I find it interesting that I seem to have a different takeaway from most of the other commenters here.

I assume HN is dominated by professional programmers? Id assume the reactions would be different in a demoscene or raspberry pi forum?

For me this is what I like about open source software. It's a home cooked meal that the chef has shared. It's not trying to please every one, it's written by the author for the author.

Both activities have creative elements, and a "what happens if" element. And I can certainly see the sharing motivation for both.