Monday, March 13th 2017
Hype Trains and You: A PSA
Hype Trains are bad. They are not just bad because a random frog on the internet told you so either, they are bad because they build upon themselves to the point that you would believe a random frog on the internet if he said something beneficial about your chosen product.
It's not just technology either. It can happen in politics, religion, whatever. But they are bad, and not to be trusted. They aren't just bad for humanity and all that, they are bad for the products they represent. Yes, they actually hurt what they are hyping. Ryzen didn't benefit from the hypetrain anymore than Trump benefited from the "Trump Train." Allow me to explain (and please, put the foam back in your mouth for me uttering "Trump" in a tech article. That's the only time I promise).
Bottom line is, hype trains take everything good and compound it, true or not. This raises expectations into the stratosphere and make them impossible to satisfy. Once the product, candidate, or what have you is brought into general existence, it will never satisfy what it has been built up to be. This leads to disappointment. Disappointment will not help sales long-term, nor ensure a safe re-election for a politician. The higher the hype, the bigger the disappointment.
I remember a game I was really hyped for circa 2003 or so. GolemLabs premier geopolitical simulator "Superpower 2." It was a game that let you control any nation on earth in modern times. It also got hyped on its own forums into the stratosphere, and guess what? When I got it, I thought it sucked really hardcore… only it didn't. Most critics ranked it as somewhat novel and mediocre, but to me, it was utter and complete garbage because I couldn't do everything they promised me on the forums, things that likely were never even on the drawing board, let alone ever implemented.
I'm still stung from that hype train. The only way a hype train can work honestly is if it is sustained by an outside force. The political example of this would be Robert Mugabe (have some Wikipedia fun there), President-until-I-say-otherwise of Zimbabwe. The interesting thing about Mugabe by the way, is his hype train is still going in elements of his country, despite him mismanaging its economy to the point he literally added 0's to his bills to "control inflation."
So, don't be an idiot, don't vote for Mugabe, and for god sake man get off that hype train before it kills all our realistic expectations. You aren't helping anyone.
EDIT: Thanks to Kerbel Space Program for the Hype Train in space image.
It's not just technology either. It can happen in politics, religion, whatever. But they are bad, and not to be trusted. They aren't just bad for humanity and all that, they are bad for the products they represent. Yes, they actually hurt what they are hyping. Ryzen didn't benefit from the hypetrain anymore than Trump benefited from the "Trump Train." Allow me to explain (and please, put the foam back in your mouth for me uttering "Trump" in a tech article. That's the only time I promise).
I remember a game I was really hyped for circa 2003 or so. GolemLabs premier geopolitical simulator "Superpower 2." It was a game that let you control any nation on earth in modern times. It also got hyped on its own forums into the stratosphere, and guess what? When I got it, I thought it sucked really hardcore… only it didn't. Most critics ranked it as somewhat novel and mediocre, but to me, it was utter and complete garbage because I couldn't do everything they promised me on the forums, things that likely were never even on the drawing board, let alone ever implemented.
I'm still stung from that hype train. The only way a hype train can work honestly is if it is sustained by an outside force. The political example of this would be Robert Mugabe (have some Wikipedia fun there), President-until-I-say-otherwise of Zimbabwe. The interesting thing about Mugabe by the way, is his hype train is still going in elements of his country, despite him mismanaging its economy to the point he literally added 0's to his bills to "control inflation."
So, don't be an idiot, don't vote for Mugabe, and for god sake man get off that hype train before it kills all our realistic expectations. You aren't helping anyone.
EDIT: Thanks to Kerbel Space Program for the Hype Train in space image.
74 Comments on Hype Trains and You: A PSA
And religion...
And race...
And sports...
You know what, forget it. People will find always find something to quarrel over. This post is not a proof to that point.
P.S: You mentioned Trump three times, not just once. >_> And leave Mugabi alone! The guy's a legend to African dictatorships!
Or may be I am just so hyped up whenever I see RTB and expect some awesome news.
:D
Also, you are supposed to cite the picture you used from interweb if this is considered an editorial piece. Give credit where it is due!
That's because I eat frog legs. (Aw, no).
It's because I don't care. Personally, I believe I have more important things to worry about than some silicon. (Mortgage anyone?)
There, now I'm sure Obama is offended too.It is a forum rant. Editorials are just fancier forum rants with grammar checks.A bit ashamed to admit, it was in a folder on my desktop and I have no idea where it came from. Tips welcome.
Half of this was written during my bout with pnumonia and under a fever, so if it's cobbled together like a feverish rant, it may be because despite my best corrective efforts, that's how it was born.
Thanks all, feedback always appreciated.I can respect that opinion. If I were to do another editorial, what would you like to see more of? Or are you opposed to editorials in general? (That's fine of course too).
This is really just a way to get an editorial out and get some thoughts off my chest at the same time. If it is not well received however, maybe I'll back away from the podium for a while. ;)
And to my employers credit, I was told to stop working but just did not listen. ;)
Oh well. You shouldn't listen to internet frogs, anyways. ;)
On another note, I think its important to acknowledge how far AMD has come and their influence in the market right now. Intel is worried, hence their odd investments outside of their own company. Yes, Ryzen was hyped, yes Vega is quite hyped, but moral of my story is that AMD truly is doing very well and has a foundation to build upon now. Competition is good for consumers and I am ecstatic to see the R5 come out.
You are one of my favorite editors here. I have been a long time member and enjoy reading the news on this thread. I check my app everyday to read updated news and reviews.
I wasn't discrediting Trump so much as making a veiled prediction at future disappointment in him, but only time will tell if that is true. I do think due to the way he "hyped" his audience, it will be, but again, strictly my opinion. ;)
I agree about AMD for the record, I just think if people had kept their expectations realistic, they may be in an even better position than they are now. Regardless, Ryzen is a huge step forward from bulldozer, no doubt.
I mean getting a unicorn to shit rainbows..Is real life :nutkick::slap::banghead:
2. Every time you mention the word "frog," I get the impression that your talking about Donald Trump more, but you aren't directly stating his name. Since the 2016 presidential election, a frog dressed up in a suit with a bad toupee is a metaphor for Donald Trump. Since there's no other moment in the past relating to a frog, I can only conclude the obvious.
3. I feel I am immune from the hype train because I have no passion for things in general. Passion meaning that you invest strong feelings towards a person, place, thing, job, product, etc... I don't see the need for passion, but on the other hand, people feel their passions are a vital key to make something or complete something to its greatest point. The question then becomes does passion really bring out the best in things or is it a delusion created by humans. I think passion plays a role in the hype train that magnifies something's value and need. Supplement a person's passion for a product with hype, and you have people who love something to the point that they will invest money in it.
4. People who don't give into the hype naturally resist or act out against it. What support their thinking is the fact that a product or brand continuously doesn't meet expectations. Bad personal experience could influence their thinking to.
5. Hype trains relating to politics has different mechanics in play. Not a lot of people realize it, but people who supports a bad or unpopular president will still support that president as if they are a saint. They'd still support that president even if said president was dropping armed nuclear bombs in their backyard. My biggest question that I would ask supporters is what did you get out of this, and sadly, the answer is simply nothing. You'd get a lot of bluster and wishy-washy reasoning that justifies why they support that president, but when you decode their messages, their indirect point is "they got not a damn thing." Just like Republicans, the main reason why people support them is because they spend a lot of money, trickle down economic occurs, but they keep saying it's the GOP, it's the grand old party lead by Lincoln and Regan. Truth is people are dictated by ignorant, delusions, and a lack of understanding of why things happen. Since Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Robert Oppenheimer were highly intellectual Americans, all American are born equally and they are assumed to be highly intelligent Nobel Prize Winners. People feel entitled that the private sector and big business is obligated to invest captia on jobs to provide a service, but the truth is, they don't need to if they can get a robot or cheap labor to do it. Republicans are helping the wealthy and big businesses to give life-support to businesses. If more jobs went down, the value of the American dollar would go down with it. Supporting these business helps buffer the effects at the expense of the poor and medium class becoming homeless or dependent on drugs. Since the Bush Jr Administration, exports have been at a all time low, and imports have been at an all time high. Since more jobs went to third world countries, the economies of other countries have improved at the expense of America getting financially worst over time.
6. If R-T-B has to invoke Trump and politic to get a rise and increase in activity on TPU, it's partially sad... Please don't deny your ulterior motive.
7. I know a lot of people don't believe in this, but Donald Trump is a Gemini, and his behavior is textbook Gemini behavior. I bet there's a lot of Gemini who would say they don't agree with this because they couldn't see such behavior in themselves. Truth is the worst in Gemini can easily be brought out, Donald Trump is a good example of the worst being brought out, and I bet a lot of people born under the sign are face-palming very hard, every day.