It's probably a side effect of the fact that this was "Startup News" prior to it being "Hacker News".

And a lot of founders/small business owners post here too. Most are technical, but some are non-technical.

Yeah, I think you're right on the money.

Whatever the mixture is, it's a good one. I've always thought YC was impressive for it's ability to have spirited discussion without the constant holy wars that tend to erupt when you get a lot of smart people in a room.

I always tell people the best part about Hacker News is you can witness people changing their mind within a thread. How many places are like that?