3 ms·

>I just started working at Google and it wasn't everything I had hoped This person just graduated college. This is a wildly unremarkable piece of writing about

>I just started working at Google and it wasn't everything I had hoped This person just graduated college. This is a wildly unremarkable piece of writing about a widely discussed issue, and the author has no unique insight into the problem. The sanctimony of repeating "This is Silicon Valley" over and over as if this pedestrian blogpost carries the weight of an MLK speech is just silly. Yes, life can be disappointing in these ways. No, discussing Google's use of plastic straws is not deep. Yes, our whole culture has a problem with isolation. No, your "I'm quitting facebook" post is not an incisive expose of that problem. I'm actually not trying to be mean, because I know part of growing up is clarifying these thoughts to yourself and trying to make sense of it all. And I don't mean to diminish her experience - I'm sure it's sincerely felt. We can probably all agree that it's a frightening and disorienting experience entering the "real world" and discovering that you have to find your own meaning. So the problem isn't the author - everybody thinks or writes these self-righteous, disillusioned screeds from time to time, even if we don't put them on a blog. The issue is - can't we, the readers of hackernews, find a better object of discussion? There have to be a million better words written on this topic. Seeing this on the frontpage makes me feel like people are really nodding their heads to this and thinking "Thank God somebody has said it!" But... we're better than that right? We all understand this for what it is, right? Please? EDIT: As I'm reading through the replies, I feel a little better. At least there's some level of consensus that this is a pretty juvenile hot-take. It'd be better if the snark was directed at ourselves rather than the author though. The world is full of 22 year olds' opinions, it's our fault for putting it on the front page like it's some great piece of writing

fizwhiz 8y ago
So much this. It's ironic that the article is guilty of the very thing it bemoans: status-seeking and all kinds of distanced virtue signaling.
crushcrashcrush 8y ago
While it may not live up to your editorial standards, it's clearly resonating with this audience. Maybe attack the ideas and not the structure / style of the piece? It has nothing to do with the author "finding meaning." It's critiquing an overpriced, socially bankrupt culture and area, and the toll that can take on mental health and happiness.
- smallgovt 8y ago
  > It has nothing to do with the author "finding meaning." I think it has a whole lot (if not entirely) to do with the author finding meaning. In particular, the reason this "bankrupt" culture takes a toll on the author's happiness is because she doesn't find Silicon Valley's value structure to be meaningful. In other words, surrounding yourself with people who have a different value structure than yourself can cause mental health problems (especially when you haven't taken the time to explicitly inspect your values bc you either feel like there's something wrong with you or everyone around you is a horrible person).
- sebastos 8y ago
  I mean, I could do that, but that's kind of missing the point. In fact, I don't particularly disagree with the ideas. I think it would be pretty hard to find people who do! That's what makes the piece so banal - it's saying things that everyone will agree with in a very fluffy, very unexamined way. >It's critiquing an overpriced, socially bankrupt culture and area, and the toll that can take on mental health and happiness. This is what the piece _thinks_ it's critiquing. That's what it wants us to think too. But I'm arguing that it's very obvious where the author is coming from. You can tell from the examples she picks that she's just basically a new Google hire who's not really fitting in, and feeling disillusioned with her cohort. "Everybody goes to Lake Tahoe for the weekend"? Tell me that's not coming directly from somebody who's feeling bored and unfulfilled and surrounded by people she hasn't bonded with. And so my point is that this is something that a lot of people go through, and it doesn't have much to do with the monotony of Silicon Valley or the moral decay of our society (which, as a reminder, I don't really deny as real phenomena!). This is basically a diary entry of someone walking through a tough time in their life, but it's trying to bring the weight of society's problems along with it to make you feel like it's a deep insight. But it ain't. And we, as adults, should be able to understand what's going on there, and call it like it is.
  - TheHwangover 8y ago
    Does that make what the author is trying to convey any more right/wrong? Doesn't matter if you have experience/insight through years of trial or turmoil. If you get to an enlightened state faster, more power to you. Don't discredit the author for missing whatever steps you had in mind
tezzer 8y ago
I liked it for the perspective of someone who grew up here, went to Silicon Valley elementary and high schools, saw the toll the culture took on her peers. Then left for college and came back for work. I think that perspective: "I should love this place, it's home, but damn is it broken" is valuable. Maybe more for me than you- I'm raising 2 daughters here.

fizwhiz 8y ago

So much this. It's ironic that the article is guilty of the very thing it bemoans: status-seeking and all kinds of distanced virtue signaling.

crushcrashcrush 8y ago

While it may not live up to your editorial standards, it's clearly resonating with this audience. Maybe attack the ideas and not the structure / style of the piece? It has nothing to do with the author "finding meaning." It's critiquing an overpriced, socially bankrupt culture and area, and the toll that can take on mental health and happiness.

smallgovt 8y ago
> It has nothing to do with the author "finding meaning." I think it has a whole lot (if not entirely) to do with the author finding meaning. In particular, the reason this "bankrupt" culture takes a toll on the author's happiness is because she doesn't find Silicon Valley's value structure to be meaningful. In other words, surrounding yourself with people who have a different value structure than yourself can cause mental health problems (especially when you haven't taken the time to explicitly inspect your values bc you either feel like there's something wrong with you or everyone around you is a horrible person).
sebastos 8y ago
I mean, I could do that, but that's kind of missing the point. In fact, I don't particularly disagree with the ideas. I think it would be pretty hard to find people who do! That's what makes the piece so banal - it's saying things that everyone will agree with in a very fluffy, very unexamined way. >It's critiquing an overpriced, socially bankrupt culture and area, and the toll that can take on mental health and happiness. This is what the piece _thinks_ it's critiquing. That's what it wants us to think too. But I'm arguing that it's very obvious where the author is coming from. You can tell from the examples she picks that she's just basically a new Google hire who's not really fitting in, and feeling disillusioned with her cohort. "Everybody goes to Lake Tahoe for the weekend"? Tell me that's not coming directly from somebody who's feeling bored and unfulfilled and surrounded by people she hasn't bonded with. And so my point is that this is something that a lot of people go through, and it doesn't have much to do with the monotony of Silicon Valley or the moral decay of our society (which, as a reminder, I don't really deny as real phenomena!). This is basically a diary entry of someone walking through a tough time in their life, but it's trying to bring the weight of society's problems along with it to make you feel like it's a deep insight. But it ain't. And we, as adults, should be able to understand what's going on there, and call it like it is.
- TheHwangover 8y ago
  Does that make what the author is trying to convey any more right/wrong? Doesn't matter if you have experience/insight through years of trial or turmoil. If you get to an enlightened state faster, more power to you. Don't discredit the author for missing whatever steps you had in mind

tezzer 8y ago

I liked it for the perspective of someone who grew up here, went to Silicon Valley elementary and high schools, saw the toll the culture took on her peers. Then left for college and came back for work. I think that perspective: "I should love this place, it's home, but damn is it broken" is valuable. Maybe more for me than you- I'm raising 2 daughters here.