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Comment by allenu | Hacker News Reader

To me, as an outsider, I don't see the immediate purpose of the club. I imagine most clubs are about activities or a mission.

I used to go social dancing and the purpose of that group of people was to dance, and they would have various events all about dancing or improving your dancing. If you join a social justice or politically minded group, I imagine your purpose is to engage in activities to further your ideals. But to join a club where there are other smart people... your goal is to what? Share interesting puzzles with each other? :D Try to make other people smarter?

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I think you're only looking at "smart people" as people who want to share how smart they are. You seem to be ignoring the social isolation that can come with it. Your interests might no be similar to those around you, if you're a child you might be able to meet others who are different in the same way, etc.

I very rarely discuss IQ since so many people are hostile to it. A high IQ makes you different. Sometimes it's subtle, like as an adult you'll typically have different interests compared to a lot of peers, and other times it's far less subtle, like when you're a school aged kid and you're always made to feel different (FYI most school aged kids don't want to feel different).

I suppose so. It's probably more akin to a club for tall people, or a club for twins. There are things specific to who you are in those cases that outsiders wouldn't "get" and I can see the value in meeting up with those folks to feel a sense of belonging.

HN is a club for discussing "Anything that good hackers would find interesting." Is it so different?

I feel like it is because it's a group of people in the same field, which is constantly changing. There are topics related to the group that make sense to discuss.

With smart people, I suppose any topic is on the table. It's not specific enough for me.

It seems like most commenters are in software engineering or related jobs. But it doesn't appeal to lots of people in those fields. There are biologists and truck drivers too. And lots of people have pointed out most companies are tech companies now.

Most topics here might interest people for professional reasons. But they include things like "High IQs are associated with mental and physical disorders" too. People love to debate politics. And "Is the Ship Still Stuck?"[1] is the top article right now.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26585282

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