Comment by kn0where
3 years ago
Wirecutter really illustrates the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect. Some of their recommendations are fine, but whenever they review something more niche than phone charger cables, I go to the comments/Reddit/forums to find out why their pick is overpriced/underperforming compared to whatever the community prefers.
Edit: also, I’m finding Reddit to be a less useful term to append to my google searches over time. Many Reddit communities seem to attract novices who quickly learn to parrot the same frequently-upvoted claims without context, and the experts flee to niche forums instead.
I’ve noticed that problem with reddit as well. Someone will make a comment as if it is a well known fact but it turns out it was just one youtube reviewer saying it… and they don’t provide sources.
Stupid shit like this causes urban legends that don't die. People to this day still think that setting STALKER to "master difficulty" makes the player guns do more damage. They don't.
Warning: “community preferences” have plenty of their own arbitrary biases.
Reddit can be a hilarious example of the Dunning-Kruger effect writ large. I've had people argue with me about the exact working of various synthesizers in the synth subreddits, even when I've backed up my points with links to the extensive service documentation, circuit diagrams, and my own code disassembly of the firmware ;-) Like, yes, that's nice that you have an opinion, but here's the fat book I wrote on the topic, so let's see if we can work out who's right.
I've read similar comments about interactions with Wikipedia editors
Endless back-and-forth about the Ensoniq EPS being a 13-bit sampler. Yes, "13-bit" makes no sense. Yes, "13-bit" sounds really unlikely.
No, I'm looking at the Otto datasheet right now, and the 2MB memory expansion on my bench which has three rows of 4-bit DRAMs and a row of 1-bit DRAMS. Yes, definitely 13-bit.
No, I agree it makes no sense, but there you go.
I think that if a product requires that much hair splitting then at the end of the day it's a wash, pick any recommendation and live with it.
Reddit is full of shills as well.