3 ms·

Sounds like the author has personal problems they're mistakenly ascribing to their work. Many of their assertions are simply not true (It's possible to be confi

Sounds like the author has personal problems they're mistakenly ascribing to their work. Many of their assertions are simply not true (It's possible to be confident without "being an asshole"; I know several such people), and it just comes across as written by an unreliable narrator (if I cared about this person's issues, I'd likely be asking the people who shunned him about what happened and see if the stories matched).

jmcgough 10y ago
> Sounds like the author has personal problems they're mistakenly ascribing to their work. I struggled socially in my early 20s and avoided dealing with it by drowning myself in work. Intentionally or not, it sounds like working nonstop meant he didn't have much time for personal development.
notahacker 10y ago
It sounds like the same article about the same person could have been written the other way round: how being a startup founder hyper-focused on the future helped smooth over social awkwardness, because most of his social interactions were with people with strong financial incentives to get along with him, and his mind was far too occupied with other priorities to feel insecure about the possibility others might envy his material wealth or judge his lifestyle choices.
SmellyGeekBoy 10y ago
I'm surprised I had to scroll more than halfway through the discussion to find this comment. I got the exact same impression reading the post. That said, it does look like the author possesses some level of self-awareness and is working on his issues.
bartread 10y ago
Hmm. I'm not so sure. It's very hard to know someone in a meaningful way based on something they've written, and especially such a short piece. I think the author is just trying to be honest but maybe it's come off somewhat awkwardly. Branding him an asshole based on such a limited perspective into his life is perhaps premature.

jmcgough 10y ago

> Sounds like the author has personal problems they're mistakenly ascribing to their work. I struggled socially in my early 20s and avoided dealing with it by drowning myself in work. Intentionally or not, it sounds like working nonstop meant he didn't have much time for personal development.

notahacker 10y ago

It sounds like the same article about the same person could have been written the other way round: how being a startup founder hyper-focused on the future helped smooth over social awkwardness, because most of his social interactions were with people with strong financial incentives to get along with him, and his mind was far too occupied with other priorities to feel insecure about the possibility others might envy his material wealth or judge his lifestyle choices.

SmellyGeekBoy 10y ago

I'm surprised I had to scroll more than halfway through the discussion to find this comment. I got the exact same impression reading the post. That said, it does look like the author possesses some level of self-awareness and is working on his issues.

bartread 10y ago

Hmm. I'm not so sure. It's very hard to know someone in a meaningful way based on something they've written, and especially such a short piece. I think the author is just trying to be honest but maybe it's come off somewhat awkwardly. Branding him an asshole based on such a limited perspective into his life is perhaps premature.