Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

It tells me that the team behind this project have merits, they are experienced. It’s not some random people who had an idea. They probably saw a market for something.



i normally don't use appeal to authority as a form of evidence. The project/product should stand on its own merits, regardless of pedigree.


Absolutely, and that’s a valid point. But to me, seeing who’s behind a product or project is interesting and sometimes helpful.

For example (might be a bad one), the Astro.build project was a random project to me at first sight, but after digging into it I learned that it’s the same people (Fred Schott) behind Snowpack!

So then this turned into something very interesting. Why? Because now I know that Astro is backed by people who have a good knowledge of running a project, and years later my gut feeling was right.


> years later my gut feeling was right

and that's confirmation bias. what you haven't seen are the myriad of projects backed by reputable people that failed. So next time, your gut feeling is going to give you a misinformed truth.

It's why i always point out each time someone appeals to authority. It's annoying i know, but i think a lot of people just don't think about their own biases.


That’s a fair point but I would not agree on your assumption of me not witnessing failed projects, I think you were too quick to call it confirmation bias.

I have had wrong on multiple occasions and ended up depending on an abandoned project. I understand the message you’re trying to convey, someone fully relying on authority is a complete wrong approach. BUT I do think looking at someone’s or somethings past can help you get a little insight, just a little.


It’s both confirmation bias and appeal to authority, however, you can’t fully remove those biases anyway. the best you can do is just be aware of them and scrutinise projects despite their pedigree, or your previous experience. (It’s clear that you also understand this, no i’m in no way disagreeing with you)




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: