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Do it anyway. You know if someone you don't remember from an interaction ages ago emailed you to say "Hey, you probably don't remember this, but you once told

Do it anyway. You know if someone you don't remember from an interaction ages ago emailed you to say "Hey, you probably don't remember this, but you once told me $thing, so I took $action, and now I've achieved $outcome. Thanks you for that, it really helped my career!", it'd make you feel great and would probably be the highlight of your day, right?

snide 7y ago
As an anecdote. I once received something like this (on Twitter of all places). It was a "you probably don't remember me but..." for someone I'd passed on a decade ago. It really touched me and made me sit down and reflect on my career. The person had gone on to have a successful career being creative. Which honestly, is all we can ever ask. I remembered the person, but not anything about what I'd said that day. I assume it was just what I normally say. Having that last realization made me feel even better. The easiest, most rewarding thing you can do daily in your life is appreciate the people around you. We all need that feedback.
- ianai 7y ago
  Agree! Be kind. The universe is chaotic to cruel and indifferent enough on its own.
- Iv 7y ago
  Every word you speak, especially to the youth, is a seed. Handle them like they were going to land on fertile ground.
  - jodrellblank 7y ago
    Is this, "grind them up so they won't be competing with you for sunlight" or "don't shit on them, it will only help them grow stronger"?
    - thecatspaw 7y ago
      its "watch out which seeds you throw their way"
    - jmnicolas 7y ago
      Upvoted for a good laugh !
    - bonzini 7y ago
      Technically, shit helps seeds grow stronger.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
alxlaz 7y ago
> Do it anyway. I'd like to second that. Do it! A few years ago, through some bizarre corporate scheduling (and turnover) accident I ended up interviewing almost all prospective interns and university hires at $work for a couple of years. I must have talked to a hundred second, third and fourth year students every spring, and at least twenty or thirty other people throughout the year. I definitely don't remember all of them, although I sure wish I did. Since these were literally people who were still in school, I always gave detailed and constructive ideas for improvement. I always suggested things to read or what projects to look into, even to people who did very well on the interview and ended up being my colleagues. It wasn't some grand gesture -- these were young people who were still in school, so all I had to give were entry-level suggestions (read this chapter in this famous book, try this program, work on your understanding of these concepts) that any experienced professional in my field should be able to give with zero effort. Lots of these young folks wrote me back after some time (mostly via Linkedin but one of them specifically came at the office to see me when they got hired by a company which had offices in the same building). Every time I see one of these messages I get the happies, even if I have no memory of ever talking to that person. (Edit: FWIW, I often don't, but I understand the asymmetry here. Lots of us remember the first few interviews of our careers.) The software industry has fewer and fewer islands of sanity and human decency. If you ended up on one, you should make friends with everyone you can, and if you appreciate something they did for you, you should let them know. The professional climate of our days rewards narcissism, arrogance and pettiness to such a degree that lots of things that would otherwise look tacky are viewed in a very different light. As the great philosopher and musician Sting once put it (maybe he stole it from somewhere though?), at night, a candle's brighter than the sun :-).
hx2a 7y ago
Earlier today I was sitting in a presentation by a faculty member who included a slide with an email quote from a former student who did exactly what you said right before the presentation. It absolutely made his day. And I know the former student and have a hunch he reads HackerNews. This also made my day because I saw the real-world impact of something on HackerNews. And perhaps it will make your day to know your comment has influenced more people than the poster you were replying to.
- bigiain 7y ago
  Thanks, and yeah - it's made a rainy Sunday afternoon quite a bit brighter :-)

snide 7y ago

As an anecdote. I once received something like this (on Twitter of all places). It was a "you probably don't remember me but..." for someone I'd passed on a decade ago. It really touched me and made me sit down and reflect on my career. The person had gone on to have a successful career being creative. Which honestly, is all we can ever ask. I remembered the person, but not anything about what I'd said that day. I assume it was just what I normally say. Having that last realization made me feel even better. The easiest, most rewarding thing you can do daily in your life is appreciate the people around you. We all need that feedback.

ianai 7y ago
Agree! Be kind. The universe is chaotic to cruel and indifferent enough on its own.
Iv 7y ago
Every word you speak, especially to the youth, is a seed. Handle them like they were going to land on fertile ground.
- jodrellblank 7y ago
  Is this, "grind them up so they won't be competing with you for sunlight" or "don't shit on them, it will only help them grow stronger"?
  - thecatspaw 7y ago
    its "watch out which seeds you throw their way"
  - jmnicolas 7y ago
    Upvoted for a good laugh !
  - bonzini 7y ago
    Technically, shit helps seeds grow stronger.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

alxlaz 7y ago

> Do it anyway. I'd like to second that. Do it! A few years ago, through some bizarre corporate scheduling (and turnover) accident I ended up interviewing almost all prospective interns and university hires at $work for a couple of years. I must have talked to a hundred second, third and fourth year students every spring, and at least twenty or thirty other people throughout the year. I definitely don't remember all of them, although I sure wish I did. Since these were literally people who were still in school, I always gave detailed and constructive ideas for improvement. I always suggested things to read or what projects to look into, even to people who did very well on the interview and ended up being my colleagues. It wasn't some grand gesture -- these were young people who were still in school, so all I had to give were entry-level suggestions (read this chapter in this famous book, try this program, work on your understanding of these concepts) that any experienced professional in my field should be able to give with zero effort. Lots of these young folks wrote me back after some time (mostly via Linkedin but one of them specifically came at the office to see me when they got hired by a company which had offices in the same building). Every time I see one of these messages I get the happies, even if I have no memory of ever talking to that person. (Edit: FWIW, I often don't, but I understand the asymmetry here. Lots of us remember the first few interviews of our careers.) The software industry has fewer and fewer islands of sanity and human decency. If you ended up on one, you should make friends with everyone you can, and if you appreciate something they did for you, you should let them know. The professional climate of our days rewards narcissism, arrogance and pettiness to such a degree that lots of things that would otherwise look tacky are viewed in a very different light. As the great philosopher and musician Sting once put it (maybe he stole it from somewhere though?), at night, a candle's brighter than the sun :-).

hx2a 7y ago

Earlier today I was sitting in a presentation by a faculty member who included a slide with an email quote from a former student who did exactly what you said right before the presentation. It absolutely made his day. And I know the former student and have a hunch he reads HackerNews. This also made my day because I saw the real-world impact of something on HackerNews. And perhaps it will make your day to know your comment has influenced more people than the poster you were replying to.

bigiain 7y ago
Thanks, and yeah - it's made a rainy Sunday afternoon quite a bit brighter :-)