I think there are two questions here we need tease out:
1. Are enough science stories being submitted? If not, why not?
2. What happens to the science stories when they are submitted?
I can't answer the first question (anyone got data?) but from experience submitting a few science stories is that they get a couple of votes and die. This, I think, is an interesting observation.
The hint of an answer also comes from my experience: I get my science news fix elswhere. HN, to me, is about things that make me think harder/better or see the world in a new way. Granted that's not always the case, but the gems here outclass any gem elsewhere I've seen.
So what think is happening is that we don't care for mainstream science news. I think for a science story to survive here, it needs to be a slightly off the beaten path subject with a very clever title - hackers are humans after all and headlines can affect them emotionally to get them to up vote.
1. Are enough science stories being submitted? If not, why not?
2. What happens to the science stories when they are submitted?
I can't answer the first question (anyone got data?) but from experience submitting a few science stories is that they get a couple of votes and die. This, I think, is an interesting observation.
The hint of an answer also comes from my experience: I get my science news fix elswhere. HN, to me, is about things that make me think harder/better or see the world in a new way. Granted that's not always the case, but the gems here outclass any gem elsewhere I've seen.
So what think is happening is that we don't care for mainstream science news. I think for a science story to survive here, it needs to be a slightly off the beaten path subject with a very clever title - hackers are humans after all and headlines can affect them emotionally to get them to up vote.