A question I get asked with some frequency is: why bother measuring X, why not build something instead? More bluntly, in a recent conversation with a newsletter author, his comment on some future measurement projects I wanted to do (in the same vein as other projects like keyboard vs. mouse, keyboard, terminal and end-to-end latency measurements), delivered with a smug look and a bit contempt in the tone, was "so you just want to get to the top of Hacker News?"
