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Re:Show HN: Parsnip – Duolingo for Cooking by EligibleSpatula on Thursday July 28, 2022 @02:55PM (#32268679)
Apologies if the wok explanation came across as insensitive or racist.

The wording used was 'a wok is unwieldy and uncommon in a lot of home kitchens'.

As one of the two Asian writers who this got past, we believed that this statement was true enough for North American beginners looking to learn how to make scrambled eggs.

I have changed the copy there and endeavour to make sure that we are more culturally sensitive in the future.

Re:Show HN: Parsnip – Duolingo for Cooking by bastardoperator on Thursday July 28, 2022 @04:37PM (#32269812)
It's not racist, but I would consider it an invalid assumption. You should ask what people have available from a tools and ingredients perspective. Take for instance everyone I know owns a wok, I have two.
Re:Show HN: Parsnip – Duolingo for Cooking by misja111 on Friday July 29, 2022 @03:41AM (#32274129)
> we believed that this statement was true enough for North American beginners looking to learn how to make scrambled eggs

So your target users are North Americans? That's a pity. When reading your linked websites I got hope that Europeans were also included, because you are saying 'A giant opportunity in making cooking easier for a billion people' and 'Because a billion home cooks is good for people and great for the planet'.

Re:Show HN: Parsnip – Duolingo for Cooking by powersnail on Thursday July 28, 2022 @05:30PM (#32270345)
It's not racist. It's just untrue. While the wok is indeed uncommon in NA, as compared with skillets, there's nothing unwieldy about it, in terms of scrambling an egg. You can scramble eggs in a wok in exactly the way as you would a skillet.
Re:Show HN: Parsnip – Duolingo for Cooking by Cr4shMyCar on Friday July 29, 2022 @02:53AM (#32273860)
I think it'd be a good move to avoid assuming too much about what equipment someone might have. A wok isn't too far out of what even an absolute beginner may have, maybe they got it with some other cookware or as a gift. As others have said here, the writing does come off as kinda condescending. Granted, I'm a somewhat experienced home cook and I haven't tried the app yet, but if I'm learning something, the last thing I want to do is have a tutorial app sound condescending, even if that's not the intention.
Re:Show HN: Parsnip – Duolingo for Cooking by InCityDreams on Thursday July 28, 2022 @04:31PM (#32269750)
Not a racist comment.
Re:Show HN: Parsnip – Duolingo for Cooking by blub on Thursday July 28, 2022 @03:24PM (#32269023)
How did we get to a point where somebody with an English sounding name is teaching lessons on racism against Asians to an Asian?

You did nothing wrong. As a European I didn’t even have a clue what a wok might be for most of my life. Buying one would make no sense.

Re:Show HN: Parsnip – Duolingo for Cooking by ziddoap on Thursday July 28, 2022 @03:55PM (#32269362)
>English sounding name is teaching lessons on racism

They didn't "teach" a "lesson" on racism, they said an entire 15 words in an edit and gave a range of "sheltered" to "at worst, practically racist". A bit hyperbolic? Sure. A lesson? No.