

Ask HN: What's the point with so many stupid people in the world? - noduerme

Have you ever tried to sit and write code in a bar? It's nice. It's a hell of a lot more conducive to creativity than working in an office cubicle. You got your drink, you got your smoke. You sit at a table with wifi and a plug and you're invincible until about six drinks in. You look out over the patio at the mountains and you think...this is what life's all about.<p>Then at about 6pm the soccer game starts. Suddenly, the owner of the bar comes out and unplugs your laptop, turns on the TV, and cranks the volume up to 7000000. Even though there's no one there. You say, "Man, that's too loud." And he says, "when they show up, that's what they're gonna want."<p>Sure enough, about 3 minutes before the game starts, the patio goes from empty to packed. People are trying to move your table, your laptop bag. Then suddenly they're all staring, slackjawed, at this stupid TV that's blasting the same shitty commercials it was showing yesterday, last week, last month.<p>HN readers, I'm sitting in that bar right now, trying to write a piece of code that crosses a Quaternion with a euler matrix. Why? I'm an alcoholic. My girlfriend has a massive infection, and I'm stuck in a tourist town until we can travel again. Why? Because I smoke. Because I won't work in an office. Because I hate doing anything on anybody's schedule other than mine.<p>Every night for a week, my nice quiet place has been invaded by British YOBs that just scream and howl at the soccer game on TV as if it means SHIT. They're all here on vacation, and their flight cost about 30 pounds. And you know what? I finally understand what it means that there are too many people on Earth and nothing to do with them. If I had to watch any two of these people having sex with each other, it would probably fuck me up for the rest of my life. What do you do? You can't kill them.. you can't make them work more than 50 weeks a year... my GOD man... could anything be a bigger waste of AIR???
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winsbe01
i understand your frustration. however, like you said, they're on _vacation_ ;
one of the great things about that is you can relax and be yourself, and if
you enjoy hollering at football in a bar, more power to ya!

there are plenty of very smart, dedicated people i know who work hard all day,
but once quitting time comes they want sports and beer. they're not a waste of
space for indulging; they work hard doing important things, and enjoy
themselves when they're done.

sounds like you're frustrated with the overall situation, though (stuck in a
foreign town, girlfriend is sick, etc.). you may find yourself more resilient
if things weren't so stressful in life!

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IanDrake
You suffer from depression. Go see a doctor and stop self medicating with
alcohol.

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noduerme
For all I know, you suffer from being a sanctimonious snob with a pathological
obsession for impersonating medical professionals, and you should be tied to a
chair and fed fruit loops 18 hours a day.

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IanDrake
Yes, what was I thinking... you seem perfectly balanced.

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noduerme
BTW -- how about addressing the point? You got a vested interest in idiots
watching soccer or something? You took the wrong left turn at Albuquerque when
you aimed at my intelligence or mental acuity, so let's try why you feel a
reflexive impulse to defend idiotic behavior to the degree that your first
instinct is to attack anybody who points it out? What's your deal, anyway? Who
the hell are you?

~~~
rhizome
Lash out for perceived slights much?

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kunley
Well, there are over billion people on this planet living their daily lives
according to a religion which states that beating your wife is an excellent
idea.

Does that frustrate you more?

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getonit
It's a public place - you probably should be somewhat less surprised and/or
begrudging when it fills up with members of the public (and that's regardless
of whether or not they are your kind of people, too).

