I certainly don't want to hurt the credibility of the Khan Academy. I just thought this would be a fun project.. wouldn't mashups actually be evidence of interest and lend more credibility?
I share your sentiment but I don't think a few links that do well on HN seriously represent the "industry."
HN is more a talking shop for founders and hackers than a public showcase for the Internet's latest and greatest apps. A lot of what goes on here does migrate to the public sphere, but there's no reason to curb the injokes or "fads" to maintain an image on an industry-focused site.
So... Politicians are going to legislate unfavorably on the technology industry because, for some fun in their spare time, a few people adapted the concept of instant search to various different websites?
It's not like he's asking for investors for this, its just a neat, and useful, app.
