Hacker News Reader

Why are those two examples abstract?

The idea of "stats" is a gamer thing, but Jake is talking about "stats" as applying to real-life scenarios.

Then there's the idea that a robot is "doing a thumbs up" in some sense or another that doesn't get across through the physical realm. That's how I perceived it, aynyway.

"Stats" were a sports thing before there were video games, or even before integrated circuits.

the show is often dungeons & dragons-y, so i assume it was in that context. regardless, you wouldn't use the jargon of "stats" when talking about real-life scenarios. and besides this altogether, there are countless examples. i just randomly picked two that i could remember. there's an entire episode ("All the Little People") that is a playful exercise in abstraction. but maybe "idea humor" has a better connotation

But taking a dive doesn't cause stat damage, except to your HP. Unless the mushroom people drain levels.

I actually saw "All the Little People" as an advanced version of The Sims.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com