from Hacker News

I'm choosing euthanasia etd 1pm. I have no last words.

by alpeb on 10/4/16, 10:50 AM with 277 comments

  • by jwildeboer on 10/4/16, 11:53 AM

    I have known Pieter since around 2002. We didn't meet or talk that often, but usually we would have a fun few hours every FOSDEM. On one of those occasions we defined "our" religion, stallmanism.com Pieter transferred the site and domain to me a few days ago.

    In the past few months I have been almost obsessed with consuming everything he wrote and published. It is exactly my way of thinking. Of questioning reality and turning it upside down so it works even better.

    I will miss him. And I will continue to learn from him. We all knew this was going to happen, he was most transparent in keeping us informed about it. So I am sad, yes. But I am also immensely grateful and positive.

    Pieter, it was an honour and a privilege to have shared time with you. Peace for you.

  • by escapologybb on 10/4/16, 2:35 PM

    I have a degenerative spinal condition, 38 years old, no idea if/when the degeneration will reach the point where I need to use a ventilator or when my faculties will dip below a certain point on the [CGS][1].

    But when these things start looking more imminent, I hope I have the courage to do what he has just done, I really do.

    Incredibly brave decision.

    [1]:http://www.glasgowcomascale.org/

    Edited to Add: Added link to the Glasgow Coma Scale, shouldn't have assumed knowledge of it.

  • by LeanderK on 10/4/16, 11:37 AM

    This keeps me up at night. I hope the collective advancement in science makes it possible to defeat cancer some day. I believe/hope that my contribution as a insignificant CS-student helps somebody develop tools that help somebody researching etc.

    I am really convinced that every advancement is connected somehow and the collective improvement in efficiency and livings standards makes it possible to commit more resources and train even more students to work on hard problems.

    Even the work on something unrelated like React might somehow help if you observe humanity as a whole.

    Also f*ck cancer (i read the guidelines and i found no statue against insulting cancer, if there is a user named cancer its a misunderstanding and you should really consider changing your username)

  • by dmichulke on 10/4/16, 11:53 AM

    If I were going to die, I'd feel very sad but not because of me nor because of my wife or friends. They are adults and they must deal with this.

    I'd feel that I let down my children and couldn't give them a happy and careless childhood without having to deal with the cruelty of reality.

    So, may his kids have the strength to deal with it without losing their light-heartedness.

  • by tostitos1979 on 10/4/16, 1:55 PM

    Pieter: I don't know if you are reading Hacker News at this point or not. Most likely not. I respect your rights and understand the challenge you are faced with. We don't know each other but your work has touched me profoundly as a fellow technologist. All I have to say is I am crying at the moment. I'm crying because I feel very helpless. As a fellow human I am unable to do anything to help you. I am sorry.

  • by happy-go-lucky on 10/4/16, 2:56 PM

    From the article Confessions of a Necromancer:

    if you have the trust of your client, and s/he has real power, you have done half the work already.

    don't make stuff and then try to sell it unless you are growing an existing client base.

    breaking into markets you don't know is probably impossible.

    Build up trust with the client and sometimes they will reward you for it.

    When you've paid for all the mistakes, you should know how to do it right the next time.

    A good specification lets diverse people work together without confusion or conflict.

    If you can test each piece alone, and you have reliable ways of putting them together, the whole should work.

    Don't be afraid to charge the real cost.

    be aware of your expenditure and manage your losses. You can survive a long time with less income if you are in tight control of what you spend.

    What's good software? Good software is used by people to solve real problems. Good software saves people money, or makes them a profit. It can be buggy, incomplete, undocumented, slow. Yet it can also be good. You can always make good software better yet it's only worth doing when it's already good.

  • by boothead on 10/4/16, 11:14 AM

    I've been completely blown away with Pieter's courage and willingness to share his journey. I hope I have 10% the dignity when my time comes!

  • by giis on 10/4/16, 12:36 PM

    I don't know you, Just read http://hintjens.com/blog:115

    Thanks for the your contributions and sharing the journey.

    To fellow HN users: Please check out "Think of the Children" and donate if possible. thanks!

  • by k_sze on 10/4/16, 1:18 PM

    Having recently started using ZeroMQ at work, I must admit that Pieter gave the world a really elegant message queue solution.

    The world is losing another great hacker.

    Would a black bar be considered?

  • by nathell on 10/4/16, 11:09 AM

    Context: http://hintjens.com/blog:115 and other recent posts by Pieter.

  • by woliveirajr on 10/4/16, 11:34 AM

    Few hours ago there were this discussion on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12631488

    And now we have this tweet from someone I respect very much, someone who took part of his time too tell his feelings on how you could/should treat someone that is having his final moments.

  • by kls on 10/4/16, 7:05 PM

    Just wanted to mention that in previous posts Pieter mentioned that donations (he was not soliciting them) for his kids and family could be sent via PayPal to ph@imatix.com . I did not know him personally so I cannot speak for his situation, but in those posts it was apparent that he was not a wealthy man (my take on the conversation). I could not imagine leaving my children to fend for themselves in this world. It struck me that our children are so similar in ages.

  • by DanielBMarkham on 10/4/16, 11:06 AM

    I find this post along with the comments unsettling, but I am unable to articulate why. (It is not the choice, nor the announcement of the choice. There is something about the dynamic here that doesn't sit right with me. Apologies for my failure to elaborate.) I wish him the best and deeply appreciate his sharing part of his journey.

  • by jwildeboer on 10/4/16, 5:38 PM

    I'm a bit sad that so many here go on tangents instead of finding out what Pieter really is/was about. Trust me, when you go through his blog entries at hintjens.com and read his books, you will find yourself in a magic wonderland of better ways to program and be happy. This is not a sad day.

  • by paparush on 10/4/16, 4:57 PM

    Glad he was a citizen in a society humane enough to let people choose this final option.

  • by wslh on 10/4/16, 2:37 PM

    He has left us a lot of work. I knew about ZeroMQ, "The Psychopath Code" [1], "The Devil's Wiki" [2], could we make a summary here as a tribute?

    [1] https://github.com/hintjens/psychopathcode

    [2] http://wiki.hintjens.com/

  • by sgt on 10/4/16, 12:46 PM

    I don't know much about Pieter but when I first read ZeroMQ's documentation it became clear he's an exceptionally talented individual.

  • by b3lvedere on 10/4/16, 12:40 PM

    Goodbye Pieter.

    (This really hits me, since my brother in law may be about to do the same in a few weeks.. days perhaps.)

  • by esoteric_nonces on 10/4/16, 11:15 AM

    Pieter,

    Thank you. For everything. I'm sure the rest of the community shares my opinion that you've contributed so much to the field.

    For all that it matters, I wish you a pleasant departure.

  • by gravypod on 10/4/16, 3:41 PM

    When does a computer scientist stop being a computer scientist?

    It's sad seeing Bob and Alice used in such a morbid context but at least we know we'll be thinking in terms of protocol, complexity, and CS even on our death beds. It's something that will never leave us.

    I've read very little of his work. I think I'll change that.

  • by jrockway on 10/4/16, 11:54 AM

    This is where we are all headed. Few of us will choose the time and place.

  • by mehdix on 10/4/16, 12:51 PM

    Like many others, I've never met him, but he has touched my soul.

    I enjoyed his writings on community building most. He himself being a very approachable person, taught me everything we do is about people, not software. I'll definitely miss him in the days to come.

    Peace Peter.

  • by 0x54MUR41 on 10/4/16, 2:48 PM

    I don't know what to say. I just knew Pieter Hintjens when he wrote posts about his condition, fighting cancer that he has. By that time, I also just knew that you're a great man behind ZeroMQ. I used your works and it's such an amazing library.

    Thank you for being transparent about your condition. It makes me to remind about death. I am sorry. Thank you for contributing everything what you have done for people in the world.

    Peace Pieter. You will be missed.

  • by chriswwweb on 10/4/16, 3:46 PM

    This should remind us that life can be short and will end one day anyway. So we should try to enjoy every bit of it and don't waste time with bullshit.

    R.I.P. Pieter Hintjens. For more about Pieter Hintjens check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieter_Hintjens

  • by happy-go-lucky on 10/4/16, 1:23 PM

    Fighting Cancer http://hintjens.com/blog:123

    Heart-wrenching.

  • by frederikvs on 10/4/16, 12:22 PM

    Sad to read this. And actually also a bit surprised, considering that 2 weeks ago he posted an article that mentioned "This is a short book more than an article. I'll continue to revise it over time, according to your comments."

    http://hintjens.com/blog:125

  • by rcarmo on 10/4/16, 8:18 PM

    I was kind of expecting a black bar on HN by now, but the comments here are more of a statement of how much people respected him than any symbol.

  • by tonetheman on 10/4/16, 11:24 AM

    ZeroMQ and his work are amazing. He will be missed.

  • by jprzybyl on 10/4/16, 8:30 PM

    I've never met Pieter, but I have enormous respect for him. His writing is some of the most insightful there is, and it changed my thinking on a lot of things, especially outside of computer science.

    He finished his book Confessions of a Necromancer recently. It's well worth a read:

    https://www.gitbook.com/book/hintjens/confessions-of-a-necro...

    I don't really know what to say anymore. I will always admire him.

  • by aban on 10/4/16, 1:20 PM

    Just watching Pieter's interview with Adam:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApqI9XLRk4k

    Thank you for the journey, Pieter.

  • by Skylled on 10/4/16, 2:48 PM

    It makes me sad that I'm only becoming aware of this man and his work through the announcement of his chosen death.

    Thank you HN for exposing me to worlds I would never otherwise discover.

    On a personal note, I definitely will be using 0MQ in all my future projects. As a matter of fact, I'm glad I found it exactly this moment.

  • by staticshock on 10/4/16, 6:04 PM

    If anyone here hasn't listened to his "protocol for dying" episode of The Changelog from several months ago, you really should: https://changelog.com/205/

  • by jMyles on 10/4/16, 3:47 PM

    Pieter, I always really appreciate the conversation here. It was a pleasure to have the back-and-forth with you on HN. Your username is one of the few that I routinely recognize and it will definitely be missed.

  • by luckydude on 10/5/16, 1:59 AM

    I'm pretty astounded at how some pretty cool guy's decision to die has morphed into people talking about themselves.

    I'm a geek, I sort of get it, but aren't the people talking about themselves and their choices and their views even slightly ashamed? Could we have a fucking moment to just honor this guy? I don't even know him, I'm just cringing.

  • by bryanwbh on 10/5/16, 1:17 PM

    I got to know Pieter, as I was listening The ChangeLog's podcast and his sharing was amazing.

    Thank you Pieter and rest in peace.

  • by aws_ls on 10/5/16, 9:21 AM

    I was moved by his blog post, few weeks back, on HN. As a token of my respect, I just bought his book, The psychopath code[1]

    [1] http://hintjens.com/blog:_psychopaths

  • by bogomipz on 10/4/16, 1:46 PM

    I discovered his writing only recently. What a great thinker and a brave person. This is sad news.

  • by dmitripopov on 10/4/16, 2:56 PM

    Brilliant mind, exceptional work.

  • by maubalpes on 10/4/16, 4:23 PM

  • by bouh on 10/4/16, 7:13 PM

    His post on living systems is absolutely great, just discovered thanks to his thread...

    http://hintjens.com/blog:74

  • by amyjess on 10/4/16, 3:34 PM

    Pieter,

    I don't know you, and I don't even know who you are, but my heart goes out to you. Nobody should have to suffer in pain, and I deeply respect you for taking control of your last moments.

    Fare thee well.

  • by iuliandita on 10/4/16, 2:38 PM

  • by asheinfeld on 10/4/16, 2:38 PM

    Godspeed Pieter, thanks for everything! See you on the other side

  • by andrewvijay on 10/4/16, 4:10 PM

    Very saddening to hear something like this. But after knowing his work in software it's even more hurting. Rest in peace sir. You have our deepest respects.

  • by mobiuscog on 10/5/16, 8:23 AM

    With the greatest respect to Pieter and the situation, announcing it this way on social media to many people is (was ?) last words.

  • by eric_bullington on 10/4/16, 3:41 PM

    Well done, Pieter. Thank you for your excellent writings and ground-breaking open source work, and for sharing your humanity. Farewell.

  • by danieltillett on 10/4/16, 11:16 AM

    This is one of those occasions when I hope someone's account has been hacked.

    Farewell Pieter and may you live on in our memories.

  • by bogomipz on 10/4/16, 1:48 PM

    I discovered his writing only recently. What a great thinker as well a brave person. This is sad news.

  • by imre on 10/5/16, 12:07 AM

    Can someone explain me the python(3) reference from the end? I don't seem to get the pun

  • by markonthewall on 10/4/16, 9:36 PM

    A remarkable mind and a keen and joyful lad, I hope Peter finds rest at last.

  • by danso on 10/5/16, 6:57 AM

    Goodbye, I enjoyed reading your work and comments here.

  • by AaronM on 10/4/16, 3:10 PM

    I wish I lived in a country that gave someone this choice

  • by yoamro on 10/4/16, 4:16 PM

    An incredible pioneer that will be greatly missed.

  • by throwanem on 10/4/16, 11:23 AM

    May flights of angels sing him to his rest.

  • by julsimon on 10/4/16, 1:53 PM

    Very sad. RIP Pieter.

    Black bar on Hacker News, please.

  • by igauravsehrawat on 10/4/16, 4:55 PM

    RIP Pieter.

  • by yandrypozo on 10/4/16, 6:28 PM

    Nice people dying and terrible people living like forever, this world sucks :(

  • by topfun on 10/4/16, 6:50 PM

    it was a honor knowing you.

  • by M_Grey on 10/4/16, 2:52 PM

    Baruch dayan emet.

  • by INTPenis on 10/4/16, 11:08 AM

    What is ETD?

  • by zump on 10/4/16, 11:46 AM

    Erm, why is he not frozen?