How can you take "the environment in big companies is toxic to programmers." and say "Paul makes no claim about employees being unhappy [...] the absence of som

How can you take "the environment in big companies is toxic to programmers." and say "Paul makes no claim about employees being unhappy [...] the absence of something you don’t even know you’re missing is hardly likely to make you unhappy on its own" ? I can see how someone might have difficulty making the connection, but I think the food analogy addresses it. Most food that people eat is in fact toxic to humans. However, its toxicity, on average, is fairly low; it is only in aggregate over an extended period of time that the consequences become apparent. In some cases, it will never even cause a problem. Eating this "toxic" food doesn't cause anyone unhappiness in the short term, it may even cause a great deal of happiness, but it can have long term consequences.