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I am one of those misfits (not an evil or unempathetic one i think...), and people like you are just the shitty bullies all over again. Tech has an abundance o

I am one of those misfits (not an evil or unempathetic one i think...), and people like you are just the shitty bullies all over again. Tech has an abundance of non-nerdy types now, and arguably those are the people with enough business and social savvy to have made it into the force it is today. The VCs who choose what to fund, the advertisers that shape content platforms, the founders who care only about engagement.. These socially "well-adjusted" people are just as culpable (if not more) for the evil tech has done, but yet people like you point the finger at nerds and only nerds. There are many, many socially competent people who do evil things, but they have good social skills so you don't care. Its just a trash regurgitation of the hierarchies of high-school all over again. Its oh-so-convenient to believe "evil" ties in perfectly with your intuitive sense of "well-adjusted", to divide the world so easily into "misfit = evil" and "friendly = good", but truly evil people have to blend in as "good" to get anything done. The sociopaths are running the show.

watwut 9y ago
Nerd types are no better ethically then the rest of population. Not worst either I would say, the major difference is lack of influence. Thinking that being nerd implies good and does not help anything ethical. It makes it worst, because it removes doubt.
- zaptheimpaler 9y ago
  Yep, exactly. I don't think nerds are all good, but I don't think they are all evil because of their childhood experiences either as OP implies. The fact is good and evil people are everywhere.
  - matte_black 9y ago
    I don’t think they are all evil, but I think the cause for at least some evil is shaped by those experiences. Especially on a young impressionable mind.
    - sitkack 9y ago
      FWIW I think the parent was over reacting and you both agree more than disagree. It is a fact that the abused are more likely to abuse. We all have to be cognizant of why we are where we are.
  - rosser 9y ago
    The top post in this thread said "many". Not "most". Not even "all". I have no idea where you're getting the notion that it was an indictment of technologists, writ large. It observed that many of us — myself included — were very much on the outside, socially, as young people. I mean, how do you know that 'matte_black wasn't bullied, too? No matter what, that leaves a mark. That some subset of those people developed consequently in a way that manifests a lack of empathy and an "Oh, yeah? I'll show you!" kind of attitude is neither surprising, nor worthy of condemnation for acknowledging aloud.
    - watwut 9y ago
      I think that this is red herring. Not all techies were bullied, not even majority in my experience. Some were lonely, some had small group of like minded friends and some were average socially. Yes there are people who have social difficulties, but majority of techies can communicate. There is however something cultural that makes us assume (in these discussions) that techies were all bullied and are all unadjusted. Up to the point where pretending you don't get social nuance occasionally, when it suits you, is a brag point and makes people assume you are smarter. (Of course crutial difference is that people who really don't get social make mistakes when it does not suits them) People throw around weird techie stereotype, but when I ask names, they can't answer. Because their real world colegues are not stereotypes mostly.
    - zaptheimpaler 9y ago
      >The top post in this thread said "many". Not "most". Not even "all". Even saying "many" is perpetuating a stereotype, and its harmful in the way all stereotypes are. See how controversial saying "Many women tend to gravitate away from technology & towards people-focused disciplines" is, for the same reasons. It subtly disempowers people within the stereotype by implying they must be a certain kind of person or do only certain things.
mistermann 9y ago
> I am one of those misfits (not an evil or unempathetic one i think...), and people like you are just the shitty bullies all over again. Didn't you misinterpret him? I thought his point was that "tech nerds" were generally thought to be "better" than the cool people or jocks, but now that they themselves have the power, turns out they're just like everyone else. Which seems about right to me. There are very few people I can think of who've made it big in tech and haven't compromised the "generally accepted" principles of "don't be evil".
- zaptheimpaler 9y ago
  I don't think the people OP calls "outcasts"/"misfits"/"downtrodden" means they were ever thought to be better. He seems to be saying, yeah we always knew they were icky and weird, of course they are evil too!!
  - matte_black 9y ago
    Not really what I was saying, but interpret my post in whatever way most satisfies you personally.
    - zaptheimpaler 9y ago
      Lol perhaps I am horribly triggered and reading incorrectly... but the 2 lines you wrote seem clear as day to me - Techies are "misfits". Being a "misfit" "creates the perfect foundation for personalities with something to prove and little to no empathy to stop them from doing it.". i.e being a misfit = higher chance of being an evil person.
dang 9y ago
> people like you are just the shitty bullies Personal attacks aren't allowed on HN, no matter who you're talking to or how wrong they are. We ban accounts that post like this, so please don't do this again. Instead, read https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and take the spirit of the site to heart and you'll be fine. Edit: I'm sorry to see that you've posted several other uncivil and/or unsubstantive comments to HN recently too. Really, please don't do that.

watwut 9y ago

Nerd types are no better ethically then the rest of population. Not worst either I would say, the major difference is lack of influence. Thinking that being nerd implies good and does not help anything ethical. It makes it worst, because it removes doubt.

zaptheimpaler 9y ago
Yep, exactly. I don't think nerds are all good, but I don't think they are all evil because of their childhood experiences either as OP implies. The fact is good and evil people are everywhere.
- matte_black 9y ago
  I don’t think they are all evil, but I think the cause for at least some evil is shaped by those experiences. Especially on a young impressionable mind.
  - sitkack 9y ago
    FWIW I think the parent was over reacting and you both agree more than disagree. It is a fact that the abused are more likely to abuse. We all have to be cognizant of why we are where we are.
- rosser 9y ago
  The top post in this thread said "many". Not "most". Not even "all". I have no idea where you're getting the notion that it was an indictment of technologists, writ large. It observed that many of us — myself included — were very much on the outside, socially, as young people. I mean, how do you know that 'matte_black wasn't bullied, too? No matter what, that leaves a mark. That some subset of those people developed consequently in a way that manifests a lack of empathy and an "Oh, yeah? I'll show you!" kind of attitude is neither surprising, nor worthy of condemnation for acknowledging aloud.
  - watwut 9y ago
    I think that this is red herring. Not all techies were bullied, not even majority in my experience. Some were lonely, some had small group of like minded friends and some were average socially. Yes there are people who have social difficulties, but majority of techies can communicate. There is however something cultural that makes us assume (in these discussions) that techies were all bullied and are all unadjusted. Up to the point where pretending you don't get social nuance occasionally, when it suits you, is a brag point and makes people assume you are smarter. (Of course crutial difference is that people who really don't get social make mistakes when it does not suits them) People throw around weird techie stereotype, but when I ask names, they can't answer. Because their real world colegues are not stereotypes mostly.
  - zaptheimpaler 9y ago
    >The top post in this thread said "many". Not "most". Not even "all". Even saying "many" is perpetuating a stereotype, and its harmful in the way all stereotypes are. See how controversial saying "Many women tend to gravitate away from technology & towards people-focused disciplines" is, for the same reasons. It subtly disempowers people within the stereotype by implying they must be a certain kind of person or do only certain things.

mistermann 9y ago

> I am one of those misfits (not an evil or unempathetic one i think...), and people like you are just the shitty bullies all over again. Didn't you misinterpret him? I thought his point was that "tech nerds" were generally thought to be "better" than the cool people or jocks, but now that they themselves have the power, turns out they're just like everyone else. Which seems about right to me. There are very few people I can think of who've made it big in tech and haven't compromised the "generally accepted" principles of "don't be evil".

zaptheimpaler 9y ago
I don't think the people OP calls "outcasts"/"misfits"/"downtrodden" means they were ever thought to be better. He seems to be saying, yeah we always knew they were icky and weird, of course they are evil too!!
- matte_black 9y ago
  Not really what I was saying, but interpret my post in whatever way most satisfies you personally.
  - zaptheimpaler 9y ago
    Lol perhaps I am horribly triggered and reading incorrectly... but the 2 lines you wrote seem clear as day to me - Techies are "misfits". Being a "misfit" "creates the perfect foundation for personalities with something to prove and little to no empathy to stop them from doing it.". i.e being a misfit = higher chance of being an evil person.

dang 9y ago

> people like you are just the shitty bullies Personal attacks aren't allowed on HN, no matter who you're talking to or how wrong they are. We ban accounts that post like this, so please don't do this again. Instead, read https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and take the spirit of the site to heart and you'll be fine. Edit: I'm sorry to see that you've posted several other uncivil and/or unsubstantive comments to HN recently too. Really, please don't do that.