zlacker

In the early 2000s I got a taxi in Sydney, and the driver, a Muslim, passionately told me that he could not be more certain that Jews were behind the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001. He kept repeating how absolutely certain he was, as if that was meant to be impressive, instead of what it was, unforgettably horrifying.

I got a similar feeling today reading the many dozens of comments on this page claiming to be absolutely certain of things they evidently know nothing about. Guesses in the dark pass for knowledge in this strange atmosphere. I felt a strong urge to place bets with these people. 100 to 1 would be attractive, no, if you are 100% certain? I get $1000 if you are wrong, you get $10 if you are right. But I somehow doubt I'd get many takers.

It's just been very embarrassing. I've felt embarrassed for HN. Not to mention the many ignorant attacks on dang on here in the last day or so, under stories on this and other conspiracy-related topics, e.g. the "LOL just got kicked out of @ycombinator" story. Just shameful. Maybe people flag such stories because their average comment quality is so appallingly low.