Top all-time · #7532
Kung Fu Monkey
Personal blog · kfmonkey.blogspot.comculturewriting
Kung Fu Monkey is a personal blog at kfmonkey.blogspot.com about culture and writing. Since 2008, 11 different Hacker News readers have linked it 14 times. The last post was in 2015, but the archive is still widely read.
Too few sampled comments (12) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
HN readers link Kung Fu Monkey mainly for the 'crazification factor', the idea that about 27% of voters back the stupidest option, and for a 2009 quote mocking Atlas Shrugged versus The Lord of the Rings.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 12 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Your monkey's Kung Fu is not strong ...
Most-linked posts?
- /2009/03/ephemera-2009-7.html4 people · 6 mentions · first linked 2010-03-04
- /2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html2 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2020-09-16
- /2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2026-08-22
What Hacker News says?
It's the "crazification factor", which is the idea that 27% of the American population will always vote for the stupidest option. So, that 27% is Trump's true floor. He's pretty close to it. https://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efxV1-2rQ2o
Comment linking /2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html
on “Canada will match US tariffs 'dollar for dollar' as trade talks break down”Submitted Bookending as a story · 2 points
HN discussionThat's only 25% of people in general.. round up to 27% and you've got the Alan Keyes Crazification Factor. http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-c...
Comment linking /2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html
on “Remembering my father”Submitted Veronica Mars Kickstarter thoughts as a story · 1 points
HN discussionYou seem to be unaware that Jimbo Wales was an avowed Rand disciple when he set up Wikipedia. Her views of how societies should be organized were very much the model for how Wikipedia initially was organized.[1] (For once, a link to Wikipedia is probably the best I could do for sourcing this statement.) Mr. Wales may not have exactly the same point of view today as he had then, and FOR SURE he is quite interested in…
Comment linking /2009/03/ephemera-2009-7.html
on “Xeer”> almost unheard of in the US for an elected politician to poll lower than 30%, it seems to be a floor Alan Keyes apparently set the floor at 27%, which is not far below 30% > Obama vs. Alan Keyes. ... Keyes was plainly, obviously, completely crazy. But 27% of the population of Illinois voted for him. They put party identification, personal prejudice, whatever ahead of rational judgement. https://kfmonkey.blogspot.c…
Comment linking /2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html
on “Dutch central bank moves share of gold from U.S., Canada to London”"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." - Kung Fu Monkey http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/03/ephemera-2009…
Comment linking /2009/03/ephemera-2009-7.html
on “How not to get acquired”Since almost all the comments in this thread are about Ayn Rand rather than about other details of the submitted article, I may as well share here from Kung Fu Monkey "Ephemera 2009 (7)" http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/03/ephemera-2009-7.html a quotation I may have learned about first here on HN: "There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One…
Comment linking /2009/03/ephemera-2009-7.html
on “The world is socialist”http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-c... I’ve felt like Capt. Obvious since then. I don’t understand why people are shocked about anything.
Comment linking /2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html
on “Ask HN: What’s the most outrageous belief you’re confident is true?”"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/03/ephemera-2009-7.html
Comment linking /2009/03/ephemera-2009-7.html
on “Ayn Rand Mike Wallace Interview 1959”> There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs. http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/03/ephemera-2009-7.html
Comment linking /2009/03/ephemera-2009-7.html
on “Don’t Make Fun of Renowned Dan Brown (2013)”There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs. (Source: http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/03/ephemera-2009-7.html )
Comment linking /2009/03/ephemera-2009-7.html
on “Previewing the Atlas Shrugged Movie”http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-c...
Comment linking /2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html
on “Brexit Backlash: Brits Now Regret Their Populist Revolt”Which is right in line with the "crazification factor": https://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-... The relevant quote: > Obama vs. Alan Keyes. Keyes was from out of state, so you can eliminate any established political base; both candidates were black, so you can factor out racism; and Keyes was plainly, obviously, completely crazy. Batshit crazy. Head-trauma crazy. But 27% of the population of…
Comment linking /2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html?m=1
on “US F-15E jet confirmed shot down over Iran as Tehran releases wreckage images”
