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Comment by rm_-rf_slash | Hacker News Reader

>So not thinking about things you don't like makes them disappear?

Precisely. Never underestimate the power of the logic-proof compartment. Every propagandist since Edward Bernays has understood that you can repeat information enough times to make it real. Likewise it works in reverse.

>...and before you know it, I've read them and wasted my precious time. How come?

If you're still here, then how precious is your time, really? Or are you simply trying to justify not spending your every waking moment...what is it they say in Silicon Valley..."hustling"?

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I think you're missing the point.

I'm proposing HN introduce a feature that exists on virtually every message board on the internet (i.e. blocking users). That's because its usefulness is well-recognised.

I fail to see what being here has to do with how precious my time is. My time is precious to me as soon as I start to value some experiences over others and decide which ones I consider valuable, and which ones I consider a waste. I don't have to be spending my every waking moment "hustling" to have a concept of value.

Reading comments from authors that I find interesting is a valuable use of my time.

Reading comments from authors that I find stupid and annoying is a waste of my time.

That's why I wish I could prevent that from happening.

"Not thinking" about the existence of such users is in no way a solution to that problem.

Maybe you think I'm stupid and annoying today.

Maybe you forget my username and after some time you see a comment of mine that is insightful and meaningful.

Do you recognize the flaw in your logic?

No, I don't see any flaw.

Am I supposed to carefully read every stupid comment from a poster that so far has only annoyed me on the off chance that he writes something insightful once in a blue moon?

I'll ignore him and take that risk. I'm sure it's still a +EV move overall.

If you insist on living in an airtight echo chamber, I cannot help you by offering advice you disagree with.

An "airtight echo chamber" would be a situation where the only information I get is a restatement of something I already know.

It's not even remotely analogous to what I'm suggesting, which is simply filtering out (some of) the noise.

Socrates criticized writing and reading because to him it atrophied the ability to remember things. I wonder what will happen to your brain if you use technology to filter things you don't like. Will you become more sensitive to annoyances you haven't yet blocked?

But maybe you're in too deep, and a filter might be good for you, because you seem to be unable to ignore my noisy and precious-time-wasting posts on your own.

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