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Comment by notjoemama | Hacker News Reader

In reading this, I am reminded of a YouTube video by CGP Grey about how anger is more viral than any other emotional reaction online, including love. But then I think, isn't this one of those times where at least some level of annoyance is justified?

Except, there's nothing I can do about it. Does making more people aware, that can't do anything about it, improve the situation? Or is awareness pointless because of how transient it is?

And, what if the next great filter isn't great, but a series of smaller exponential filters pulled into a tight timeframe by the advancement of technology?

I probably just need more sleep.

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There is a reason to increase awareness - to put pressure on Society for Science to take action. So far they still have not made a public statement, have disabled their YouTube comments etc, and seem to just be waiting for this all to blow over.

They are taking action - the google doc has been updated to show this. They aren't taking PUBLIC action and I suspect won't make a PUBLIC statement until the investigation is over.

How about you give them some time to go through the process?

Very naive take. They have only responded to some journalist who pressured them so that it wouldn't become a news story and are claiming they're investigating. But then go on to post on Youtube, share the press release with media outlets, etc. They're clearly waiting for attention to die down without having to get any public scrutiny for this big fuck up, b/c useful idiots like you will say "they're doing something!!"

Not anger, justice.

Most of us crave justice porn, and only when I am feeling in my most generous, zen-like mood can I find fault in that.

Anger is an appropriate reaction to dishonest behavior

The anger is appropriate for the circumstance, maybe. Seeking out things to make you angry (aka social media in general) is not healthy.

If you or someone you know was in the science fair, or you were involved with it somehow. Maybe if you users just really invested in science fairs, those are all reasons to be angry. But if you are like most, this has no impact whatsoever on you or your life. At most this should provoke a shrug, a head shake, and a “that’s not right, I hope they do something.” From the vast majority of people.

I think it’s fine to be angry at the world when frauds are rewarded and celebrated. It’s not a victimless crime, and if you wish for the world to be a meritocracy, it feels like a slap in the face.

> But if you are like most, this has no impact whatsoever on you or your life.

Uh, how do you so confidently say this? Do you have a crystal ball that can see into the future? You have no idea what the honest researchers might've gone on to accomplish in the future as a result of winning these competitions. One of them might literally change the world (including your life) for the better if they don't get discouraged along the way through witnessing fraudsters win like this. That's literally the point of these competitions -- to increase the chances of someone making a world-changing discovery or invention down the road. You should absolutely be angry if some of the brightest minds that could solve your current problems are actively being turned away from doing so.

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