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Quoting from the article that quotes the paper: "Furthermore, their productivity is tremendously enhanced by living with other CNR workers." Where "CNR" worker

Quoting from the article that quotes the paper: "Furthermore, their productivity is tremendously enhanced by living with other CNR workers." Where "CNR" workers includes "computer programmers". I really take issue with that. I think it is blatantly untrue. I've worked in small towns and I've worked in large metropolises (London, for example). I am not more productive in a metropolis. It's handy to go to meetups occasionally, but I have to say that with the internet I learn more by watching interesting talks and emailing people occasionally than I ever did going to the pub and chatting with super famous people in person. I mean, I enjoy going to the pub and chatting with people in person and I really miss that about London, but I'm way more productive in my current rural setting. It is, however, instructive to note that I am a remote worker. As a business, if you want to have people who are local, then it helps tremendously to be able to select from a large pool. That's obvious. As an individual it's much easier to network in person and so it's easier to get a job. But, when you are actually on the job? I really don't see this increase in "productivity" at all.

orev 7y ago
I took the article to mean that the collective effect of CNR workers is enhanced when many are in the same location. The productivity of each person enhances the rest. That’s not the same thing as being individually productive.
- droithomme 7y ago
  So it benefits lazy corporations and not smart corporations or astute talented individuals. Not really something beneficial to the greater society IMO.
  - malandrew 7y ago
    If society relied merely on astute talented individuals, it wouldn't get very far. Most of the most astute talented individuals that have had an impact on society have had that impact as a result of all the less astute individuals in the organizations (corporations or otherwise) of which they were a part. The Manhattan project is exemplary of this.
hos234 7y ago
Well you are productive as long as your kids have access to good teachers, family has access to good doctors etc. Once you need those things frequently and can afford it , small town life can turn into a big headache.
- Jamwinner 7y ago
  On the contrary, most small towns (I have lived in) have much finer grained community support networks, many ad-hoc, that can provide better quality of life. This is however highly dependent on your local community. However it is never too late to start something. I find if there is a need, there is a huge untapped well of hands-on support you just don't find in urban environments. The fact that people still know their neighbors is a huge enabler and stimulus of compassion and support.
malandrew 7y ago
> I am not more productive in a metropolis. That matters when you're an individual that works on solo or small projects, but once you start working on project at scale with many individual teams, the time you spend coding matters less relative to time spent collaborating. There's no the teams I work with daily could be just as productive if we were not all in the same office. Companies like Google or Facebook would not be more productive if thousands of engineers worked remotely from small towns.

orev 7y ago

I took the article to mean that the collective effect of CNR workers is enhanced when many are in the same location. The productivity of each person enhances the rest. That’s not the same thing as being individually productive.

droithomme 7y ago
So it benefits lazy corporations and not smart corporations or astute talented individuals. Not really something beneficial to the greater society IMO.
- malandrew 7y ago
  If society relied merely on astute talented individuals, it wouldn't get very far. Most of the most astute talented individuals that have had an impact on society have had that impact as a result of all the less astute individuals in the organizations (corporations or otherwise) of which they were a part. The Manhattan project is exemplary of this.

hos234 7y ago

Well you are productive as long as your kids have access to good teachers, family has access to good doctors etc. Once you need those things frequently and can afford it , small town life can turn into a big headache.

Jamwinner 7y ago
On the contrary, most small towns (I have lived in) have much finer grained community support networks, many ad-hoc, that can provide better quality of life. This is however highly dependent on your local community. However it is never too late to start something. I find if there is a need, there is a huge untapped well of hands-on support you just don't find in urban environments. The fact that people still know their neighbors is a huge enabler and stimulus of compassion and support.

malandrew 7y ago

> I am not more productive in a metropolis. That matters when you're an individual that works on solo or small projects, but once you start working on project at scale with many individual teams, the time you spend coding matters less relative to time spent collaborating. There's no the teams I work with daily could be just as productive if we were not all in the same office. Companies like Google or Facebook would not be more productive if thousands of engineers worked remotely from small towns.