Compared to 2011, HN turned from optimistic techno-enthusiasts who couldn't wait to see new stuff around the corner into an aging millenial club, just like reddit. I used to come here every day and talk to people, and how I hardly do it once a month.
I think it's mostly demographics. Most people my age (I'm 38) have to come to terms with the fact that their most energetic age and most of their opportunities are already behind them. When faced with uncomfortable reality, many start looking for something or somebody else to blame for this. Not only billionaires, but tens of thousands of millionaires have played their cards better than I and others like me. They had the same opportunities, sometimes even less, but they have shown better judgement, strength of character and pure talent. Admitting this is not pleasant.
You can continue to show strength of character, that isn’t something that stops.
Things are measurably darker. Hell, we went from “do no evil” being a motto for Google to being removed entirely. Early Tech had a genuine claim on trying to be better than firms that had come before.
> When faced with uncomfortable reality, many start looking for something or somebody else to blame for this.
I'm always curious as to why something that happens to 100% of humans remains 'uncomfortable.' Like there's nothing in genetic code making aging (or death, I suppose) less uncomfortable. It's kind of fascinating.
> tens of thousands of millionaires have played their cards better than I
Why would it be an unpleasant realization that you are less successful than 0.00012% of the world’s population? There is arguably something sick about a system that can make a significant number of people feel this way.