[arjie]

Internet comments, and HN is no exception, are often about proving how smart the writer of the comment is. But I feel like it's the opposite of what you describe: Discussions on complex technical subjects are sparse because only the well informed can participate.

Posts like this one spawn larger threads because everyone has an opinion that sounds plausible. It's sort of the same phenomenon that leads to a problem requiring great expertise to understand and solve having lower votes on Stack Overflow compared to something telling you to add a semicolon.

Still, optimizing for fewest comments while successfully describing the subject sounds like a great strategy.