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Why are you assuming that I would spend less time with e.g. my wife if she were less efficient in performing some menial task? It would take her longer _to comp

Why are you assuming that I would spend less time with e.g. my wife if she were less efficient in performing some menial task? It would take her longer _to complete_, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't still quit working at 5. Besides, most of the software we write is pretty inconsequential as far as most people are concerned.

leetcrew 7y ago
> Why are you assuming that I would spend less time with e.g. my wife if she were less efficient in performing some menial task? because "helping many people allocate their time towards activities they actually value" was an important premise I stated in the post you originally replied to? I deliberately excluded stuff that merely improves productivity at work (although not everyone is fortunate enough to have a job where they can just leave at five if the work isn't done).
- EpicEng 7y ago
  Then you're going to have to give me some examples. All in all I think doctors and medical scientists are more important to the world than the vast majority of us (since we have to make it an either/or for the sake of argument), so get specific.
  - leetcrew 7y ago
    I for one am quite grateful to the engineers who implement electronic automatic billing. when I was a kid, it seemed like my dad spent a lot of time sorting through mail and writing/mailing individual checks for services. now it's automatically billed to the credit card, the credit card gets autopaid from checking, and he just has to make sure there's enough in his checking at the end of the month. that's not a huge amount of time and thought saved, but it's not nothing either. there's a lot of this stuff that we take advantage of in our lives without really noticing, I think.
    - EpicEng 7y ago
      Automatic billing... Meanwhile, median life expectancy has skyrocketed, in large part due to new medical treatments and early detection methods. Unless your father was spending 20-30% of each day paying bills, I don't think that's going to do it. I remain unconvinced. Let's also not forget the drain on interpersonal relations that software has brought about. If your father would have spent that time ok on FB instead I'm not sure we gained anything.

leetcrew 7y ago

> Why are you assuming that I would spend less time with e.g. my wife if she were less efficient in performing some menial task? because "helping many people allocate their time towards activities they actually value" was an important premise I stated in the post you originally replied to? I deliberately excluded stuff that merely improves productivity at work (although not everyone is fortunate enough to have a job where they can just leave at five if the work isn't done).

EpicEng 7y ago
Then you're going to have to give me some examples. All in all I think doctors and medical scientists are more important to the world than the vast majority of us (since we have to make it an either/or for the sake of argument), so get specific.
- leetcrew 7y ago
  I for one am quite grateful to the engineers who implement electronic automatic billing. when I was a kid, it seemed like my dad spent a lot of time sorting through mail and writing/mailing individual checks for services. now it's automatically billed to the credit card, the credit card gets autopaid from checking, and he just has to make sure there's enough in his checking at the end of the month. that's not a huge amount of time and thought saved, but it's not nothing either. there's a lot of this stuff that we take advantage of in our lives without really noticing, I think.
  - EpicEng 7y ago
    Automatic billing... Meanwhile, median life expectancy has skyrocketed, in large part due to new medical treatments and early detection methods. Unless your father was spending 20-30% of each day paying bills, I don't think that's going to do it. I remain unconvinced. Let's also not forget the drain on interpersonal relations that software has brought about. If your father would have spent that time ok on FB instead I'm not sure we gained anything.