10 ms·

All the moonwalkers were men, all were American, all but one were Boy Scouts, and almost all listened to country-and-Western music on their way to the moon The

All the moonwalkers were men, all were American, all but one were Boy Scouts, and almost all listened to country-and-Western music on their way to the moon These writers just can't help themselves. It's part of their hive-mind checklist.

wowzap 7y ago
The New Yorker is trash, the real crime is that people take it seriously.
- sctb 7y ago
  We'd prefer to hear some of your more substantive thoughts, please. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
52-6F-62 7y ago
It's a lengthy article and that's your takeaway? Seems rather tangential, doesn't it? I wouldn't have even noticed the remark if you hadn't pointed it out.
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  > Seems rather tangential, doesn't it? I think that's the GP's point. It adds nothing relevant to the article but the author still mentions it for reasons which the GP is speculating about.
  - 52-6F-62 7y ago
    In communications that's typically referred to as an aside. It would be a bit of information the author wants the reader to be aware of (for any number of reasons including context of either the subject or the author's perspective), but doesn't want to make the focus of the messaging. It's a common device in writing. I implied it was tangential (and consequentially implied: counterproductive) to inflate the relevance of an aside.
Consultant32452 7y ago
This is a new form of white supremacy, where the article author goes out of their way to mention the white race in association with accomplishments. I find the trend to be extremely creepy. Edit: clarifying I mean the article author
- Jtsummers 7y ago
  Are you referring to the article with this comment?
  - Consultant32452 7y ago
    Yes, the article.
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  To be fair the author was the one who mentioned it first. I tend to agree with the GP here. The lack diversity cred of a bunch of dudes 60yr ago is not really worth mentioning. It has no bearing on the content of the article and only serves as a distraction from the main subject. Considering who the author[0] is I don't think this was an attempt to "point out the accomplishments of the white race" or something like that. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivka_Galchen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivka_Galchen
  - Iv 7y ago
    I read it as "this is the society that it was. That's how long it was." The 60s were the decade of the space program and of desegregation in school.
  - pjc50 7y ago
    It was certainly commented on at the time: https://genius.com/Gil-scott-heron-whitey-on-the-moon-annotated https://genius.com/Gil-scott-heron-whitey-on-the-moon-annota... The moon landing program ran concurrently with civil rights conflict on the ground.
  - Consultant32452 7y ago
TuringNYC 7y ago
This is a New Yorker article, so it has a literary bent in terms of details and descriptions typical of long-form publication. That is what New Yorker subscribers want. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-form_journalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-form_journalism For straight-to-the-science, Wikipedia or other publications are better. There is a publication for most major preferences. I used to love the detail of The New Yorker when i was single and had lots of time (former paper subscriber here, and current consumer via Audm.)
- godelmachine 7y ago
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization_of_the_Moon https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization_of_the_Moon
- username223 7y ago
  If I have time to read about some unusual subject purely for enjoyment, it's hard to beat the New Yorker. I still remember a truly wonderful pair of articles years ago about a road-trip across Russia (written by Ian Frazier?). They allowed me to experience a place I'll never visit, and I enjoyed the trip. If I just want information, I'll go to Wikipedia, Stack Overflow, etc., search for some keywords, skim it, and close the tab. Writing can be used for many purposes.
- StevePerkins 7y ago
  I don't believe parent comment is saying that the description is too literary, or not scientific enough. I think he's saying that the article takes unnecessary pains to signal, "These people weren't 'on our side' culturally". Unsophisticated, un-woke, "problematic", etc. Parent is correct that his has become a checklist trope over the past few years.
neogodless 7y ago
And what, NO mention of the Corvettes most of them drove?!

wowzap 7y ago

The New Yorker is trash, the real crime is that people take it seriously.

sctb 7y ago
We'd prefer to hear some of your more substantive thoughts, please. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

52-6F-62 7y ago

It's a lengthy article and that's your takeaway? Seems rather tangential, doesn't it? I wouldn't have even noticed the remark if you hadn't pointed it out.

dsfyu404ed 7y ago
> Seems rather tangential, doesn't it? I think that's the GP's point. It adds nothing relevant to the article but the author still mentions it for reasons which the GP is speculating about.
- 52-6F-62 7y ago
  In communications that's typically referred to as an aside. It would be a bit of information the author wants the reader to be aware of (for any number of reasons including context of either the subject or the author's perspective), but doesn't want to make the focus of the messaging. It's a common device in writing. I implied it was tangential (and consequentially implied: counterproductive) to inflate the relevance of an aside.

Consultant32452 7y ago

This is a new form of white supremacy, where the article author goes out of their way to mention the white race in association with accomplishments. I find the trend to be extremely creepy. Edit: clarifying I mean the article author

Jtsummers 7y ago
Are you referring to the article with this comment?
- Consultant32452 7y ago
  Yes, the article.
dsfyu404ed 7y ago
To be fair the author was the one who mentioned it first. I tend to agree with the GP here. The lack diversity cred of a bunch of dudes 60yr ago is not really worth mentioning. It has no bearing on the content of the article and only serves as a distraction from the main subject. Considering who the author[0] is I don't think this was an attempt to "point out the accomplishments of the white race" or something like that. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivka_Galchen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivka_Galchen
- Iv 7y ago
  I read it as "this is the society that it was. That's how long it was." The 60s were the decade of the space program and of desegregation in school.
- pjc50 7y ago
  It was certainly commented on at the time: https://genius.com/Gil-scott-heron-whitey-on-the-moon-annotated https://genius.com/Gil-scott-heron-whitey-on-the-moon-annota... The moon landing program ran concurrently with civil rights conflict on the ground.
- Consultant32452 7y ago

TuringNYC 7y ago

This is a New Yorker article, so it has a literary bent in terms of details and descriptions typical of long-form publication. That is what New Yorker subscribers want. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-form_journalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-form_journalism For straight-to-the-science, Wikipedia or other publications are better. There is a publication for most major preferences. I used to love the detail of The New Yorker when i was single and had lots of time (former paper subscriber here, and current consumer via Audm.)

godelmachine 7y ago
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization_of_the_Moon https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization_of_the_Moon
username223 7y ago
If I have time to read about some unusual subject purely for enjoyment, it's hard to beat the New Yorker. I still remember a truly wonderful pair of articles years ago about a road-trip across Russia (written by Ian Frazier?). They allowed me to experience a place I'll never visit, and I enjoyed the trip. If I just want information, I'll go to Wikipedia, Stack Overflow, etc., search for some keywords, skim it, and close the tab. Writing can be used for many purposes.
StevePerkins 7y ago
I don't believe parent comment is saying that the description is too literary, or not scientific enough. I think he's saying that the article takes unnecessary pains to signal, "These people weren't 'on our side' culturally". Unsophisticated, un-woke, "problematic", etc. Parent is correct that his has become a checklist trope over the past few years.

neogodless 7y ago

And what, NO mention of the Corvettes most of them drove?!