7 ms·

Those people have to be (labelled) smart, don’t they? I’ve noticed this as a very American thing to say on the lines of “I’m super excited to be here” :-)

JohnBooty 5y ago
I've read your comment a few times and I'm baffled. What are you saying, here? I understand that people fake "happiness" and "respect" all the time. Yes. It's true. But... you seem to be suggesting that I am faking it here? Why? My coworkers aren't reading this. They don't know my HN handle. I have never mentioned my employer on HN. What incentive would I have to be false here? If I am misunderstanding you, please explain.
- crossroadsguy 5y ago
  No, I didn’t mean faking it at all. I commented as a light disagreement with: - need to use the word “smart people” or even such a need itself - also possibility of this being a trite - more of an unconscious habit without maybe meaning anything specific about it (again, not faking it) [1] And more importantly it was joke kind of a retort which I think I should have been clear about. Wasn’t a personal attack in any way. Edit: [1] e.g. like the zero day old guy saying in his intro, “I’m super excited to join you all super smart people. It’s gonna be fun”. And as for WFH - god, I just want to go back to office - fully or hybrid!!
bshoemaker 5y ago
Wtf are you on about
flurie 5y ago
It could be an example of Lake Woebegon effect[1], though I'm not sure that's the case here. On the other hand, making broad proclamations about nationalities based on anecdotes has another name. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Wobegon#The_Lake_Wobegon_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Wobegon#The_Lake_Wobegon_...
- JohnBooty 5y ago
  I've worked on a number of crap, toxic teams over 20+ years. This one's good. I'm absolutely dumbfounded at the replies here. I make an offhand remark about my current team being a pleasure to work with, and I have multiple replies suggesting that there is something fishy afoot? "The Lake Wobegon effect, a natural human tendency to overestimate one's capabilities" Oh, cool. Because I say my coworkers are good and I enjoyed spending a few days with them, maybe I'm overestimating my own abilities. Great. Very cool. Nice thing to say about a stranger. I've never ever had such absolutely bizarre replies on HN. I can't remember the last time I had such bizarre replies anywhere.
  - cjmb 5y ago
    Don't let it bother you man. It's just an example of cross-cultural confusion crossed with some blunt HN mannerisms (to put it politely). The tell is the callout that this is an "American thing" -- which, well, it is. America has a culture, and especially SF has a culture, that's pretty distinct from elsewhere. Talking up the raw intellect of one's coworkers is a very SF thing, and a very-non-European thing (not to say the person you're responding to is from the EU, I'm sure there's other similar places). How it reads to an American: "this commenter is psyched to go to work with their colleagues, whose contributions and company they enjoy" How it (could conceivably) read to someone from a culture very different from SF's: "this commenter is bragging about the IQ of their coworkers relative to everyone else's, which is either uncouth or sycophantic." Commenting on it is of course ridiculous. Happy your team is good :)
    - JohnBooty 5y ago
      Interesting perspective, thanks. It's hard to wrap my mind around somebody thinking a stranger is "bragging" or "uncouth" or "sycophantic" because they think their team is smart and fun to work with. But, I understand that it's a thing.
      - jwiz 5y ago
        To be clear, it's not that you think they are smart and fun to work with, it's that you are saying they are smart and fun to work with.

JohnBooty 5y ago

I've read your comment a few times and I'm baffled. What are you saying, here? I understand that people fake "happiness" and "respect" all the time. Yes. It's true. But... you seem to be suggesting that I am faking it here? Why? My coworkers aren't reading this. They don't know my HN handle. I have never mentioned my employer on HN. What incentive would I have to be false here? If I am misunderstanding you, please explain.

crossroadsguy 5y ago
No, I didn’t mean faking it at all. I commented as a light disagreement with: - need to use the word “smart people” or even such a need itself - also possibility of this being a trite - more of an unconscious habit without maybe meaning anything specific about it (again, not faking it) [1] And more importantly it was joke kind of a retort which I think I should have been clear about. Wasn’t a personal attack in any way. Edit: [1] e.g. like the zero day old guy saying in his intro, “I’m super excited to join you all super smart people. It’s gonna be fun”. And as for WFH - god, I just want to go back to office - fully or hybrid!!

bshoemaker 5y ago

Wtf are you on about

flurie 5y ago

It could be an example of Lake Woebegon effect[1], though I'm not sure that's the case here. On the other hand, making broad proclamations about nationalities based on anecdotes has another name. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Wobegon#The_Lake_Wobegon_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Wobegon#The_Lake_Wobegon_...

JohnBooty 5y ago
I've worked on a number of crap, toxic teams over 20+ years. This one's good. I'm absolutely dumbfounded at the replies here. I make an offhand remark about my current team being a pleasure to work with, and I have multiple replies suggesting that there is something fishy afoot? "The Lake Wobegon effect, a natural human tendency to overestimate one's capabilities" Oh, cool. Because I say my coworkers are good and I enjoyed spending a few days with them, maybe I'm overestimating my own abilities. Great. Very cool. Nice thing to say about a stranger. I've never ever had such absolutely bizarre replies on HN. I can't remember the last time I had such bizarre replies anywhere.
- cjmb 5y ago
  Don't let it bother you man. It's just an example of cross-cultural confusion crossed with some blunt HN mannerisms (to put it politely). The tell is the callout that this is an "American thing" -- which, well, it is. America has a culture, and especially SF has a culture, that's pretty distinct from elsewhere. Talking up the raw intellect of one's coworkers is a very SF thing, and a very-non-European thing (not to say the person you're responding to is from the EU, I'm sure there's other similar places). How it reads to an American: "this commenter is psyched to go to work with their colleagues, whose contributions and company they enjoy" How it (could conceivably) read to someone from a culture very different from SF's: "this commenter is bragging about the IQ of their coworkers relative to everyone else's, which is either uncouth or sycophantic." Commenting on it is of course ridiculous. Happy your team is good :)
  - JohnBooty 5y ago
    Interesting perspective, thanks. It's hard to wrap my mind around somebody thinking a stranger is "bragging" or "uncouth" or "sycophantic" because they think their team is smart and fun to work with. But, I understand that it's a thing.
    - jwiz 5y ago
      To be clear, it's not that you think they are smart and fun to work with, it's that you are saying they are smart and fun to work with.