Reading HN is fun—a firehose of insights and intellectual candy.

But it's not work. Personal growth ("internal landscape") requires work; unfun human interaction oftentimes. Online discourse doesn't force this work; despite downvotes, flags, and angry text, it's all still in our heads and at our leisure. Whereas in-person or 1:1s force us to maintain empathy and listen— real work[1] that online spaces can only suggest, not enforce.

You could recreate that experience by researching, considering, reflecting and then interacting, but that's different work you impose on yourself. It's outside of the free online watercooler which has little power to change us beyond the ego we've invested in it.

The top commenter above, for example, used internet comments as the beginning of real-life friendships; they did the real work afterwards. Similarly, my original comment was looking more for like-minds, than to change minds; it summarizes an experience for those who've lived it but lack words for it. Though I believe my take is truth, I'm content to have my fun at one point, and do the work at another. Today, I felt like showing my work :)

[1] As a manager, this is a chunk of my job!

I think there's some truth to what you're saying - personal growth is work, and you have to be willing to put in that work. But I don't really see any reason why the medium has anything to do with it; plenty of people refuse to grow IRL too, just as some do online as well.

> Whereas in-person or 1:1s force us to maintain empathy and listen

How I wish this were true!