Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

> I'm surprised because I feel that HN is enriched with reasonably bright people

The biggest misconception is that an expert in some field(especially STEM) has “common sense” in other areas. My former classmate is doing a PhD in automation, but claimed vaccines are harmful and he’d rather get sick “naturally”. The same goes for politics, economics, and other fields. It’s like people can’t imagine they might be completely ignorant in the areas outside their field of work.




> biggest misconception is that an expert in some field(especially STEM) has “common sense” in other areas

Agreed. My expertise is in molecular biology / genetics and when I see those topics discussed on HN, I can ferret out the BS reasonably well.

But with other topics, I'm out of my depth.




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: