Are you suggesting that a knack for timing and an ability to deliver something that others value might be individual qualities which YC might wish to develop in potential applicants who participate on HN?
In academia this is becoming a common strategy with the rise of metrics. Find a hot area, publish a paper with a linkbaity title and prominent keyword placement, and wait for the citations to roll in. In business, it's the strategy of choosing your field of endeavor by picking the places where the most money is flowing around, and then just doing something average in that space.