This cliché comment and the subthread it spawned are an example of the direction we don't want threads to go on HN. That's why we have guidelines like the following, all of which you broke rather egregiously. Can you please not do that on this site in the future? If you don't find articles about psychology books interesting there are countless other things to read here.
"Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something."
"When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. 'That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3' can be shortened to '1 + 1 is 2, not 3."
I was unaware that we’re not allowed to critique posts. My comment was highly upvoted before you flagged it, so clearly the community was fine with it.
I didn’t call anyone names, and this isn’t a “flamebait” topic, so I don’t know what you mean by “egregious” violation.
Thoughtful critique is fine; this is about comment quality. I'm afraid the sort of generic dismissal you posted, repeating what has become a cliché while adding no new information, does not clear the quality bar. "The community was fine with it" is unfortunately not dispositive—indignant repetition of clichés routinely attracts upvotes. This is a failure mode of the upvoting system (https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&so...).
Re calling names, it isn't that you called anyone names personally, it's that words like "pseudoscience" and "fiction" count as name-calling in the way you used them, since you didn't actually make an argument. Actually if one removes name-calling in this sense, there's almost nothing left of your comment, except perhaps the last sentence, and even that seems more an expression of disdain than a substantive contribution.
How is it cliche? Phychology has a well known issue with replication. Is that not worth discussing? There was actually a ton of info in this thread that you wiped.
I don’t see how your comment attacking me clears the bar you claim exists here. I can’t call this pseudoscience but you can call me cliche? That’s a blatant double standard. You’re a mod, you shouldn’t even be commenting.
I also notice I was singled out for this flag even though others in this thread made the exact same point.
Cliché comments are often about well-known things. The point is that once something has been repeated often enough, simply repeating it again without adding new information makes for a low-quality post.
"Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something."
"When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. 'That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3' can be shortened to '1 + 1 is 2, not 3."
"Eschew flamebait. Avoid generic tangents."
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html