Things I Should Have Known at 20 • Hacker News Board

Re: Things I Should Have Known at 20

#161

Post by ahoyhere » Sun, Jun 03, 2012, 7:43 PM UTC

rauljara wrote: post #18

The list is all phrased as commands. I can't stand that. There is no one way through life, and I wish people didn't act like just because it worked for them it will work for everyone. Find people that are cooler than you and try to be even cooler than them seems like a particularly terrible command to give in general. So many of the people I admire the most just don't care so much about image. And I've met too many p…

Why don't you just accept that the blog post isn't for you, instead of wasting your time trying to tear it down? Nobody made you read it. He's not actually ordering YOU to do anything. He wrote in a way that reaches his actual audience, which obviously isn't you.

Your comment's about as useful as the reviews I saw recently on Amazon for a Reader's Digest book on travel -- the angry reviewers complained, essentially, that it's Reader's Digest style for a Reader's Digest audience.

If you don't like it, don't read it.

Re: Things I Should Have Known at 20

#162

Post by ahoyhere » Sun, Jun 03, 2012, 7:45 PM UTC

wpietri wrote: post #156

jwwest wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious to know if anyone who doesn't feel like they might be successful doing something someone else points out as a good practice has actually TRIED doing it. If you've tried something and it didn't work out, write up a rebuttal and post it! Personally I'm a little dismayed at the negativity surrounding these posts when it's obvious that everyone is armchair quarterbacking here.

But posts like this are armchair quarterbacking everybody else's lives. If the guy phrased these purely as personal lessons and talked some about how he learned them, he would be much less grating. What really kills me is his bio. "Hi, I’m Julien Smith.I help people lead more productive, awesome lives— one day at a time. This is my blog. If you like it, please subscribe below." For me that might as well read: "Hi! I'…

So you kept reading it why?

You're armchair quarterbacking -- the OP isn't.

You're commenting on his actual web site, telling everybody how it should be. That is armchair quarterbacking.

He wrote a blog post for a general audience. It wasn't about you. It didn't describe specifics of your life. It didn't question your judgment.

Re: Things I Should Have Known at 20

#163

Post by wpietri » Mon, Jun 04, 2012, 7:46 AM UTC

ahoyhere wrote: post #162

wpietri wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But posts like this are armchair quarterbacking everybody else's lives. If the guy phrased these purely as personal lessons and talked some about how he learned them, he would be much less grating. What really kills me is his bio. "Hi, I’m Julien Smith.I help people lead more productive, awesome lives— one day at a time. This is my blog. If you like it, please subscribe below." For me that might as well read: "Hi! I'…

So you kept reading it why? You're armchair quarterbacking -- the OP isn't. You're commenting on his actual web site, telling everybody how it should be. That is armchair quarterbacking. He wrote a blog post for a general audience. It wasn't about you . It didn't describe specifics of your life. It didn't question your judgment.

I'm not telling him what to do. He's welcome to carry on being a huckster. But I'm allowed to critique his writing and his business model, just like everybody else.