People on here can often get super-niche about a topic where there might only be a rather limited number of people on the whole planet who are in the clear on it, and I think that might be a big part of why you feel that way. It is also the reason why this place is pretty unique and (given some interests) amazing.
Anyone else lurk and feel like they understand nothing?
21–30 of 73 posts
Re: Anyone else lurk and feel like they understand nothing?
#22I haven't done web development since the late 90s, so quite a lot of what people talk about (from frontend frameworks to Kubernetes) is total gibberish to me. That's fine, it's not something I'm interested in even as a hobby.
I have done web development since the 90s and I can tell you authoritatively that most of what people talk about, like those frontend frameworks, are gibberish.
Or at least, they're not worth the hype they're given. The wheel is constantly turning, and the hot new framework of today is just a re-hash of something already done years ago with a pretty facade.
You probably learned the actual fundamentals of the web, which is exactly what a good developer should do. Nowadays "frontend devs" don't know how to make the most basic functionality without React, Bootstrap, and 99 other pieces of bloat.
Frankly the stuff I look at just disgusts me on a fundamental level. Like as soon as you decide to use React, you've just mandated up to several megabytes of JavaScript simply to render your HTML. That's abhorrent.
Re: Anyone else lurk and feel like they understand nothing?
#23I do C++ and graphics programming. I know nothing about web dev, so whenever I see stuff about databases and REST APIs, I'm clueless.
The key is to be growimg what you know in your area.
Re: Anyone else lurk and feel like they understand nothing?
#24Had multiple submissions get exactly zero interest I was certain would be bangers. Had posts I submitted as a second, even third or fourth thought, from reading the night before that interested me, and was sure no one would care about get picked up to be on the front page. Don't overthink it. If you have something interesting to show or say then go for it as long as it's within the guidelines. Otherwise if it doesn't…
> Had multiple submissions get exactly zero interest I was certain would be bangers.
A lot of stuff simply gets lost on 'new'. I mean how many people even go there? I rarely do so myself. The cases in which I upvote a submission with very few points are usually when I want to submit something I found elsewhere and enter the link in the search before posting.
Re: Anyone else lurk and feel like they understand nothing?
#25If something feels like it's interesting then go explore it in more detail. Read a book, find some relevant YouTube videos, take a Coursera course, read more in Wikipedia. Access to knowledge on the Internet today is amazing.
I have studied Math/Comp.Sci. I've been writing software professionally for a long time. There are specialized topics I'm not an expert in that might go over my head, if I'm interested enough I'll spend time and dig deeper.
My theory is that you want to have a big picture and be able to go into details when/where you need to.
Re: Anyone else lurk and feel like they understand nothing?
#26Fundamentally, that's why you love HN. It's why I do, and anyone else does too. Even if you don't understand something, you are drawn to try, and that itself is a hallmark of intelligence. We come here repeatedly because it stays interesting, because it is always something new.
Re: Anyone else lurk and feel like they understand nothing?
#27I think sometimes just observing/listening will let you see patterns. And a lot of life is just matching the patterns and comparing/applying it to your experiences.
Re: Anyone else lurk and feel like they understand nothing?
#28[deleted]
Re: Anyone else lurk and feel like they understand nothing?
#29Had multiple submissions get exactly zero interest I was certain would be bangers. Had posts I submitted as a second, even third or fourth thought, from reading the night before that interested me, and was sure no one would care about get picked up to be on the front page. Don't overthink it. If you have something interesting to show or say then go for it as long as it's within the guidelines. Otherwise if it doesn't…
> Had multiple submissions get exactly zero interest I was certain would be bangers. A lot of stuff simply gets lost on 'new'. I mean how many people even go there? I rarely do so myself. The cases in which I upvote a submission with very few points are usually when I want to submit something I found elsewhere and enter the link in the search before posting.
I believe if you submit a link that’s already on “New” it will merge them and automatically upvote the existing submission.
Re: Anyone else lurk and feel like they understand nothing?
#30[dead]