3 ms·

The rate of change of technological progress is increasing, and many people just have a tendency to... crystallize. Experienced people of any age who can adapt

by trevyn 9y ago

The rate of change of technological progress is increasing, and many people just have a tendency to... crystallize. Experienced people of any age who can adapt well to change have no trouble getting a job.

racer-v 9y ago
My advice to graybeards: when somebody is excited about a new technology XYZ, don't say "oh, we did that 20 years ago and called it ABC". It annoys people, because generally XYZ has important differences that prevent ABC from being a drop-in replacement. Instead you can say "that reminds me of a similar concept we used to implement using ABC", and quietly appreciate that you got a leg up in understanding because of your experience. If young people are smart and curious, they'll want to know more about ABC, and ask.
- inetknght 9y ago
  When XYZ is just ABC with additional layers on top which kills performance and/or security...
  - user5994461 9y ago
    And then you quote the drawbacks of ABC and it turns out that the interviewer has the same issues with XYZ because it's trying to do the same things. Now he hates you because he really believed in XYZ, maybe wrote it himself.
- analog31 9y ago
  I'm 53. What I do is learn XYZ at home, and use it in my side / research projects, while the people at work are still struggling with their legacy software and technical debt written in ABC.
wwweston 9y ago
> The rate of change of technological progress is increasing Well, the rate of change seems to be high. Whether it's "progress" is another matter. Progress usually implies change, but the reverse is not at all necessarily true. Who's usually in a position to recognize that and be a judge of it? People with experience. So the question I'd ask is this: when someone with experience doesn't like change, is it because they've "crystalized"? Or is it because they have some defensible reason for disliking the change? If it might be both, how would someone be able to tell the difference?
- trevyn 9y ago
  Good question! I think it would be useful to try something like Double Crux: (http://lesswrong.com/lw/o6p/double_crux_a_strategy_for_resolving_disagreement/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/o6p/double_crux_a_strategy_for_resol...) Say Person B is proposing a change from Solution A -> Solution B. Person A thinks Solution A is still the correct approach. I think it's important to understand in detail what aspects of Solution B are appealing to Person B. It may be subtle, psychological, and/or political, but there's a reason why this change is important to person B. Person A & Solution A must address those issues, or risk eventual obsolescence. It's also entirely possible that the more correct approach is Solution C, and this process can help establish what exactly that is.

by trevyn 9y ago

racer-v 9y ago

My advice to graybeards: when somebody is excited about a new technology XYZ, don't say "oh, we did that 20 years ago and called it ABC". It annoys people, because generally XYZ has important differences that prevent ABC from being a drop-in replacement. Instead you can say "that reminds me of a similar concept we used to implement using ABC", and quietly appreciate that you got a leg up in understanding because of your experience. If young people are smart and curious, they'll want to know more about ABC, and ask.

inetknght 9y ago
When XYZ is just ABC with additional layers on top which kills performance and/or security...
- user5994461 9y ago
  And then you quote the drawbacks of ABC and it turns out that the interviewer has the same issues with XYZ because it's trying to do the same things. Now he hates you because he really believed in XYZ, maybe wrote it himself.
analog31 9y ago
I'm 53. What I do is learn XYZ at home, and use it in my side / research projects, while the people at work are still struggling with their legacy software and technical debt written in ABC.

wwweston 9y ago

> The rate of change of technological progress is increasing Well, the rate of change seems to be high. Whether it's "progress" is another matter. Progress usually implies change, but the reverse is not at all necessarily true. Who's usually in a position to recognize that and be a judge of it? People with experience. So the question I'd ask is this: when someone with experience doesn't like change, is it because they've "crystalized"? Or is it because they have some defensible reason for disliking the change? If it might be both, how would someone be able to tell the difference?

trevyn 9y ago
Good question! I think it would be useful to try something like Double Crux: (http://lesswrong.com/lw/o6p/double_crux_a_strategy_for_resolving_disagreement/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/o6p/double_crux_a_strategy_for_resol...) Say Person B is proposing a change from Solution A -> Solution B. Person A thinks Solution A is still the correct approach. I think it's important to understand in detail what aspects of Solution B are appealing to Person B. It may be subtle, psychological, and/or political, but there's a reason why this change is important to person B. Person A & Solution A must address those issues, or risk eventual obsolescence. It's also entirely possible that the more correct approach is Solution C, and this process can help establish what exactly that is.