Theme 1 – Calls for a more accessible presentation (pseudocode / concrete examples)
Many commenters felt the article would be clearer if the math were expressed in code‑like notation or walked through with a simple example.
- craftkiller: “It uses math notation. This is a software development site, wouldn't this be much more clear to this audience written as psuedo code instead of a complex series of greek and latin letters?”
- craftkiller: “It doesn't step through a concrete example. What is hollow R raised to the (M * d_v) ? Is it a number, a set, a list, a matrix?”
- fc417fc802: “Both of the original points (using mathematical notation and failing to step through concrete examples) are each things that will alienate a decent chunk of any potential audience.”
Theme 2 – Defense of the article’s suitability for HN’s intellectually curious audience
Others argued that HN’s readership includes mathematically‑savvy people and that the site values challenging content; asking to drop the notation misunderstands the site’s purpose.
- Nevermark: “Not understanding something isn’t the issue. … Asking for a mathy analysis to drop the math, fundamentally misunderstands the value of the math.”
- saghm: “I feel like I see math stuff posted here fairly often, and often with a large number of people commenting on it in substantive ways. Often times the math savvy crowd will even help explain stuff to people like me who are not particularly fluent in advanced math.”
- soulofmischief: “Have you considered that you are simply not the audience that Alex or speckx had in mind? It would be healthy to recognize this simple fact and move on while letting the intended audience (Hi! Longtime HN member for over a decade!) enjoy it.”
Theme 3 – Discussion of community norms, perceived hostility, and the advice to “move on”
The exchange highlighted differing views on how criticism is received, with some seeing downvotes as hostile and others urging the critic to accept diverse perspectives.
- craftkiller: “Perhaps, but HN apparently is pretty hostile to people explaining why something is not clear and how it could be more clear based on all the downvotes. I'll keep that in mind: 'If you don't understand something, shut up!'”
- soulofmischief: “Please do not put words in my mouth. Did I say to shut up? I said to move on, since this is clearly stressing you out, and additionally because you are ostracizing other members of the community who are just fine with this content.”
- mdp2021: “‘If you don't understand something’ Ask, but if you advance weak ideas be prepared to be hit - and be glad about it, you are advised to revise the weak ideas.”