I always think of Andrew Ng's famous machine learning course whenever I hear someone say this phrase. He also used this phrase repeatedly in the videos.
Yes, he's the person I'll always associate with this phrase for exactly that reason!
“It turns out” (2010)
81–90 of 99 posts
Re: “It turns out” (2010)
#82So, in 2026 I feel like this is no longer anywhere near the top of my list of annoying, completely redundant speech things.
Re: “It turns out” (2010)
#83I have a duvet. It turns out.
Re: “It turns out” (2010)
#84oh, paul grahams eassays!
Speaking of, how are his efforts to help this administration cut down no woke youth?
Does he still think racism isn't as bad a "the left" thinks, after Elon's Nazi salute and the thousands of ICE agents brutalized immigrants, murdered citizens, while cheered on by half the country, then invaded Iran because the Christian right thinks its a holy war against Muslims?
Re: “It turns out” (2010)
#85There is much less to this essay than meets the eye. It boils down to this:
1. The author thinks "it turns out" should only be used to express discovery of objectively surprising facts.
2. Paul Graham sometimes uses "it turns out" to express discovery of subjectively surprising facts.
3. The author finds the difference between his opinion and Paul Graham's opinion objectionable.
It turns out that people use stock phrases in different ways!
Re: “It turns out” (2010)
#86There is much less to this essay than meets the eye. It boils down to this: 1. The author thinks "it turns out" should only be used to express discovery of objectively surprising facts. 2. Paul Graham sometimes uses "it turns out" to express discovery of subjectively surprising facts. 3. The author finds the difference between his opinion and Paul Graham's opinion objectionable. It turns out that people use stock phr…
I don’t think that sums up the post well. I would say:
The phrase “it turns out” has a surprising way of disarming skepticism in readers. While surprising, it’s easy to understand: the phrase suggests a story of the author’s journey of believing one thing, investigating, and finding something different. That’s more credible than simply saying the thing they now believe. The touch of vulnerability (admitting being wrong) avoids the reader’s ego getting defensive when asked to admit they were wrong. The net result is that it’s surprisingly easy to be convinced without any real argument.
I’ve noticed this as well (often in podcasts and programs like Radiolab) and I think it’s quite valuable to just be aware of it as a reader/listener, if you care about thinking critically about your own beliefs.
Re: “It turns out” (2010)
#87There is much less to this essay than meets the eye. It boils down to this: 1. The author thinks "it turns out" should only be used to express discovery of objectively surprising facts. 2. Paul Graham sometimes uses "it turns out" to express discovery of subjectively surprising facts. 3. The author finds the difference between his opinion and Paul Graham's opinion objectionable. It turns out that people use stock phr…
I don’t think that sums up the post well. I would say: The phrase “it turns out” has a surprising way of disarming skepticism in readers. While surprising, it’s easy to understand: the phrase suggests a story of the author’s journey of believing one thing, investigating, and finding something different. That’s more credible than simply saying the thing they now believe. The touch of vulnerability (admitting being wro…
Yes, the post is evaluating a personal essay of subjective experiences as if it is an obscured mechanism for convincing people about factual claims.
Re: “It turns out” (2010)
#88One of my favorite additions to this phrase is Merlin Mann's use of "double turns out". This is useful for stuff like "X is bad for you." "Turns out X is actually great for you and it was Big Y spreading misinformation." "Actually, turns out X is only terrible for dogs but nobody remembers that part of the story."
bock bock
Re: “It turns out” (2010)
#89This was pointed out humorously by Douglas Adams: > "..am I alone in finding the expression 'it turns out' to be incredibly useful? It allows you to make swift, succinct, and authoritative connections between otherwise randomly unconnected statements without the trouble of explaining what your source or authority actually is. It's great. It's hugely better than its predecessors 'I read somewhere that...' or the crave…
It turns out, assesses the epistemic landscape, and turns back in.
Re: “It turns out” (2010)
#90( 2010 ) Original submission: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1162965 And with a response from pg.
Thanks! Macroexpanded:
“It Turns Out” (2010) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25556578 - Dec 2020 (29 comments)
Paul Graham and "It turns out" - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1633802 - Aug 2010 (15 comments)
“It turns out” - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1162965 - March 2010 (63 comments, with pg's response here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1163194)