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I've noticed this and wonder why it is... Maybe developers /engineers are prone to seeking out, trying to identify constraints?

by meko 8y ago

DEADBEEFC0FFEE 8y ago
There probably less incentive or pressure to comment if you agree. If you disagree, you presumably have an opposing view and rationale which you may be compelled to share.
- charlchi 8y ago
  Criticising a technology for it's tech is one thing. Claiming that "X won't work because Y always works" casually but authoritatively isn't really criticism. And you can see a lot of people here getting upset over casual but massive sweeping statements like that without backup.
wpietri 8y ago
I definitely was. It's much easier to appear smart when being critical than when being positive. One of the things that helped me was the notion of Appreciative Inquiry. Basically that when you are dealing with new things, you first look for the good points that you can amplify, not bad points to beat on. That said, I think coding is a powerful push back toward the negative. Code breaks so easily that we're thoroughly trained to be on the lookout for the next failure point.
- mike10010100 8y ago
  There are also large mega-corps who have vested interests in ensuring that their products don't get eclipsed by these kinds of solutions. Don't underestimate the shilling force.
topmonk 8y ago
It's definitely a lot easier. To argue that an idea is flawed, you only need to find one possible reason it wouldn't work. If you are correct, you are cheered for it. To argue an idea will succeed, you need to know and understand the whole concept, and be able to analyze it for flaws. And then you could be proved wrong by someone mentioning a single issue you didn't see before. Even if you did see the problems people mention, to defend your point, you have to explain why each of them don't apply, which can be a lot of work. And then, anyone deciding whether they agree with you or not would have to do the same thing, in order to be right in their opinion, so you get a lot less people willing to upvote you. In that way, comment systems are focused on the negative and aren't a good space for creativity and coming up with new ideas. Now, please, tear into this and tell me where I'm wrong ;)

I've noticed this and wonder why it is... Maybe developers /engineers are prone to seeking out, trying to identify constraints?

by meko 8y ago

I've noticed this and wonder why it is... Maybe developers /engineers are prone to seeking out, trying to identify constraints?

DEADBEEFC0FFEE 8y ago

There probably less incentive or pressure to comment if you agree. If you disagree, you presumably have an opposing view and rationale which you may be compelled to share.

charlchi 8y ago
Criticising a technology for it's tech is one thing. Claiming that "X won't work because Y always works" casually but authoritatively isn't really criticism. And you can see a lot of people here getting upset over casual but massive sweeping statements like that without backup.

wpietri 8y ago

I definitely was. It's much easier to appear smart when being critical than when being positive. One of the things that helped me was the notion of Appreciative Inquiry. Basically that when you are dealing with new things, you first look for the good points that you can amplify, not bad points to beat on. That said, I think coding is a powerful push back toward the negative. Code breaks so easily that we're thoroughly trained to be on the lookout for the next failure point.

mike10010100 8y ago
There are also large mega-corps who have vested interests in ensuring that their products don't get eclipsed by these kinds of solutions. Don't underestimate the shilling force.

topmonk 8y ago

It's definitely a lot easier. To argue that an idea is flawed, you only need to find one possible reason it wouldn't work. If you are correct, you are cheered for it. To argue an idea will succeed, you need to know and understand the whole concept, and be able to analyze it for flaws. And then you could be proved wrong by someone mentioning a single issue you didn't see before. Even if you did see the problems people mention, to defend your point, you have to explain why each of them don't apply, which can be a lot of work. And then, anyone deciding whether they agree with you or not would have to do the same thing, in order to be right in their opinion, so you get a lot less people willing to upvote you. In that way, comment systems are focused on the negative and aren't a good space for creativity and coming up with new ideas. Now, please, tear into this and tell me where I'm wrong ;)