5 ms·

>unused skills rust and 15 hours seems like some kind of bare minimum level just to sustain rudimentary skill Eh I think skills are stickier than that. FWIW, I

>unused skills rust and 15 hours seems like some kind of bare minimum level just to sustain rudimentary skill Eh I think skills are stickier than that. FWIW, I spent about 6 months doing almost no programming, but I didn't feel particularly unproductive when I started again. Besides which, there's no reason people can't be continuing developing their skills in the remaining hours anyway. The 15 hours is just how much time you have to spend doing what you're told. And you can likely learn much more efficiently if you work with that intent instead of acquiring skills incidentally as your job requires.

stuaxo 10y ago
Exactly, when it frees up time you can be productive doing your own things. Having 2 days off a week, really is only enough time to do chores, not enough to spend on your own skills or do anything productive for yourself. As a contractor, I tend to take 1-3 months off between contracts + it seems to help, not hinder. I'm much fresher when I go into the next contract.
- aaron-lebo 10y ago
  For many people "doing their own things" is gonna be playing more Counter-Strike. Of course, that's their right, but whether you can make a sustainable economy out of subsidizing that is another question...a question that is much more pressing than "wouldn't that be better?" and one the article doesn't even attempt to answer, probably because it is largely impossible and anything like it is speculation akin to religion.
  - forgotpwtomain 10y ago
    > For many people "doing their own things" is gonna be playing more Counter-Strike. Also is "more Counter-Strike" at all correlated with a quality of life increase? 45 free minutes you wouldn't have had to get rid of some stress shooting things - probably yes? 5 hours a day - probably not?
  - thehardsphere 10y ago
    > For many people "doing their own things" is gonna be playing more Counter-Strike. Or worse, shooting heroin.
    - TeMPOraL 10y ago
      Or even worse, building open source software, attending city hall meetings, or parenting.
      - thehardsphere 10y ago
        Right, because everyone in Appalacia who doesn't have a job is doing all of those things with the "leisure" time they have from not working.
      - ThrowawayR2 10y ago
        >Or even worse, building open source software, attending city hall meetings, or parenting. Pretty much none of that is happening in areas where unemployment is chronic, even in a nation as wealthy as the United States. It's quite a mystery as to why well-educated people persist in the mistaken belief that UBI will magically cause recipients to behave nobly.
        TeMPOraL 10y ago
        If your assertion was true, then I'd expect those areas to be so full of crime, misery and drug abuse, that it would make international news. > It's quite a mystery as to why well-educated people persist in the mistaken belief that UBI will magically cause recipients to behave nobly. I find the reverse to be the mystery - why some people persist in the belief that people on UBI will mostly turn to spending their days abusing drugs and cheap entertainment? Like if humans were zombies who need an employer to give their life a direction?
        ThrowawayR2 10y ago
        >If your assertion was true, then I'd expect those areas to be so full of crime, misery and drug abuse, that it would make international news. I invite you to walk the streets of downtown Detroit or, as thehardsphere points out, parts of Appalachia if you still have doubts. The only reason such areas in the US don't make international news is that third-world countries still have it relatively worse and, even then, governments of other nations issue formal cautions to their citizens against travelling to these areas.
  - ryandrake 10y ago
    Who cares? For other people, that extra time and the safety net may enable them to start a business or do charity work or run for their local school board. I'd argue it's worth it for society to subsidize 1,000 people playing Counter-Strike for every one person who could be empowered to start the next Google.
    - aaron-lebo 10y ago
      We should all care if the discussion is about whether it is sustainable policy. It's not a normative argument, it's a is this even possible? Isn't that a necessary question?
      - ryandrake 10y ago
        If it's impossible, it's only politics and the puritanical "a living must be earned" mentality holding it back. More than enough value is generated in the USA to pay for some form of Basic Income--value that is _currently_ distributed comically unevenly. All it takes is political will.
        mcbruiser 10y ago
        wealth and value is created, not distributed. I'm sick and tired of hearing from communists about taking money away from hard working people and giving to those less deserving.
maxxxxx 10y ago
I definitely would read more books and try new tech if I worked 15 hours a week. With a 40+ hours workweek I just coast on my current skills at work and am too tired in the evening to learn other stuff.
- mcbruiser 10y ago
  > I definitely would read more books and try new tech if I worked 15 hours a week because EVERYONE is as productive as you are? give me a break.

stuaxo 10y ago

Exactly, when it frees up time you can be productive doing your own things. Having 2 days off a week, really is only enough time to do chores, not enough to spend on your own skills or do anything productive for yourself. As a contractor, I tend to take 1-3 months off between contracts + it seems to help, not hinder. I'm much fresher when I go into the next contract.

aaron-lebo 10y ago
For many people "doing their own things" is gonna be playing more Counter-Strike. Of course, that's their right, but whether you can make a sustainable economy out of subsidizing that is another question...a question that is much more pressing than "wouldn't that be better?" and one the article doesn't even attempt to answer, probably because it is largely impossible and anything like it is speculation akin to religion.
- forgotpwtomain 10y ago
  > For many people "doing their own things" is gonna be playing more Counter-Strike. Also is "more Counter-Strike" at all correlated with a quality of life increase? 45 free minutes you wouldn't have had to get rid of some stress shooting things - probably yes? 5 hours a day - probably not?
- thehardsphere 10y ago
  > For many people "doing their own things" is gonna be playing more Counter-Strike. Or worse, shooting heroin.
  - TeMPOraL 10y ago
    Or even worse, building open source software, attending city hall meetings, or parenting.
    - thehardsphere 10y ago
      Right, because everyone in Appalacia who doesn't have a job is doing all of those things with the "leisure" time they have from not working.
    - ThrowawayR2 10y ago
      >Or even worse, building open source software, attending city hall meetings, or parenting. Pretty much none of that is happening in areas where unemployment is chronic, even in a nation as wealthy as the United States. It's quite a mystery as to why well-educated people persist in the mistaken belief that UBI will magically cause recipients to behave nobly.
      - TeMPOraL 10y ago
        If your assertion was true, then I'd expect those areas to be so full of crime, misery and drug abuse, that it would make international news. > It's quite a mystery as to why well-educated people persist in the mistaken belief that UBI will magically cause recipients to behave nobly. I find the reverse to be the mystery - why some people persist in the belief that people on UBI will mostly turn to spending their days abusing drugs and cheap entertainment? Like if humans were zombies who need an employer to give their life a direction?
        ThrowawayR2 10y ago
        >If your assertion was true, then I'd expect those areas to be so full of crime, misery and drug abuse, that it would make international news. I invite you to walk the streets of downtown Detroit or, as thehardsphere points out, parts of Appalachia if you still have doubts. The only reason such areas in the US don't make international news is that third-world countries still have it relatively worse and, even then, governments of other nations issue formal cautions to their citizens against travelling to these areas.
- ryandrake 10y ago
  Who cares? For other people, that extra time and the safety net may enable them to start a business or do charity work or run for their local school board. I'd argue it's worth it for society to subsidize 1,000 people playing Counter-Strike for every one person who could be empowered to start the next Google.
  - aaron-lebo 10y ago
    We should all care if the discussion is about whether it is sustainable policy. It's not a normative argument, it's a is this even possible? Isn't that a necessary question?
    - ryandrake 10y ago
      If it's impossible, it's only politics and the puritanical "a living must be earned" mentality holding it back. More than enough value is generated in the USA to pay for some form of Basic Income--value that is _currently_ distributed comically unevenly. All it takes is political will.
      - mcbruiser 10y ago
        wealth and value is created, not distributed. I'm sick and tired of hearing from communists about taking money away from hard working people and giving to those less deserving.

maxxxxx 10y ago

I definitely would read more books and try new tech if I worked 15 hours a week. With a 40+ hours workweek I just coast on my current skills at work and am too tired in the evening to learn other stuff.

mcbruiser 10y ago
> I definitely would read more books and try new tech if I worked 15 hours a week because EVERYONE is as productive as you are? give me a break.