I agree with almost everything in your post, but the way you posted this also makes me recognize a feeling I had for too long, maybe it’s time to take a break and get a few deep breaths?
It’s always a bummer to open a thread like this and realize all I can do is open, skim, and promptly exit. I have zero expertise on fusion power so I don’t have much to add in a top level comment - but all the top level comments are not communicating from a perspective of expertise, just broadcasting cynicism. I have this queasy feeling sometimes that HN is really not a healthy social media community any more than the others I have quit.
I’ve learned a lot about fusion power in previous threads on the subject - all you can learn here is how bitter and cynical some people are about this particular company’s efforts.
One thing I'm trying to live lately is it's okay to have reactions and share them.
There's this weird thing with the richer society I've moved into from being in tech, where people think being anesthetized is the same as being happy.
No psychologist I've met advises what I see people assume: you must always hold back negative thoughts.
They then apply techniques for reducing stress from overwhelming thoughts to advise eliminating all negative thought.
Yes, I was cynical and frustrated from so much of PR fluff pieces that imply one thing only end up being smoke & mirrors. I did however genuinely ask “why not say it like it is?!”
Sorry, I do not subscribe to the idea that everybody should just ignore and move on when they see nonsense.. If nobody cares, then what is the point of our collective existence as a society? As an exaggerated example, if we all stopped caring whether a business claiming to do something can actually do it or not, doesn’t it incentivise every business to just lie and deceive as their way of business? Is that the world we should be looking forward to?
I'm referring to scenarios where the nonsense is affecting your psychological well being. If you're in a situation where you see nonsense, see a way to refute or diffuse it, and without it causing an emotional response in that moment, then obviously "block and move on" has different consequential implications and isn't a good formula. But the duty to tell the truth only is actionable if you're not plunged into irrationality or weak arguments because of the stress or emotional frustration overwhelming you.
while not every comment deserves a reply, or your attention, silencing every opposing viewpoint is a great way to end up isolated and without contextual diversity.
I read the comment as being about silencing low value noise from the knee jerk “this news doesn’t mean anything because companies bad news fake nothing to see here” crowd.
If an opposing viewpoint doesn’t have any thoughtful, well reasoned proponents, maybe it’s not that interesting of a viewpoint?
I only recommend people blocking things that they can't handle. If you can't handle opposing viewpoints, that's a big problem, but telling you that you can solve that problem by forcing yourself to be exposed to them is mistaking the symptom for the disease. The cure for that isn't to read opposing opinions but to read arguments as to why emotional reactions to such things is not the path to a well examined life.
