Whereas Hacker News is just a bunch of people who don't know what they're doing pretending to be experts to influence the actual idiots. You can find charlatans pretty much anywhere money or people with money congregate.
At most that’s the first or second “Why?” but there is surely a deeper issue.
I have no doubt there exists someone who was ruined by 2008, but most prudent blue chip investors were not.
Participants will willingly acknowledge that the behavior is destructive or reckless. But they do so in a way that glorifies it. "Woah, I totally blacked out again last night. So crazy. High Five". When the most self-destructive member receives the most attention that acts as a pretty powerful incentive.
Humans are social animals. And the way most of us avoid bad decisions day-to-day is to look at our peer group and think "would this be something that a normal, respectable person would do". When you create a subculture filled with self-destructive people, it normalizes and encourages self-destructive behavior, even when people rationally know they shouldn't be engaging in it.