HN Explorer

Ask HN: Favorite HN comment(s)

197 points by _6cj7 ↗ HN
There are bunch of informative/interesting comments on HN. Throwing here just few of them:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14327829

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12941574

Which HN comment(s) are among your favorite ones? Which ones have created value for you?

94 comments

[ 1.8 ms ] story [ 171 ms ] thread
soneca
Related, I am learning to code and in the process I built this simple website that randomly shows the most upvoted HN comments:

http://www.opusnota.com/hnbc

jmstfv
How do you fetch comment scores?
minimaxir
HN comment scores are not public, so I am unsure how you find the "most upvoted comments"
RodericDay
top of every story probably
minimaxir
That is a very bad metric because comment rankings are a function of score and time.
soneca
Algolia's API show votes for older comments (not sure how old is the line when it stops showing).

Edit: naturally, there is a strong bias for older comments in the list.

Code I use:

    <script>
		
		  $(document).ready(function() {
  var lasthours = "";
    
    $("#refresh").on("click", function() {
      
      var html = "";
      var url = "https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/search?tags=comment&numericFilters=points>120&page=";
      var page = Math.floor(Math.random() * (20)) + 1;
      url += page.toString();
       
      var position = 0;
      position = Math.floor(Math.random() * 20);
   
      
    $.getJSON(url, function(json) {
      
        var hits = json.hits;
        
        var html = "<p>"+hits[position].comment_text+"</p><p>Story: <a  target='_blank'  href='"+hits[position].story_url+"'>"+hits[position].story_title+"</a><br><a  target='_blank'  href='https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id="+hits[position].story_id+"'>comment by "+hits[position].author+"</a></p>";
        
    $("#quote-text").html(html);
    });
    });
  });
		
		</script>
minimaxir
The Algolia API cutoff for comment scores is October 2014. (which I know because it was cut off after I made a blog post on the subject: http://minimaxir.com/2014/10/hn-comments-about-comments/)

There have been quite a few good comments since then.

It is worse to make an incredibly biased list than no list at all.

soneca
It is just a learning project. Feel free to not access it and downvote my comment advertising it if you think it is dangerous.
minimaxir
My comment was not a criticism, but a warning. It is very important to note where the data is coming from and any associated caveats which may influence the results.
TeMPOraL
https://news.ycombinator.com/bestcomments?
r3bl
Been using HN regularly for about two years now, and have just figured out two of the features from this topic: /bestcomments and /favorites?id=<USERNAME>.
TeMPOraL
You might want to check out "Lists" link at the bottom of the page; there's a bunch of things there.
Tomte
Graphs of the memory hierarchy: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4048204

What's bayesian and frequentist statistics: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4741146

Again: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=384399

DSA math: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6195606

Automotive development: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10496625

QNX and message passing: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9872640

Path through InfoSec: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11710028

What does performance in Erlang mean: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6359493

Emacs and C/C++: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8617300

Money and self-publishing: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8373185

Kerbal Space Program: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12640451

Bush v. Gore: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12187666

Teaching a class: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=818367

Precedence climbing: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13915458

olalonde
Best HN comeback: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35079
koolba
That's a classic. The second reply as well.
yodon
When I was a kid, a neighbor friend of my sister's came over to our house and very arrogantly announced "I live next door to a Nobel Prize winner." We all made polite comments. After she left, my mom turned to us and said "I so wanted to tell her 'my dear, I sleep with one.'

Yes, it was probably the only block in the world with two Nobel Prize winners living on it.

fizwhiz
who was your mom referring to, if I may ask?
yodon
My dad (the other Nobel Prize winner on the block)
bastijn
Not only that. But that same thread goes into his idea being the same as Dropbox, both being startup ideas at the time. Seems the latter won that comeback though.
basseq
Not only that, but Drew Houston waded in. History 3,596 days later.
qu4z-2
Well, Tarsnap[0] also exists, although granted Dropbox is more popular so I guess won in that sense. I think they have a slightly different target audience anyway.

[0]: https://www.tarsnap.com/

r3bl
You've now reminded me of my most-upvoted HN comment to date: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11417168

I remember a couple of techies sitting around, watching the thread, and the guy pissed us off to the point where I just couldn't keep my mouth shut.

cperciva
How did I guess this was going to show up again?
krapp
You do the math.
cperciva
Speaking of math, despite being easily my most famous comment, it's nowhere near being my most upvoted comment.
dsacco
Which is the most upvoted?
protomyth
Because everyone wants to get the opportunity for that one "why yes, I..." comeback and it is a joy to see it.
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tptacek
This is actually a feature of HN (but a well-hidden one). My favorite comments here:

https://news.ycombinator.com/favorites?id=tptacek&comments=t

ktta
I don't think really meant to be hidden. You can go to anyone's profile, click on favorites->comments
yodon
Wow, your list of favorite comments is every bit as wonderful as your list of comments. No wonder yours was the first name here on HN I learned to look for to learn from (with dang's being the second)
Springtime
Oh wow, didn't notice until now know they added this. Looking at my locally saved single comments the feature was added somewhere mid-2016. Though thinking back I rarely visited HN in that period between then and now which may explain why I'd missed it.
tmaly
wow, I did not know this. Thanks, I am bookmarking this one.
m1el
User Steuard explains why EmDrive doesn't work and responds to an ad-hominem attack

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9473209

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9476202

scott_s
Steuard deserves a medal for that thread. (Or a beer, coffee or cookie. Whichever he likes.)
swingdoc
Sorry to point out that Steuard comments are as valid as me stating that because I don't understand how to calculate the integral, there can be no way anyone else can . Just because some people don't know how to do something doesn't mean its not possible.
swingdoc
By the way we saw the same thing in algo trading, were a cabal of finance professors argued for more than 10years that the EMH theory holds and algo trading is a hoax. Just saying..
m1el
> because I don't understand how to calculate the integral, there can be no way anyone else can > Just because some people don't know how to do something doesn't mean its not possible.

While this is a wrong place to continue this, I still think that I must answer this.

This analogy is incorrect. Let me rephrase your statement about the integral: "I'm incapable of calculating the integral therefore it cannot be calculated"

It's not a question of human capabilities. The problem with EmDrive is not that we say that humans are incapable of inventing a reactionless drive.

The problem is that all working physics theories embed conservation of momentum, and reactionless drives contradict conservation of momentum. This is equivalent to saying "here's a proof this integral cannot be calculated in all useful mathematical formalisms". Please note that there are no "proofs" in physics, and I'm only using this as an analogy.

Of course you could define a formalism that makes it possible to calculate the integral, which EmDrive proponents don't do.

I would be glad to be proven wrong. If there was a rigorous experiment that invalidates all modern physical theories, I would change my mind really fast, so would the majority of scientists. However, EmDrive proponents produce no rigorous experiments. The analogy would be saying "oh those silly mathematicians saying I couldn't calculate this integral, here's my calculation!" while having many errors in your calculations.

> By the way we saw the same thing in algo trading, were a cabal of finance professors argued for more than 10years that the EMH theory holds and algo trading is a hoax. Just saying..

Again, this analogy is incorrect, because you won't find an adequate physicist that disputes conservation of momentum. And EMH was/is disputed.

swingdoc
I agree that it might be a false assumption emdrive works. But I don't think you should state that the standard model is evidence of that emdrive cannot work. Again I agree with conservation of momentum, but what if your assumption is wrong? What if emdrive don't violate it? My point is, rather focus your energy on building your own version than throwing out statements which also have no proof.
m1el
> But I don't think you should state that the standard model is evidence of that emdrive cannot work

I specifically said that reactionless drives contradict conservation of momentum. This is a direct result of all useful physical theories.

> what if your assumption is wrong? What if emdrive don't violate it?

Believe it or not, but I've answered this question before. If EmDrive doesn't violate conservation of momentum, then according to standard model it cannot produce more thrust than a photon drive, which makes EmDrive utterly useless.

> My point is, rather focus your energy on building your own version [...]

My own version: EmDrive inventor is a crackpot, which can be deduced from papers he writes and statements he makes. I'm not obliged to explain every single crackpot claim. The burden of proof is on the side making extraordinary claims.

> [...] than throwing out statements which also have no proof

Please quote specific statements rather than making broad accusation of baseless speech.

I'm tired of dissecting every single one of your sentences.

olalonde
This one, about recursion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14396692
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ikamthania
Thanks, now I have better understanding of recursion.
devy
How did you do it? Put some text in first get the id and edit the comment to retroactively add the link to itself?
sunnyP
You made my stack overflow!
Briel
Since our mental wellbeing plays a huge role in how we use our knowledge and skills, one of my favorite HN comments (which is actually a quote from another source):

"Human life the Stoics appear to have considered as a game of great skill; in which, however, there was a mixture of chance [...] In such games the stake is commonly a trifle, and the whole pleasure of the game arises from playing well, from playing fairly, and playing skilfully. If notwithstanding all his skill, however, the good player should, by the influence of chance, happen to lose, the loss ought to be a matter, rather of merriment, than of serious sorrow. He has made no false stroke; he has done nothing which he ought to be ashamed of; he has enjoyed completely the whole pleasure of the game. [...]

Our only anxious concern ought to be, not about the stake, but about the proper method of playing. If we placed our happiness in winning the stake, we placed it in what depended upon causes beyond our power, and out of our direction. We necessarily exposed ourselves to perpetual fear and uneasiness, and frequently to grievous and mortifying disappointments. If we placed it in playing well, in playing fairly, in playing wisely and skilfully; in the propriety of our own conduct in short; we placed it in what, by proper discipline, education, and attention, might be altogether in our own power, and under our own direction. Our happiness was perfectly secure, and beyond the reach of fortune."

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12995076

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tristanho
I really love this comment on finding a job at a startup by patio11: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11118880

So much so that the comment and surrounding discussion is much more valuable than the actual article it's on! Has helped me and many people I know interview at phenomenal companies.

sndean
There's a whole series of (long) comments by arcfide [0] about APL, and code in general, in the "Smaller Code, Better Code" thread [1] that I thought were great.

In particular this one [2].

"I'm pushing the other direction. If you can see your entire compiler at one go on a standard computer screen, what sort of possibilities does that open up? You can start thinking at the macro level, and simply avoid a whole host of problems because they are obviously wrong at that level. When you aren't afraid to delete you entire compiler and start from scratch? What sort of possibilities does that open up to you?"

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=arcfide

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13565743

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13571160

factsaresacred
Nice idea. I actually save the gems I find here. So in no particular order, wisdom from the archives -

enobrev 673 days ago on 'The self-hating web developer':

> I've always been a fan of collecting money for solving problems and letting others worry about whether what I'm doing qualifies as "real" programming. Knowing how to listen to potential clients has gotten me a lot further than worrying whether PHP is a real programming language.

- - -

kingsidharth 2356 days ago on 'Evernote makes $800,000 per Month':

> This is the biggest mistake most of the people make. If it worked that way, every weekend app released here would be making tons of money. (We have better apps here as weekend projects than out there in market).But this is NOT app v/s app game. This is business v/s app. And you can't take down a business with an app. You need to create a business.

- - -

knob 1217 days ago on Your best passive income? (2014):

ozh: > "Do some freelancing during office hours & double the income."

viach: > This would not be passive.

knob: > You have to think bigger man. Outsource the outsourcement... Interact with top-level outsourcer once per week... he interacts with low-level outsourcer daily. Profit.

- - -

mcphage 653 days ago on Japanese mini Segway “WalkCar”:

> "Can you remember the Segway?"

> Yeah.

> "And how we all thought of it as the new way of human transportation?"

> No, I don't remember that bit.

- - -

cableshaft 619 days ago on '‘Give Away Your Legos’ and Other Commandments for Scaling Startups':

pbreit: > I dunno, hopping on board the rocket ship still seems a lot easier than building the rocket ship.

cableshaft: > But building the rocket ship is more fun. Especially if you know it's going to explode midair once it's launched and you don't have to be in it when it does.

- - -

graycat 760 days ago on First Round Capital Open Application for Startups:

> Can a solo founder of an IT startup hope to be successful without equity funding? Should be: All across the US, cross roads to the largest cities, solo founders do well mowing grass, selling pizza or hamburgers, pumping gas, paving driveways, ..., big-truck, little-truck distribution businesses, etc. without equity funding. IT should be an advantage.

- - -

puranjay 838 days ago on 'Why Learning to Code Is So Damn Hard':

> I have the same issue (find the time). I've set aside 10pm-2am every weekday to learn how to code, plus entire Saturdays and Sunday mornings. I can, at most, manage 20-25 hours, usually when I'm already bogged down. I've been toying with the idea of quitting everything and going all-in for 3-6 months. Would that be 100% retarded or just about 70% retarded? I can live with 70%.

- - -

And my favorite:

blake8086 1962 days ago on 'How Trello is different':

spolsky: > We wouldn't provide that kind of support, nor would be it be expected, for a free and easy-to-use product.

blake8086: > I think you deeply underestimate the sense of entitlement people get about products they enter lots of text into.

nether
From user smacktoward:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7314434

> For all the intellectual firepower of people in the tech community, there is a curious strain of anti-intellectualism that comes forth in projects like this; an eagerness to discount the expertise of people who have studied a subject for their entire lives, just because they weren't CS majors. It's like trying to send a man to the moon without working with any aerospace engineers. I honestly do not understand it.