I'm surprised you're so flagrantly suggesting the use of HN karma points as a reward for a contest.

If they have any value at all, it is in their use as a proxy for someone's contribution to the HN community (which is very much undermined by stunts like this).

A lot of users make very valuable comments which are often overlooked for various reasons. I was hoping this would give them some deserved attention. Also, having spent a bit of time looking at various users' comment streams, I've found myself having a better understanding of them — makes for a stronger HN community. And, finally, being able to make decent predictions is a valuable skill for any entrepreneur...

Hope that helps explain why I believe this is beneficial and not just fun.

I agree with the sentiment but not with how you're proposing to implement it.

You say "overlooked for various reasons". Let's work on those reasons not try to patch a system. Why should me being able to guess (not "predict" as you say) the value of a dinner translate into retrospective karma?

Also, what is karma, really? What is it really measuring?

That contest should have been announced for the bragging rights alone.

I thought he was just being funny on a Sunday morning.

I was going to guess something like $10K for a PG breakfast.

What's with the downvotes, people? I agree that Karma points shouldn't be used as a reward, but I think most people here participated because guessing/estimating value of a lunch with pg was a challenging and fun thing to do. Now, is that against HN spirit? Does it deserve a punishment? Relax, geez.

I guess the reason is this: OP has asked a specific question to Paul with a specific answer. Why do we need predictions here?