Don't be so quick to embrace your own ignorance. | Hacker News Reader

Don't be so quick to embrace your own ignorance.

37signals.com

32 pointsph0rque13 comments

I never bought any of these Dummies books, for a similar reason. I don't think I'm a dummy, or an idiot, and I take it as a personal insult. If you want to sell a book to me, don't call me an idiot.

Yes, I know it's just a joke, but to me, it's a poor, insulting, and, most of all, an idiotic joke. Perhaps the authors think of themselves as idiots. Why should I read them?

I'd much rather buy from a "For smart people" series. It's a shame no one publishes that.

http://www.amazon.com/Joe-Celkos-SQL-Smarties-Programming/dp...

It's socially acceptable, even desirable, to lack technical skills. Witness the number of people who will happily proclaim they're no good at maths or whatever. Western culture (presently) doesn't value effort or accomplishment - you're supposed to succeed "just for being you", like a reality TV star, pop idol, etc. History will not reward this decadence.

I see a new business plan forming!

While there are probably plenty of geniuses out there, most of the interesting people I’ve talked to are of average intelligence, but above-average aspiration. Stop believing in the myth of triple-A people as a different kind.

Whenever I start feeling frustrated on some endeavor of mine, I try to pause and remember this principle.

This kind of ties in with pg's essay on amateurs.

aside: pretty funny how dhh marks trolls in his comments - a dunce hat with 'troll' written on it. Ouch.

Heh, that's very clever. Although one wonders if the trolls feel like they have been vindicated in some way (by being able to draw attention!)

I rather like the "disemvoweling" used over on BoingBoing. It's a good balance between just deleting trolls and giving them too much attention.

The color fading used on HN is a good technique too.

Disemvoweling tends to pique my curiosity. I'd like to puzzle out what's said and see what they were disemvoweled for. I think the color fading is a better technique for this reason -- there's no mystery, only muting.

I always get a laugh out of the "Income Tax For Canadians (for Dummies)" whenever I am at the bookstore. It's just a regional version of a generic book, but the "for Dummies" part is in a pretty small font.

I think the "for dummies" is both humorous (as much so as a how-to book can be) and descriptive. It's good to embrace your ignorance, that's the only way to cure it.

I always felt that "for people too busy to spend years" on the subject at hand would be a more apt description.

Too long, and lacking any sort of self-deprecating humor.

The "Been Too Busy For [X]" books would probably sell well to pointy-haired boss types who have big egos and just want the "10,000 foot view."

Reply on news.ycombinator.com