alt Hacker NewsScrolling through the comments here, let's be honest about having actually read the entire article. Have you? Be honest.
At first I had not, only the first 3-4 paragraphs. And it just read like another one of those articles where somebody is sad about their own and their kids' habits. I then found that most comments here are about that too.
But I realized that not actually reading a lengthy article like this one is part of the problem, so I went back.
I have read it fully now and noticed two things. First, it's a very lengthy way to say few things. The author could surely have made the point much more crisp. But second, it's not just about the personal situation and some abstract form of person in society. It's also about those "in charge". And that's frightening.
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You got me!
But in fairness, I pretty much always read through a couple comment threads and usually do that until I've read through a few differing viewpoints before ever opening the article just to get my critical thinking juices closing a bit before diving. Also helps me decide more accurately than going by the title alone if the content is going to be of substantive interest to me before I invest the effort and time into it.
I'd probably estimate I actually visit about 15-20% percent of the linked content in the threads I open on HN. But I'd estimate that I probably fully read 80% of the content linked in those select threads that pique my interest so all in all I think it works out. I also don't do very much commenting compared to many on here so it doesn't really matter whether I actually read the source material in this context.
I've read the whole thing, but I usually read the end paragraphs of long articles because that's where he point is made.
Leading to it is:
> A recent report issued by Britain’s most important cultural funding body, the Arts Council, warned against the use of “terms like excellence” which may promote “unhelpful hierarchies about what kinds of work are valued”.’
Which I find despairing. Article ends with:
> The cultural elite has abandoned cultural elitism.
So the point goes far beyond 'social media despair', it goes to say that the entire culture is regressing.
>it's a very lengthy way to say few things
The author would likely suggest that we used to read for the variety of expression in the language in addition to becoming informed.
> First, it's a very lengthy way to say few things.
This is I think why most people on HN don't read the article. Also in part because the comments are simply more information dense, whether it is fully about the article or not.
And I haven't read the article. I'm here for the comments.
> Have you? Be honest.
I think most people here would simply be honest, you don't need to tell them to be honest.
But maybe it's my Dutch culture interplaying, but I genuinely find the "be honest" redundant and almost an insinuation that people would not be honest on HN, which would imply people tend to veer towards being deceitful? Really? On HN?
HN is not Reddit.
I don't know if shorter would have been better. Would that have meant omitting the bit contrasting Harry Truman and Donald Trump? For me, that bit alone was worth reading to the end. I should probably pick up a biography of Truman, I bet I'd really enjoy it. I also believe there are hierarchies of cultural value, and if that makes me an elitist, so be it, I'm an elitist.
> And that's frightening.
AI tell. I don't think you wrote this comment with AI, but you might want to tweak this writing style in the future.
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I did.
The point can be made very quickly yes, but the background and context provided is what made this a good read to me. Sometimes we need to marinate in a topic for it to enter into deeper layers of the brain.