You mean why does it load instantly, pulling 100K, and not need JS and Disqus for comments? After a makeover it'll want to pull 2M+ for a short piece of text and 5M if there's a few images.
Like with HN I prefer speed and simple for a text medium over watching it assemble load on demand JPGs like we're on dialup. :)
You could style it up a bit for sure - on the other hand, that thing loads fast and is readable well. Reading it on a FullHD screen actually shows content instead of "cool" empty space where you have to scroll like a crazy man.
There are too many pages in the current mainstream that make the fan of my i7-laptop spin up to the max just look fancy.
Like with HN I prefer speed and simple for a text medium over watching it assemble load on demand JPGs like we're on dialup. :)