'I Pencil' was first introduced to me in a History of Economic Thought class during undergrad. Still love the story if not only because of the message it delivers. Who cares how it is written, 'I Pencil' is a story about how trade, comparative advantage and the specialization of labor enable economies to produce goods and services that would otherwise not be feasible.<p>So why does the HN crowd seemingly let the story slip through the cracks? One hypothesis is perhaps that the self-selected independent/entrepreneurial people that make up a large share of the user base on HN like holding onto their independent spirits, hence passing on the idea that there exists a meaningful good/service that not one person can produce on their own.