Re:Katz writes about things without having 2 clues
on
Selfish Society
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· Score: 2
One of the reasons that tech culture seems "selfish" and "arrogant" to others is that the people that run it and work in it have worked HARD to get what they have.
I don't feel like I've had to work hard for what I have. Ok, I pulled multiple all-nighters in school and at work to finish some of my projects, but overall I've had a blast (and I haven't worked half as hard as my parents or my financial-industry friends). During my high school summers, I used to restock shelves and take orders for cold cuts at a supermarket. That was hard work -- you're standing up all day, doing the same thing over and over, and smiling while you're doing it. You're not learning anything new, your brain atrophies, and at the end of the day you're exhausted. Frankly, I think today I have it incredibly easy.
I do have a chip on my shoulder -- it's hard not to when people pretty much throw money and admiration at you wherever you go. It's especially hard not to when you used to be ostracized in school and now you're the shit. But ultimately I realize that what separates me from most other people is the set of opportunities that was presented to me. I have a hard time reconciling those two feelings, and I think this article presents that duality pretty well.
You will find some of the richest in this industry - Gates, being the prime example - are more than happy to give money to worthy causes. Like libraries and feeding starving people. Not coddling idiots.
This paragraph sounds like trolling to me, but hey. Gates give Windows to libraries -- I mean, regardless of whether that adds or subtracts value to the libraries, it's just another way to make Windows more entrenched in the world at large.
The geeks that I know are generally well-meaning, but they don't think about world peace on a daily basis. They're just getting on with their lives like everyone else, and they're aware that they are part of a privileged elite. Once in a while some guilt will hit them and they'll donate some money (or bike a few hundred miles to collect some money, in my case:-).
Overall I think the article was pretty accurate. We are arrogant and politically disorganized.
Agreed. Educators are switching to Java left and right. Your kids can start out by doing cool GUI stuff and then moving on to cool server-side stuff and make their parent proud:-). It seems to be especially suitable for you, since in some ways you can think of Java as sugar-coated C. I recommend a book by Deitel & Deitel, which is great for beginning programmers. Can't remember the name tho.
In many cases (not all, granted) people who are in development aren't quite as plagued by work via mobile phones and beepers as are people who are in maintenance. And these are just two extremely broad categories of "knowledge workers." Also, don't forget that many of us are independent consultants and bill by the hour. Personally, I work for a consulting company (45-50 hrs/wk) and I do get paid overtime.
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I don't feel like I've had to work hard for what I have. Ok, I pulled multiple all-nighters in school and at work to finish some of my projects, but overall I've had a blast (and I haven't worked half as hard as my parents or my financial-industry friends). During my high school summers, I used to restock shelves and take orders for cold cuts at a supermarket. That was hard work -- you're standing up all day, doing the same thing over and over, and smiling while you're doing it. You're not learning anything new, your brain atrophies, and at the end of the day you're exhausted. Frankly, I think today I have it incredibly easy.
I do have a chip on my shoulder -- it's hard not to when people pretty much throw money and admiration at you wherever you go. It's especially hard not to when you used to be ostracized in school and now you're the shit. But ultimately I realize that what separates me from most other people is the set of opportunities that was presented to me. I have a hard time reconciling those two feelings, and I think this article presents that duality pretty well.
You will find some of the richest in this industry - Gates, being the prime example - are more than happy to give money to worthy causes. Like libraries and feeding starving people. Not coddling idiots.
This paragraph sounds like trolling to me, but hey. Gates give Windows to libraries -- I mean, regardless of whether that adds or subtracts value to the libraries, it's just another way to make Windows more entrenched in the world at large.
The geeks that I know are generally well-meaning, but they don't think about world peace on a daily basis. They're just getting on with their lives like everyone else, and they're aware that they are part of a privileged elite. Once in a while some guilt will hit them and they'll donate some money (or bike a few hundred miles to collect some money, in my case :-).
Overall I think the article was pretty accurate. We are arrogant and politically disorganized.
Li.
Agreed. Educators are switching to Java left and right. Your kids can start out by doing cool GUI stuff and then moving on to cool server-side stuff and make their parent proud :-). It seems to be especially suitable for you, since in some ways you can think of Java as sugar-coated C. I recommend a book by Deitel & Deitel, which is great for beginning programmers. Can't remember the name tho.
In many cases (not all, granted) people who are in development aren't quite as plagued by work via mobile phones and beepers as are people who are in maintenance. And these are just two extremely broad categories of "knowledge workers." Also, don't forget that many of us are independent consultants and bill by the hour. Personally, I work for a consulting company (45-50 hrs/wk) and I do get paid overtime.