offer anything new in one of her longest of the seven books. She needed the Deathly Hallows as a new mystery, a new suspense that creates tension throughout the book, pulling you onwards and competing for the horcruxes. It also highlights Harry's temptation to attain that which Dumbledore sought, but ultimately Harry chose the wiser path than Albus.

The other new concept was wand lore, which was not very fleshed out before DH. I don't love that wand lore dictated the final duel so heavily, why does Harry have to win based on overpowering a 3rd wizard, the wand truly knows that? Why not just have Harry's courageous, love-inspired magic overcome Voldemorts? It's kind of a letdown that Harry beats Voldy because he took 3 wands from Draco's hand...

Other than these two concepts, I don't see anything new and cheap like a deus ex machina. That term would literally mean that Harry is defeated by Voldemort in the end (he never was), only to be saved by a God at the last minute (he never was). Harry won on his and his allies' courage, and Voldemort lost due to his own hubris and his own determination to focus on wands and to tell all his servants not to kill Harry.

Re: Ask HN: What Lived Up to the Hype?

#106

Post by hliyan »

thekyle wrote: post #20

When the M1 chip was introduced I was a bit underwhelmed. Apple being so vague about their performance didn't exactly inspire confidence. But as more information has come out it seems like the hype has actually increased.

Definitely this. To me, it's the most revolutionary thing they've done since the iPad.

Re: Ask HN: What Lived Up to the Hype?

#108

Post by _eric »

ghoomketu wrote: post #22

Vue 3. It was highly anticipated but when it was initially announced everyone including HNers were up in arms about how it's going to kill Vue. I can't find the thread but I do remember it vaguely. Thankfully the release not only lived up to its hype (faster, smaller, easier) but also put to rest almost all objections about backward compatibility. I really think the Vue team did an awesome job with their next release…

That's good to know. And how did the upgrade from 2.x projects go? I have got a couple of projects I want to migrate, but haven't started yet.

Re: Ask HN: What Lived Up to the Hype?

#109

Post by 2sk21 »

IkmoIkmo wrote: post #71

I'm loving my Apple Watch. I wasn't entirely sure yet what to think of the watch as a form factor, given that a phone can do everything it can and more. But there's three interesting aspects that have really added value for me. 1) is health data, in a way a computer or phone just can't do. It tracks things like heartrate that a phone + heartrate strap is too convoluted for, for non-athletes. Plus it's all-day and qui…

The Apple Watch has been a really amazing gadget and is well worth the expense. I would add the ease of using Apple Pay from the Watch as a very useful feature to your list.

Re: Ask HN: What Lived Up to the Hype?

#110

Post by zovi343 »

enw wrote: post #95
hanniabu wrote: post #55

The internet, computers, iPhone, The Mandalorian, SSDs, GTA3, bitcoin (so far), mRNA, SpaceX, graphene, cars Still hoping nuclear fusion and carbon removal pulls through.

Does Bitcoin scale nowadays?

It does not need to scale since people treat it as digital gold nowadays.
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