[0x0nyandesu]

Recently every thread on HN about life and death has been devolving into a debate with people who insist that these things need to be addressed in the comments and those that simply don't care. It's honestly exhausting.

It's sort of like making food and having someone at the table try to discuss the morality of the meat you're using.... Except it's every. single. time.

Lab mice are killed off everyday after experiments end even if there's nothing wrong with them. Excuse me if I don't lose any sleep over this experiment.

[marcodiego]

A provocative and bad argument in favor of animal experimentation I heard is: "Animal experiments increase our life by X years. What each does with this extra time is a personal question."

[antiterra]

Who cares if it’s every single time? It’s not exactly a feat of mental endurance to handle it.

I have a mental debate about animal-based testing/clothes/food on a regular basis, as I do about many choices I make that have a potential moral cost. I still often make those choices, and I don’t lose sleep over it. However, I believe regularly questioning one’s own viewpoints, habits and situation is a strength.

The assumption that it’s being done simply to draw attention is an unreasonable and condescending dismissal.

[atian]

It’s a sanity check. Can we afford to not do X? because thank God there is some commonality in disgust. Clearly not at the moment, but I doubt even the original authors of those comments care more than you do.

It’s a feature and not a bug.

[0x0nyandesu]

The people insisting on this just want to use HN as their megaphone. There is no debate. They have already made up their minds.

It comes off about as well as an insufferable teenager at Thanksgiving dinner. Some feature.

[modeless]

I mean, that's 99% of internet comments. There are many topics I disagree with the HN majority (or vocal minority) on, and it becomes tiresome to see the same old stuff rehashed in every article when it's mostly off topic. But if we didn't allow people to comment unless they were genuinely open to having their mind changed about something, there would be no comments.

If you debate someone on the internet, you will never change their mind. But you might influence the opinion of someone else who reads your comments, and that's the best you can hope for.

Also, when a large number of people are wrong about something, there is often an opportunity of some kind associated with that. An investing opportunity, a career opportunity, a startup opportunity. When you see what others don't it can be a big advantage. So, embrace it.

[ErikVandeWater]

You said in your first comment it "devolves into a debate." Now you're saying there is no debate. Poor consistency/word choice also lowers the value of HN discussion.

[0x0nyandesu]

Person A: this is not a good venue to have a debate.

Person B: yes it is

debate ensues

Person B: I thought you were against debates.

Picard facepalm

You know I dated someone with bipolar disorder once. It went exactly like this. It's funny that HN threads exhibit the same behaviors.

[ErikVandeWater]

Comedy at its finest! You've cast yourself as the person arguing that HN is a poor place for debates.