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Thank you :) So, what exactly is the norm? What we hear from blog entries and the like is that you're all working from the time you get up to the time you fall

Thank you :) So, what exactly is the norm? What we hear from blog entries and the like is that you're all working from the time you get up to the time you fall asleep clutching your laptops.

adrianwaj 18y ago
Cults are defined in other ways too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult#Definition_according_to_secular_opposition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult#Definition_according_to_se... "A cult is a group or movement exhibiting a great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea or thing and employing unethically manipulative techniques of persuasion and control (e.g. isolation from former friends and family, debilitation, use of special methods to heighten suggestibility and subservience, powerful group pressures, information management, suspension of individuality or critical judgment, promotion of total dependency on the group and fear of [consequences of] leaving it, etc) designed to advance the goals of the group's leaders to the actual or possible detriment of members, their families, or the community." For and exhaustive list, see here: http://rickross.com/sg_alpha.html http://rickross.com/sg_alpha.html This is no laughing matter. People's lives are ruined by cults, and even if taken away from a cult, their effects linger.
- danielharan 18y ago
  "Unethically manipulative"!? WTF is that?
  - stcredzero 18y ago
    I think that a mother using reverse psychology to motivate her child to do her homework is "ethically manipulative." I think a national leader using lies to lead his country into war is unethically manipulative. I don't yet have a formula for it though.
    - mattmaroon 18y ago
      I don't like that formula, because in both cases the manipulator would think it's for their own good. It's too subjective.
      - stcredzero 18y ago
        Well, that's why there is no formula! It's a sticky wicket. In the case of the mother and child, in most cases, the mother is correct in thinking it's "for their own good." Also, in that case, there's good reason to believe that the child doesn't know what's best. So don't try to put any formula in my mouth. I explicitly said I had none! (It's like porn: "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it.")
        Xichekolas 18y ago
        At least you are honest about your beliefs. Most people get highly offended if you suggest that their political stances are nothing more than a series of gut reactions.
        stcredzero 18y ago
        The evidence indicates that, for most, life is a series of gut reactions that we rationalize later.
        mattmaroon 18y ago
        Well, I guess I meant that any formula you come up with around that statment suffers from revisionist history, and a very subjective view of what is really good. I was objecting to the formula you hadn't pinned down based on the output. Most people would say that George W Bush deceived us into invading Iraq. Had he found a few nukes lying around, would that still have been unethical? A lot of people who think his actions were unethical now would probably not if the results were different, even though nothing was known at the time he did it.
        18y ago
mattmaroon 18y ago
Well, the norm is clearly working very hard for two and a half months before demo day. But most people realize that working past a certain number is counterproductive. I don't know exactly what that number is, but it's below 18 per day for sure. I'd say we probably worked 70-80 hour weeks.

Thank you :) So, what exactly is the norm? What we hear from blog entries and the like is that you're all working from the time you get up to the time you fall asleep clutching your laptops.

adrianwaj 18y ago

Cults are defined in other ways too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult#Definition_according_to_secular_opposition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult#Definition_according_to_se... "A cult is a group or movement exhibiting a great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea or thing and employing unethically manipulative techniques of persuasion and control (e.g. isolation from former friends and family, debilitation, use of special methods to heighten suggestibility and subservience, powerful group pressures, information management, suspension of individuality or critical judgment, promotion of total dependency on the group and fear of [consequences of] leaving it, etc) designed to advance the goals of the group's leaders to the actual or possible detriment of members, their families, or the community." For and exhaustive list, see here: http://rickross.com/sg_alpha.html http://rickross.com/sg_alpha.html This is no laughing matter. People's lives are ruined by cults, and even if taken away from a cult, their effects linger.

danielharan 18y ago
"Unethically manipulative"!? WTF is that?
- stcredzero 18y ago
  I think that a mother using reverse psychology to motivate her child to do her homework is "ethically manipulative." I think a national leader using lies to lead his country into war is unethically manipulative. I don't yet have a formula for it though.
  - mattmaroon 18y ago
    I don't like that formula, because in both cases the manipulator would think it's for their own good. It's too subjective.
    - stcredzero 18y ago
      Well, that's why there is no formula! It's a sticky wicket. In the case of the mother and child, in most cases, the mother is correct in thinking it's "for their own good." Also, in that case, there's good reason to believe that the child doesn't know what's best. So don't try to put any formula in my mouth. I explicitly said I had none! (It's like porn: "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it.")
      - Xichekolas 18y ago
        At least you are honest about your beliefs. Most people get highly offended if you suggest that their political stances are nothing more than a series of gut reactions.
        stcredzero 18y ago
        The evidence indicates that, for most, life is a series of gut reactions that we rationalize later.
      - mattmaroon 18y ago
        Well, I guess I meant that any formula you come up with around that statment suffers from revisionist history, and a very subjective view of what is really good. I was objecting to the formula you hadn't pinned down based on the output. Most people would say that George W Bush deceived us into invading Iraq. Had he found a few nukes lying around, would that still have been unethical? A lot of people who think his actions were unethical now would probably not if the results were different, even though nothing was known at the time he did it.
        18y ago

mattmaroon 18y ago

Well, the norm is clearly working very hard for two and a half months before demo day. But most people realize that working past a certain number is counterproductive. I don't know exactly what that number is, but it's below 18 per day for sure. I'd say we probably worked 70-80 hour weeks.