Here's a breakdown of the main themes from the Hacker News discussion about the "dreariness" map, with supporting quotes:
Subjectivity and Limitations of the "Dreariness" Index
A major theme revolves around the subjective nature of "dreariness" and the limitations of the map's methodology. Many users felt the index didn't accurately capture their personal experience of certain locations.
- "As someone who has resided both in a foggy part of San Francisco and in Portland, I feel that this index doesn't adequately capture the dreariness of some SF neighborhoods." - monkeyfacebag
- "Agreed. It doesn't seem right that San Francisco (famously foggy) is ranked less dreary than Denver (famously sunny 300 days a year* and quite arid)." - caseyohara
- "I think to adequately analyze San Francisco you need finer geographic resolution than this data allows." - madcaptenor
- The author is quoted: "Of course this methodology is completely arbitrary and far from perfect, but it is a start." - bahmboo
The Nuances of "Dreary" Weather
Several users point out that "dreariness" is more than just quantifiable metrics like rainfall or cloud cover; it involves factors like the type of weather (fine mist vs. heavy rain), the duration of dreary conditions, and the overall feeling it evokes.
- "Time frequency is an important aspect. 10 days in a row with no sun is maddening for me vs 20 days where it alternates evenly between sun ball and no sun ball." - bahmboo
- "Seattle is truly dreary." - wenc
- "This tracks. I always say about Seattle its not the rain but the gray that makes it depressing." - bilater.
- "People say it rains all the time in England, but it's not that. It's the grey that makes it depressing." - qingcharles
- "Tropical cloudy/wet doesn't feel quite the same as the 5C (~ 41F) rain/cold/dreary you get in, say, Portland Oregon that just chills you to the bone." - davidw
- "For me a good rainstorm is not necessarily dreary and endless sunshine is not necessarily un-dreary." - ninalanyon.
Subjective experience of weather
Several users relate dreary weather with lower mood.
- "I grew up in Seattle, and moved to California in large part because of the seasonal depression I would get. I'm much happier in SF." - SCUSKU
- "Seattle is probably my favorite city in the USA, but the dreary weather kills it for me." - qingcharles
The "Seattle Freeze" and Social Impact of Dreary Weather
This theme discusses the potential link between dreary weather and distinct social dynamics, particularly the phenomenon known as the "Seattle Freeze" – a perceived aloofness or difficulty in forming close relationships in Seattle.
- "Yes and no. They produce 'nice' people who are polite, but distant. Dreary places encourage introversion so people are much less warm. People are more inward looking and private. They want to mostly keep to themselves." - wenc
- "Seattle is known for Seattle Freeze. I feel this every time I return from travel to another part of the country, even parts of the country that are snowier and colder. In snowier places people have more character and they help each other out a lot more — it’s part of the culture." - wenc
- "But Seattle is just misty rain 9 months of the year. Emotionally it feel bleaker. There’s no pull to help each other out (it’s just rain) and there’s no character building through snow shoveling or brushing snow off your car to meet friends. You just don’t feel like doing anything or admitting anyone in your life." - wenc
Beyond Weather: Dreariness as Lack of Beauty
One user suggests that "dreariness" can be defined by the ugliness of the physical environment, rather than the weather, per se.
- "When I think 'dreary,' I don't think about weather. I think about ugly-ass environs." - DidYaWipe
And there follows a humorous discussion of attempting to objectively measure "fugliness" with LLMs:
- "It's harder to throw together an index of fugliness based on public data, though." - madcaptenor
- "Actually, this sounds like a great use for an LLM or even boring old machine classification. I am sure Prague and Beautiful are commonly found a few tokens apart in a training set of say, TripAdvisor forums. While "LA"/"Los Angeles" and "ugly" are likely to be similarly co-located." - anthomtb
Considering Temperature Extremes
Users suggest that extreme heat should also be factored into a "misery" index, as it can be just as limiting and unpleasant as cold, dreary weather.
- "IMHO a better model would take into account both ends of the temperature spectrum. There are days in the southwest so hot that one wouldn't think of going outside -- just as though it were rainy and/or cold." - lutusp
- "In fact, because of climate change, on days when the so-called 'wet-bulb temperature' gets to 35°C (95°F), people who dare to go outside will simply die. That day may arrive sooner than people think." - lutusp
Map Color Scheme Critique
A recurring, succinct, and biting critique is the color scheme of the map itself.
- "That is a crazy color scale. Both ends are basically red?" - xnx
- "The map colors are unique. It starts lowest as dark red, proceeds from dark red through orange, yellow, green and on into dark blue, then moves into red again for the highest value! Red is both lowest and highest!" - rendall
- "Low end of scale: dark red. High end of scale: bright red. Who makes these decisions!?!?" - levocardia