[HN Meta] Comments aren't ranked by upvotes. The stuff at the top has a combination of upvotes, recency, and a poster with a high average comment rating (discounting their most recent X comments). So if someone who is typically insightful posts something inane, it will still appear near the top.

(Edit: not that I actually think the original comment was inane. Forgot context when I wrote this -- sorry!)

The irony is that your comment typifies the common reply to said reddit comments: "omg this is the top comment in a /r/WorldNews thread? I had to check if I was in /r/AdviceAnimals..."