The other side of the "nerd factor": Attractive women in the field aren't taken seriously.
I have a friend, who is a very beautiful, stylish woman who was graduating at the top of her class in computer science at UCSC during the height of the dot-com boom. We went to a job fair, and stopped at a booth for Nokia. The guy running the booth looked her up and down, and asked "Are you looking for a receptionist position?".
With that sort of attitude towards us, is it any wonder we don't stay?
I find it interesting, that while so many of the comments on this posting claim "the age of gaming magazines is dead", the GameSetWatch article on circulation numbers shows that Gamestop'sGame Informer magazine has been steadily increasing in subscription numbers, gaining almost 900,000 subscriptions between 2003 and 2006 to a current standing of nearly 2 million subscriptions. What distinguishes this magazine? It's the only one that I'm aware of that covers all the consoles *and* PC games, and costs about 15 bucks a year. The cancelled Official Playstation Magazine was selling for $10 apiece on newstands. That's a lot of money to pay for a demo disc and a bunch of ads for PS games. I've subscribed to Game Informer and EGM for quite some time now; I find that I enjoy reading the magazines to get a nice overview of what is out there for all the consoles, while taking a break from sitting in front of the computer...
This isn't because you had an IT job. It's because you were working too many hours and on call all the time. This could be equally true of many non-IT professions: for example, a doctor. You couldn't spend time with your family because you were busy working. Not because of *what* you were working on.
Re:Its because of Women psychology
on
IT and Divorce?
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
"You, by now definitely thinking that this is a macho post... and im laying all the blame on women."
Why, yes I am. I can't believe a post saying, and I quote, "women are faulty" got an "insightful" score. Of course, I personally have witnessed plenty of male chauvinist attitudes on slashdot, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. But I'm still really damn offended.
Sure, women have a biological drive to find a secure, loving home to raise children. Even if we choose not to raise a family, we still are wired to be in and part of a loving, caring environment. It's not a fault, it's a virtue that ensures the future of the human race. There is a plethora of evidence that children raised without affection, attention, and love develop all sorts of horrible emotional problems. If everyone had your attitude, 21st century or no, we'd be a race of miserable, disfunctional people. Yes, there are plenty of ways to connect and interact with people through technology -- but that doesn't change thousands of years of evolutionary pressure to want to be with someone in a physical sense.
Besides, if you never "get out and do something", you'll quickly become obese, lethargic, and die of a heart attack at the age of 40. Who wants to be married to that?
As a girl who has had a few long-term relationships with IT guys... it's not the job, it's the lack of attention, communication, and activity that has killed my relationships. Relationships require a great deal of maintenance to flourish, and if one (or both) partners spend all their time on the computer ignoring the other person, the relationship will fall apart. Look, if you never leave your computer to be with me... if I can strip in front of you and you still won't get off of the computer... sorry, it's just not going to work. Does that mean I'm leaving you because you code? Hell no... I like geeky guys. It's because you're ignoring me.
It's an addiction thing... if you are addicted to something, your relationships will fall apart. If there is a correlation between IT jobs and divorce, it wouldn't be because of the IT job. As eldavojon said above, it would be because of a confounding factor: being familiar with computers increases your chances of developing a computer related (internet/gaming/porn) addiction. Being with an addict is just plain miserable. Don't blame the job. Blame your actions -- did you spend time with her? Or were you on the computer all the time?
I was born rather violent. I grew up in a small home, with two entirely nonviolent parents, with no tv, and little "social interaction with my peers"; no preschool or such.(At least, before I was around 3.)
However, the first thing I did when my little sister was born -- I was two at the time... was to find the biggest, heaviest object I could hold and try to smash her head in with it.
No tv exposure at all. No video game exposure at all. And I'm a girl.
I've been told by many psychologists that this is entirely normal behavior for a young child, reacting to the feeling of jealousy for losing a parent's attention.
So who's to say violence and killing is NOT in the nature of children? I truly disagree. I believe that "violence is NOT okay" or "violence IS okay" is learned, true. But the capability of violence exists in us innately, simply as predatory animals.
It might not get you thrown into prison, but it *can* get your home and your assests taken away. And it's cost many, many people jobs and college degrees.
Gaming addiction impacts many lives within *my* family. I'm watching my partner waste away, losing his job, his PhD project, his social life. It destroys health: spending years at a time sitting in front of a computer will destroy a body, especially if you weren't in good shape to begin with. My older sister almost died from a heroin addiction, and I was there as her family was torn apart by it. Aside from involving the family with dangerous, scary people, gaming addiction has just as much impact on everyone involved.
That won't work. trust me, any woman who's lost her man to a gaming addiction knows that. (See Everquest Widows for "evidence"...) And don't try to tell me that I'm just not good enough in bed, either. I wouldn't be surprised if a roomfull of naked Victoria's Secret models couldn't get those guys off of the computer.
No, that's not a troll, that's a truth. I know it's easy to get those confused on Slashdot.
Let me put it this way. I read this post, got offended and pissed off, and wanted to respond, but decided, this is flamebait, why bother? So I wrote that, instead.
I love my PSP, and enjoy the SNES emulator that I have on it, but disagree entirely with everything this post is cliaming.
Look -- there were a lot of classic games that I wasn't able to play when I was a kid; my parents refused to let a television into the house, so console games were limited to hanging out at friend's houses. I've always wanted to play some of these games, that I never had a chance to. However, I find myself playing WoW or Unreal on my computer in my free time, rather than running emulators.
At the moment, there simply aren't many games out there for the PSP, and most of them suck. I expect this to change, but in the meantime, it is rather nice to have a handheld on which I can catch up on the classics.
I happen to own 4 nintendo products: original GB, SNES, GBA-SP, and Gamecube. I don't have a DS, because so far there simply hasn't been anything I wanted it for. If it has some games I want to play in the future, I'll get one.
Why call my PSP "shitty" with no reference as to why, and why not post with an ID, rather than writing something attacking anonymously?
This post is mean, and is NOT true. Hence, my reply.
Of course if I get stuck in a waiting room I prefer my GBA SP. Small enough to toss in a coat pocket, rugged and protected screen, lasts forever on a charge, and the games are a lot easier to pick up and put down on short notice.
My purse has a perfectly GBA-SP-sized pocket!;) I've carried around a GBA SP for a couple of years; I definately prefer my PSP. The only time I find myself using my GBA these days, are if I'm in the sun (the PSP display is invisible in the sun) or if my PSP is out of batteries (which has only happened once). I've got my PSP in the Logitec case, which makes it quite a bit bigger, but also makes it "rugged" and protects the screen.
Give the poor girl a break:) Thank you for seconding my attitude when it comes to fixing cars!
Hey -- that's really rude. Just because I'm a *girl* and I don't want to bother dealing with replacing my own car battery doesn't mean I'm a total idiot when it comes to cars. I was having serious issues with my car, and just wanted someone who knew what they were doing, rather than hassling with it myself! (Besides, I was expecting it to take a half hour...)
I would love for them to make new FF and castlevania games
They are, albeit very slowly... I'd like ports of the old games simply because I never got to play a lot of the older games (like the SNES ones I'm playing now). I've got a backlog of great games I want to play someday about a mile high. The more I can carry around with me everywhere, the more likely I am to actually getting around to playing them!
Where would you be sitting in one place for 90 minutes at a time where you don't have access to a plugged in DVD player? And if so, wouldn't you be carrying a backpack or some other form of carry-on luggage?
90 minutes?!!! I'm talking about times like sitting in waiting rooms. Sometimes I'm there for 20, 30 minutes. My life has enough of these moments that I wind up watching "1-hour" tv shows on my PSP at a current average of 1 episode every two days -- in time that I otherwise would have spent being frustrated that my time was being wasted. Stuck in standstill traffic for 40 minutes? No problem, I can watch the latest episode of "House"...
On that note though, I recently was stuck in a mechanics shop for an hour and a half (literally) waiting for my car battery to be replaced. Damn, was I glad to have a movie to watch while I waited! So heck, you never know when you'll be stuck somewhere for 90 minutes without a plugged-in DVD player, or even a plug for that matter.
See, the PSP fits in my purse. So it goes everywhere that my wallet and cellphone go. It doesn't get more convenient than that.
This is definately an interesting question. For me personally, I find that I enjoy playing in a world populated by real people, chatting and interacting, whether or not I'm actually in a group. I like just knowing that my friends are online with me. I love being in a good party, but I don't always have the time to devote to a group, and soloing allows me to play in the short intervals I can fit into my busy life, and allows me to progress (albeit slowly) in the game.
I have found MMORPGs which require grouping to be miserable. I am a shy and sensitive person, and have a hard time finding groups of people who are competent, considerate, and fun. I therefore tend to only party with friends or when I feel like it -- if I'm forced to play with teenagers slinging rude comments left and right, or with people who get really mad at me because I'm not doing something a certain way (when it honestly doesn't make any difference which way it was done)... then I just don't want to play...
This is what has kept me from enjoying FFXI: it requires being in groups in order to progress in the game. I share a house with three FFXI addicts -- I bought them the game because I wanted to play with them -- but then they quickly passed me in level, and my experiences trying to get parties to "catch up" were usually miserable bordering on traumatizing... so I moved on to games that were actually fun for me. They love the group-only FFXI -- they play upwards of 8hrs/day, and can "afford" the time -- but it's not for me.
(I should note, if it is relevant, that I'm a girl, and they're all guys... maybe I'm just too sensitive or something. Guys seem to be fine with a superficiality in conversation/interaction that I find frustrating.)
In the end, it comes down to: I love playing in a world full of real people that I can talk to and interact with. It adds depth and reality to the gaming experience. But I don't want to be forced to group with people in order to play the game.
I loved AC2. It was beautiful, solo-able, and had plenty of content for the causual player. [i]And Then[/i]... the developers realized "oh, wait a minute -- people are finishing the game in a month... and then they're leaving..." Their answer? "I know! Adding content takes too long, so we'll just make everyone really weak all of a sudden, and give all the mobs more armor and resistance! Then it will take everyone longer to do the same things!"
The fateful day of that "update" to the game was it's death. Things that I was able to solo before, I now needed a group of 5 players to kill. Everyone I know left the game within about two weeks. Most went back to AC1....
Well, it's actually probably considered just as illegal to backup your DVDs, anyway, considering it violates the DMCA. (Unless format shifting is legally considered fair use, but I doubt it would be in a court of law.) Sigh. Stupid, stupid antipiracy laws...
Admittedly, I'm naive to this whole MPAA+DMCA vs The People legal issues... but it seems to me that if you own the DVD you could make a good argument for converting it for use on your own PSP. Sort of like having emulator ROMs is "supposedly legal" if you own the game in another format.
Oh, I didn't mean this to say "I have a hard time doing this, and so I pirate all my movies off of P2P and am afraid of getting busted."
I have no problem performing the conversion -- I'm just saying, it takes an extra step, and it takes time to rip the DVD -- making it "less convenient".
I'm also not talking about "getting fined" -- simply making a general observation.
It is actually quite difficult to watch one's DVDs "wherever you please". Laptops aren't portable enough to bring into waiting rooms, or to carry with you while you're standing in a long line.
Portable DVD players are likewise larger than the PSP; they're great for watching DVDs on airplanes or or the subway, but are typically too large to carry around everywhere unless you have a backpack.
The advantage of the PSP is that it is tiny, but still has a DVD-quality resolution. Of course, the UMD format was still a big mistake...
Slashdot Mirror
The other side of the "nerd factor":
Attractive women in the field aren't taken seriously.
I have a friend, who is a very beautiful, stylish woman who was graduating at the top of her class in computer science at UCSC during the height of the dot-com boom. We went to a job fair, and stopped at a booth for Nokia. The guy running the booth looked her up and down, and asked "Are you looking for a receptionist position?".
With that sort of attitude towards us, is it any wonder we don't stay?
I find it interesting, that while so many of the comments on this posting claim "the age of gaming magazines is dead", the GameSetWatch article on circulation numbers shows that Gamestop's Game Informer magazine has been steadily increasing in subscription numbers, gaining almost 900,000 subscriptions between 2003 and 2006 to a current standing of nearly 2 million subscriptions. What distinguishes this magazine? It's the only one that I'm aware of that covers all the consoles *and* PC games, and costs about 15 bucks a year. The cancelled Official Playstation Magazine was selling for $10 apiece on newstands. That's a lot of money to pay for a demo disc and a bunch of ads for PS games. I've subscribed to Game Informer and EGM for quite some time now; I find that I enjoy reading the magazines to get a nice overview of what is out there for all the consoles, while taking a break from sitting in front of the computer...
This isn't because you had an IT job. It's because you were working too many hours and on call all the time. This could be equally true of many non-IT professions: for example, a doctor. You couldn't spend time with your family because you were busy working. Not because of *what* you were working on.
"You, by now definitely thinking that this is a macho post ... and im laying all the blame on women."
Why, yes I am. I can't believe a post saying, and I quote, "women are faulty" got an "insightful" score. Of course, I personally have witnessed plenty of male chauvinist attitudes on slashdot, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. But I'm still really damn offended.
Sure, women have a biological drive to find a secure, loving home to raise children. Even if we choose not to raise a family, we still are wired to be in and part of a loving, caring environment. It's not a fault, it's a virtue that ensures the future of the human race. There is a plethora of evidence that children raised without affection, attention, and love develop all sorts of horrible emotional problems. If everyone had your attitude, 21st century or no, we'd be a race of miserable, disfunctional people. Yes, there are plenty of ways to connect and interact with people through technology -- but that doesn't change thousands of years of evolutionary pressure to want to be with someone in a physical sense.
Besides, if you never "get out and do something", you'll quickly become obese, lethargic, and die of a heart attack at the age of 40. Who wants to be married to that?
As a girl who has had a few long-term relationships with IT guys... it's not the job, it's the lack of attention, communication, and activity that has killed my relationships. Relationships require a great deal of maintenance to flourish, and if one (or both) partners spend all their time on the computer ignoring the other person, the relationship will fall apart. Look, if you never leave your computer to be with me... if I can strip in front of you and you still won't get off of the computer... sorry, it's just not going to work. Does that mean I'm leaving you because you code? Hell no... I like geeky guys. It's because you're ignoring me.
It's an addiction thing... if you are addicted to something, your relationships will fall apart. If there is a correlation between IT jobs and divorce, it wouldn't be because of the IT job. As eldavojon said above, it would be because of a confounding factor: being familiar with computers increases your chances of developing a computer related (internet/gaming/porn) addiction. Being with an addict is just plain miserable. Don't blame the job. Blame your actions -- did you spend time with her? Or were you on the computer all the time?
I was born rather violent.
I grew up in a small home, with two entirely nonviolent parents, with no tv, and little "social interaction with my peers"; no preschool or such.(At least, before I was around 3.)
However, the first thing I did when my little sister was born -- I was two at the time... was to find the biggest, heaviest object I could hold and try to smash her head in with it.
No tv exposure at all.
No video game exposure at all.
And I'm a girl.
I've been told by many psychologists that this is entirely normal behavior for a young child, reacting to the feeling of jealousy for losing a parent's attention.
So who's to say violence and killing is NOT in the nature of children? I truly disagree. I believe that "violence is NOT okay" or "violence IS okay" is learned, true. But the capability of violence exists in us innately, simply as predatory animals.
I thought this article on Reasons to Quit Everquest" had a lot to say about the nature of the problem....
Actually, people do kill each other and themselves over video games.
It might not get you thrown into prison, but it *can* get your home and your assests taken away. And it's cost many, many people jobs and college degrees.
Gaming addiction impacts many lives within *my* family. I'm watching my partner waste away, losing his job, his PhD project, his social life. It destroys health: spending years at a time sitting in front of a computer will destroy a body, especially if you weren't in good shape to begin with. My older sister almost died from a heroin addiction, and I was there as her family was torn apart by it. Aside from involving the family with dangerous, scary people, gaming addiction has just as much impact on everyone involved.
That won't work. trust me, any woman who's lost her man to a gaming addiction knows that. (See Everquest Widows for "evidence"...) And don't try to tell me that I'm just not good enough in bed, either. I wouldn't be surprised if a roomfull of naked Victoria's Secret models couldn't get those guys off of the computer.
No, that's not a troll, that's a truth. I know it's easy to get those confused on Slashdot.
Let me put it this way. I read this post, got offended and pissed off, and wanted to respond, but decided, this is flamebait, why bother? So I wrote that, instead.
I love my PSP, and enjoy the SNES emulator that I have on it, but disagree entirely with everything this post is cliaming.
Look -- there were a lot of classic games that I wasn't able to play when I was a kid; my parents refused to let a television into the house, so console games were limited to hanging out at friend's houses. I've always wanted to play some of these games, that I never had a chance to. However, I find myself playing WoW or Unreal on my computer in my free time, rather than running emulators.
At the moment, there simply aren't many games out there for the PSP, and most of them suck. I expect this to change, but in the meantime, it is rather nice to have a handheld on which I can catch up on the classics.
I happen to own 4 nintendo products: original GB, SNES, GBA-SP, and Gamecube. I don't have a DS, because so far there simply hasn't been anything I wanted it for. If it has some games I want to play in the future, I'll get one.
Why call my PSP "shitty" with no reference as to why, and why not post with an ID, rather than writing something attacking anonymously?
This post is mean, and is NOT true. Hence, my reply.
The illegal part under the DMCA is breaking the encryption on the DVD to perform the format shift.
Yeah, I'm aware of that. Problem is, format shifting from a DVD is impossible without it.... stupid, stupid laws. It's my own freaking DVD!!!
Of course if I get stuck in a waiting room I prefer my GBA SP. Small enough to toss in a coat pocket, rugged and protected screen, lasts forever on a charge, and the games are a lot easier to pick up and put down on short notice.
;) I've carried around a GBA SP for a couple of years; I definately prefer my PSP. The only time I find myself using my GBA these days, are if I'm in the sun (the PSP display is invisible in the sun) or if my PSP is out of batteries (which has only happened once). I've got my PSP in the Logitec case, which makes it quite a bit bigger, but also makes it "rugged" and protects the screen.
:)
My purse has a perfectly GBA-SP-sized pocket!
Give the poor girl a break
Thank you for seconding my attitude when it comes to fixing cars!
Hey -- that's really rude. Just because I'm a *girl* and I don't want to bother dealing with replacing my own car battery doesn't mean I'm a total idiot when it comes to cars. I was having serious issues with my car, and just wanted someone who knew what they were doing, rather than hassling with it myself! (Besides, I was expecting it to take a half hour...)
Why be such a jerk?
Yep. My sentiments, exactly. And said much more clearly and succinctly than my reply... :)
I would love for them to make new FF and castlevania games
They are, albeit very slowly...
I'd like ports of the old games simply because I never got to play a lot of the older games (like the SNES ones I'm playing now). I've got a backlog of great games I want to play someday about a mile high. The more I can carry around with me everywhere, the more likely I am to actually getting around to playing them!
Where would you be sitting in one place for 90 minutes at a time where you don't have access to a plugged in DVD player? And if so, wouldn't you be carrying a backpack or some other form of carry-on luggage?
90 minutes?!!! I'm talking about times like sitting in waiting rooms. Sometimes I'm there for 20, 30 minutes. My life has enough of these moments that I wind up watching "1-hour" tv shows on my PSP at a current average of 1 episode every two days -- in time that I otherwise would have spent being frustrated that my time was being wasted. Stuck in standstill traffic for 40 minutes? No problem, I can watch the latest episode of "House"...
On that note though, I recently was stuck in a mechanics shop for an hour and a half (literally) waiting for my car battery to be replaced. Damn, was I glad to have a movie to watch while I waited! So heck, you never know when you'll be stuck somewhere for 90 minutes without a plugged-in DVD player, or even a plug for that matter.
See, the PSP fits in my purse. So it goes everywhere that my wallet and cellphone go. It doesn't get more convenient than that.
This is definately an interesting question. For me personally, I find that I enjoy playing in a world populated by real people, chatting and interacting, whether or not I'm actually in a group. I like just knowing that my friends are online with me. I love being in a good party, but I don't always have the time to devote to a group, and soloing allows me to play in the short intervals I can fit into my busy life, and allows me to progress (albeit slowly) in the game.
... then I just don't want to play...
I have found MMORPGs which require grouping to be miserable. I am a shy and sensitive person, and have a hard time finding groups of people who are competent, considerate, and fun. I therefore tend to only party with friends or when I feel like it -- if I'm forced to play with teenagers slinging rude comments left and right, or with people who get really mad at me because I'm not doing something a certain way (when it honestly doesn't make any difference which way it was done)
This is what has kept me from enjoying FFXI: it requires being in groups in order to progress in the game. I share a house with three FFXI addicts -- I bought them the game because I wanted to play with them -- but then they quickly passed me in level, and my experiences trying to get parties to "catch up" were usually miserable bordering on traumatizing... so I moved on to games that were actually fun for me. They love the group-only FFXI -- they play upwards of 8hrs/day, and can "afford" the time -- but it's not for me.
(I should note, if it is relevant, that I'm a girl, and they're all guys... maybe I'm just too sensitive or something. Guys seem to be fine with a superficiality in conversation/interaction that I find frustrating.)
In the end, it comes down to: I love playing in a world full of real people that I can talk to and interact with. It adds depth and reality to the gaming experience. But I don't want to be forced to group with people in order to play the game.
I loved AC2. It was beautiful, solo-able, and had plenty of content for the causual player. [i]And Then[/i]... the developers realized "oh, wait a minute -- people are finishing the game in a month... and then they're leaving..." Their answer? "I know! Adding content takes too long, so we'll just make everyone really weak all of a sudden, and give all the mobs more armor and resistance! Then it will take everyone longer to do the same things!"
The fateful day of that "update" to the game was it's death. Things that I was able to solo before, I now needed a group of 5 players to kill. Everyone I know left the game within about two weeks. Most went back to AC1....
Not necessarily; the PSP & PS3 will have full wireless connectivity, so it's still a possibility. *hope hope*
Well, it's actually probably considered just as illegal to backup your DVDs, anyway, considering it violates the DMCA. (Unless format shifting is legally considered fair use, but I doubt it would be in a court of law.) Sigh. Stupid, stupid antipiracy laws...
Admittedly, I'm naive to this whole MPAA+DMCA vs The People legal issues... but it seems to me that if you own the DVD you could make a good argument for converting it for use on your own PSP. Sort of like having emulator ROMs is "supposedly legal" if you own the game in another format.
1) Make UMDs cheap, or include them for free with DVDs.
Better yet, include some sort of coupon in DVDs where you can send for a free UMD copy.
I suspect that the vast majority of DVD purchasers wouldn't even know what a UMD is, much less want one with there DVD purchase.
Oh, I didn't mean this to say "I have a hard time doing this, and so I pirate all my movies off of P2P and am afraid of getting busted."
I have no problem performing the conversion -- I'm just saying, it takes an extra step, and it takes time to rip the DVD -- making it "less convenient".
I'm also not talking about "getting fined" -- simply making a general observation.
It is actually quite difficult to watch one's DVDs "wherever you please". Laptops aren't portable enough to bring into waiting rooms, or to carry with you while you're standing in a long line.
Portable DVD players are likewise larger than the PSP; they're great for watching DVDs on airplanes or or the subway, but are typically too large to carry around everywhere unless you have a backpack.
The advantage of the PSP is that it is tiny, but still has a DVD-quality resolution. Of course, the UMD format was still a big mistake...