Hacker News Reader

I'd be interested to know if Jennings had any influence on the title -- the phrase "unfair advantage" isn't used in the text -- he calls it an "advantage", but "unfair" lends it an entirely different meaning. The article is a very even-handed discussion of Watson; the headline is needlessly provocative, and makes Jennings sound like a whiner.

View on HN

In his Q&A session after day 1, Jennings said that "I wouldn't call this unfair...precise timing just happens to be one thing computers are better at than we humans. It's not like I think Watson should try buzzing in more erratically just to give homo sapiens a chance."

So my guess is that the daily news had more to do with that title than Ken. It doesn't seem like him, at any rate.

Judging from the other content advertised on the page, the Daily News is not a master of subtlety.

I'm certain it was a copywriter who created that headline. Would you read "How to learn to play Piano" or "They Laughed Until I sat down to play?"

I know HN tends to dislike overtly dramatic headlines but copywriting is also an interesting art.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com