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'Increasingly, People in Silicon Valley Are Losing Touch With Reality' (500ish.com)
Longtime commentator MG Siegler writes: You can see it in the tweets. You can hear it at tech conferences. Hell, you can hear it at most cafes in San Francisco on any given day. People -- really smart people -- saying some of the most vacuous things. Words that if they were able to take a step outside of their own heads and hear, they'd be embarrassed by. Or, at least, these are stances, thoughts, and ideas that these people should be embarrassed by. But they're clearly not because they keep saying them. This isn't only about Facebook -- far from it. That's just the most high profile and timely example of a company suffering from some of this. And in that case, it's really more in their responses to the Cambridge Analytica situation, rather than the situation itself (which is another matter, though undoubtedly related). They don't know the right things to say because they don't know what to say, period. Because they've slipped out of touch.
But again, I feel like this is increasingly everywhere I look around tech. It's an industry filled with some of the most brilliant people in the world, which makes it all the more disappointing. I won't name names but also because I don't have to. I'd wager everyone reading this will have clear and obvious examples of what I'm talking about in their own circles -- even if only in their own virtual circles. This is everywhere. I don't know the cause of this. Perhaps we can blame part of it on Trump, even if only indirectly (a man who has gotten ahead in life by saying asinine things). If I had to guess, I'd say the root is an increasing sense of entitlement as the tech industry has grown in stature to become the most important from a fiscal perspective and arguably from a cultural perspective as well.
But again, I feel like this is increasingly everywhere I look around tech. It's an industry filled with some of the most brilliant people in the world, which makes it all the more disappointing. I won't name names but also because I don't have to. I'd wager everyone reading this will have clear and obvious examples of what I'm talking about in their own circles -- even if only in their own virtual circles. This is everywhere. I don't know the cause of this. Perhaps we can blame part of it on Trump, even if only indirectly (a man who has gotten ahead in life by saying asinine things). If I had to guess, I'd say the root is an increasing sense of entitlement as the tech industry has grown in stature to become the most important from a fiscal perspective and arguably from a cultural perspective as well.
If I typed that much without saying anything or making a point.
Agreed. Perhaps the real problem is that we are talking about millennials, and in the valley they are all entitled, vapid, egoistic, victimistic, not actually all that intelligent, drug-addled and privileged clods with the emotional maturity of something growing in a petri dish. The post actually serves of a fantastic demonstration of what is wrong, just not for the intended reasons. Self-awareness, much?
> I won’t name names or give examples because I’m not an asshole.
ok, so I have no idea what you're referring to then
I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
Hey, internet junkies are just like F18 pilots. Both freak out when they find NO CARRIER.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
...the article itself was example.
For themselves and everyone around them. From celebrities to soccer moms to, yes, why not SV inhabitants. I have no idea where this urge comes from, but listen to anyone, literally anyone, who doesn't have any real problems to deal with, i.e. those that have the first and pretty much the second level of the pyramid of needs fulfilled and overfulfilled. You'll notice them lament about problems that are none. They actually start inventing problems they can lament about if they really can't find any.
Meanwhile, out here in reality, we shake our heads about them and wonder whether these are really role models and something to aspire to.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I stopped reading when it was said there'd be no examples.
I don't actually know what the author is talking about.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
He never gave a single example of one of these thoughts the Silicon Valley folks have that are out of touch.
I would agree on many things, they are, but in an article like this, I would expect some specific items they are out of touch with.....
He mentions Facebook and Cambridge....but what about that does he thing they are out of touch on?
And just automatically jumping in with a Trump bash....that just derails any other points he was trying to make.
Poorly written article, with assumptions that everyone things like he does.....without listing out what he thinks.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I came here to say this... without any context he just sounds super pretentious. He may well be right, but good arguments are backed up with evidence, and his is not.
Which has more power: the hammer, or the anvil?
The article is not very well written. He also doesn't give examples, and said as much. That said, it doesn't mean that Silicon Valley isn't a bubble of group think, weird-ass ideas, and other such things. Examples have been repeatedly satirized on HBO's "Silicon Valley," including:
* Quit college and go live in an incubator, because you know, who cares about a well-rounded education
* "making the world a better place"
* "Blood Boys" and parabiosis.
* The reverse scarlet letter syndrome with the Christian in this past week's episode
* The Matrix as a pseudoreligion (living in a computer simulation)
* The obsession with "the singularity"
If you spend five minutes on twitter looking at tech people you'll see it to varying degrees.
You have a concentration of people that are generally fairly intelligent but aren't necessarily cut out for dealing with people (nerds) trying to create a nerd paradise while being taken advantage of by much more savvy people who actually control the money. They're probably no weirder than nerds of the past, but they have the platform to broadcast their weirdness and enough money for people to take them at least somewhat seriously. Additionally, because the are living in a bubble of their own creation they assume that their intelligence in one area conveys to other areas as well.
The "omg Trump" aspect of the article is really just related to an on-going, ever-present aspect of society. Nerds are weird and that weirdness has led to nerds being the traditional victims of bullying. This is the soft of thing that causes resentment, and that resentment is probably manifested in the desire to push "disruptive" technology which is accelerating the destabilization of the economy. The desire to "automate people out of a job" can't really be articulated without a whiff of malice to it. Perhaps there are some people that really think the world will be like Star Trek -- but remember, the world of Star Trek comes after a major global war. "AI" may have the prospect of greatly improving lives, but if not rolled out and implemented correctly, it's going to make life miserable for a whole lot of normal people. The current issues around data collection and analytics, which are stepping stones towards AI systems, is a current manifestation of that every bit as much as automating factory work away is.
The current and future economic issues are, in large part, what drove many people to vote for Trump. His distaste for silicon valley is palpable. His goals and not those of silicon valley. His base is not aligned with silicon valley. But the Trump issue is more or less a side-show. He can be a useful stand-in for the divergence between "normal, every day Americans" and Silicon Valley types, but it's hard to say it's all about Trump.
Another example of this is the phrase "SJW". No-one can agree on exactly what it means, which is why it's so successful. It means whoever the reader disagrees with and thinks is an idiot, basically a cheat code to make everyone agree with you.
I keep hearing people claim this, but it doesn't make any sense. It has a pretty specific and widely accepted definition.
From Urban Dictionary: "Social Justice Warrior. A pejorative term for an individual who repeatedly and vehemently engages in arguments on social justice on the Internet, often in a shallow or not well-thought-out way, for the purpose of raising their own personal reputation"
Now you may argue that some abuse the pejorative nature of the term to undermine legitimate advocacy for social causes, but the term itself is not poorly defined. And arguing about who should be considered an SJW is idiotic anyway. It's like trying to draw distinct boundaries around who is and who isn't a fuckwad.
Knowledge Brings Fear
I'll give it a shot.
An SJW is someone who thinks that people who do not support their pet issue should be publicly shamed and extra-judiciously punished for not supporting their pet issue. Typically they identify themselves as victims of straight white males. When not online, they enjoy spending time in mobs while repeating slogans and protesting the world.
Not really that hard.
He's NOT successful. He is a terrible businessman, who's declared bankruptcy six times.
Furthermore, he has a terrible reputation for stiffing his suppliers and creditors. And he has managed to lose money operating casinos. If he isn't an outright criminal, laundering money for the Mob (as is strongly suspected to be a de-facto member of Russian organised crime, having repeatedly failed as a legitimate businessman, only to find himself "bought" by the bratva), then he would have to be utterly useless as business.
What's Trump's edge? Balls-out shamelessness, a massive ego, and a total lack of self-awareness that would enable him to gamble (and lose) in a way no ordinary, rational person would. The only people who associate with him are oligarchs and gangsters (usually the Russian kind).
Charles Munger famously said that if Trump wasn't such a dickhead, and has put his inheritance into a passive stock fund, he'd be richer than he is today, with far less effort.
THAT'S how much of a fucking idiot Trump is. No credit where it isn't due, please.