[s_gourichon]

> I have done this twice, tried different tact twice more, and been downvoted or ignored every time.

You should have tried this: "This weird trick by a dad sorts in linear time. Check it out!" Proven to work on so many ad-ridden clickbait websites, so why shouldn't it work on HN? ;-)

[KirinDave]

"I don't want to live on this planet anymore."

[s_gourichon]

I don't know if your comment is humour in reply to my humour, or if you're actually kinda hurt. So let's err on the safe side.

The short comment "weird trick" that you replied to was just a joke intending to yield a smile to readers, including you. Actually I liked the "speed limit" way you previously used to submit the paper on HN.

That said, I skimmed through the article you mention and found it to look serious and instructive (from my experience getting a Ph.D. in computer science / robotics, yet nothing does not guarantee anything) yet needing to allocate a serious time slot for actual understanding. Many people, even on HN, don't upvote due to complexity, yet it was right to submit it. A number of other insightful comments were written in this thread, thanks for them. Also, your ELI5 explanations are interesting.

My current feeling is like: this sort/discriminator stuff is probably valuable, though it will start usage in demanding situations. It may also eventually be used, without their users even knowing, as a private implementation detail of some data structure in high-level languages. Wait and see.

Back to feelings, this planet has some drawbacks but all in all it's worth it. B612 is too small, we're better here. You can expect good things from HN an similar communities but don't expect too much. Try to refrain from complaining, this feeds the negative part of you and readers as human nature tends to stick bad karma to the ones who complain. Also, when disappointed try to not misattribute causes and favor doubt. Feed the positive part of life.

[KirinDave]

I understood your joke. I was making a reference to a famous episode if Futurama.

I can't bring myself to clickbait genuine science and math.