In this example the “exception” that proves the rule though was not a smarty-pants special circumstance. Using AI for shopping is just one of its many normal usages and if anything proves it is used by normal people doing normal things. It’s not like the rare example that happens once in a hundred years.
I've always been using the Candy theme, and I like much better the way it looks with the new design. It's quite girly though, which unfortunately might exclude most of HN readers.
But I agree that anything other than the compact display density option makes the experience much worse.
Isn't the process a bit different when it comes to hiring geeks? Being a good software developer for example is a quite measurable and comparable skill. I think the extracurriculars that indicate social skills such as organising charity events etc, would be more relevant if you're a manager or a consultant; but if you are a developer or a mathematician, would people mind a bookworm?