Earlier on I had agreed with your assessment that this is probably not a shill's account. But now I see a repetitive pattern in his comment history.

For example, this comment, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23039938 is copied again and again several time.

I don't know of any normal person that exhibits such behavior. You and I don't. Now I am leaning towards a shill after all, perhaps an unpaid one.