Hacker News Reader

Comment by rubber_duck | Hacker News Reader

> They thought they where cool toys.

Well they are - in the sense that the practical value is very limited and there are better alternatives in every regard (even in the ideal scenario where you live in a place with excellent riding conditions and limited parking which benefits a bike - a scooter is going to give you easier riding since it's automatic, less maintenance, more storage capacity and will be plenty fast for commuting if you get 300/600cc ones).

My bike is a toy - it's just a dangerous one.

View on HN

What is a tool and what is a toy? Or do they overlap?

I would classify a motorcycle (I have one too) as a tool for both transport (get me from A to B) and fun (riding it is fun).

That being said, holy mother of god it is stressful when there are other cars on the road, people are freaking scary in cars.

They overlap. My bandsaw is a tool and a toy. Cars are often toys, but almost always tools.

Perhaps they are two completely different dimensions, imagine the x-axis being the "toolness" of something and the y-axis being the "toyness" of something.

A nuclear reactor is something that would have a very low "toyness" score, i.e. you wouldn't "play" with it.

A plastic toy car would have a very high "toyness" score, as it is literally designed to play with (by kids).

I kind of fear my analogy of two different dimensions breaks down here because I'm left wondering what things would have a low "toolness" score ...

> I kind of fear my analogy of two different dimensions breaks down here because I'm left wondering what things would have a low "toolness" score ...

Maybe expressing it as a complex number would help, eg. toolness + i(toyness)

In polar form a low angle would indicate a high "toolness to toyness" ratio.

The (real, complex) plane is equivalent to (toyness, toolness) although it is an interesting idea indeed to express it in polar coordinates hah

The plastic toy car—it doesn't have any use beyond its toyness. It can't get you anywhere, or cut things into neat shapes.

"Toolness" is, at least to a large extent, a synonym for "(practical) utility".

Indeed, I think "toolness" should be replaced by "impact" or "effectiveness".

Code, for example, can be played with but can also deliver significant impact to a large group of people.

A toy car, as another example, can be played with but delivers value to only one person at once (well, depending on how you use it).

> I kind of fear my analogy of two different dimensions breaks down here because I'm left wondering what things would have a low "toolness" score ...

Haute couture fashion?

Can you take a scooter on a highway?

Like a motorcycle, depends on how fast it goes (how much power it has). 49cc scooter no, 650cc scooter yes.

Scooters aren’t cool enough

Reply on news.ycombinator.com