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I think this idea of forced interaction with people we might not like is ridiculous and outmoded. I like interacting with family and friends. I do not like goi

I think this idea of forced interaction with people we might not like is ridiculous and outmoded. I like interacting with family and friends. I do not like going to game nights or parties to meet new people. I don't like going to bars. I don't like being forced to interact with coworkers. So yeah, I recognize we're social animals and we have to interact to be healthy, but technology has made it such that it's now easier to be selective about who you interact with. That's a huge benefit. Why should I have to be forced to get along with some passive aggressive or outright aggressive asshole in the workplace more than necessary. I believe hanging out with such people who make you miserable causes premature death. I shouldn't have to change my attitude about such things if I'm happy with the friends and family I got and technology enables me.

closeparen 4y ago
This is basically “atomization” and it’s a hot topic: certainly it can be comfortable and convenient and even profoundly important to many individuals, esp. people whose authentic selves are not accepted in broader society. At the same time there is such a thing as social cohesion. Ultimately we do have to cooperate beyond our friend groups on projects like the economy, government, defense, etc. Or we will get eaten by a culture that does. Already people were concerned that the kind of peers we meet at work and school are too much like us, too much of a bubble… now we are talking about not meeting even those people. Already we have tribes that cannot agree on fundamental conceptions of reality depending on which cable channels they watch… how’s it going to work when there are millions of totally independent information environments? If we are going back to the many-independent-clans structure our ancestors had, we probably also going back to their material standard of living and their exposure to violence. For a while, until we get slaughtered by or assimilated into a culture that can get people who aren’t necessarily friends or family to have lunch together in between raiding our huts.
dmatech 5y ago
I wouldn't necessarily call it introversion. It borders on misanthropy. Collaboration and communication require sustained interaction with other people. Management requires even more than that. You can only get so much done by working on a Jira ticket in complete isolation. While it might work well enough for a mature group, it fails completely when bringing new people up to speed. I've worked with more than a few people like this. Perhaps they get all the social interaction they can handle at home and just want to be left alone at work. Or perhaps they just dislike their co-workers. Others find working in groups of more than two people to be difficult. I don't think it's strictly a personality trait. It's more of a cultural thing in some companies.
- johnwheeler 5y ago
  Misanthropy is when you despise people in general. I have coworkers I love to work with. I’m talking about being forced to work with people I don’t like and see them, spend time with them, in person, on a daily basis. There’s no law or moral code that says you have to like everyone you meet. How far of an extreme do you take this to? Do I have to enjoy spending time with other inmates if I’m in jail with them? What if I’m surrounded by pedophiles? Do I need to force myself to cooperate with and respect them too? I mean, where do you draw the line? Just because you work with somebody doesn’t preclude them from being a despicable shithead. To me, that’s just obvious.

closeparen 4y ago

This is basically “atomization” and it’s a hot topic: certainly it can be comfortable and convenient and even profoundly important to many individuals, esp. people whose authentic selves are not accepted in broader society. At the same time there is such a thing as social cohesion. Ultimately we do have to cooperate beyond our friend groups on projects like the economy, government, defense, etc. Or we will get eaten by a culture that does. Already people were concerned that the kind of peers we meet at work and school are too much like us, too much of a bubble… now we are talking about not meeting even those people. Already we have tribes that cannot agree on fundamental conceptions of reality depending on which cable channels they watch… how’s it going to work when there are millions of totally independent information environments? If we are going back to the many-independent-clans structure our ancestors had, we probably also going back to their material standard of living and their exposure to violence. For a while, until we get slaughtered by or assimilated into a culture that can get people who aren’t necessarily friends or family to have lunch together in between raiding our huts.

dmatech 5y ago

I wouldn't necessarily call it introversion. It borders on misanthropy. Collaboration and communication require sustained interaction with other people. Management requires even more than that. You can only get so much done by working on a Jira ticket in complete isolation. While it might work well enough for a mature group, it fails completely when bringing new people up to speed. I've worked with more than a few people like this. Perhaps they get all the social interaction they can handle at home and just want to be left alone at work. Or perhaps they just dislike their co-workers. Others find working in groups of more than two people to be difficult. I don't think it's strictly a personality trait. It's more of a cultural thing in some companies.

johnwheeler 5y ago
Misanthropy is when you despise people in general. I have coworkers I love to work with. I’m talking about being forced to work with people I don’t like and see them, spend time with them, in person, on a daily basis. There’s no law or moral code that says you have to like everyone you meet. How far of an extreme do you take this to? Do I have to enjoy spending time with other inmates if I’m in jail with them? What if I’m surrounded by pedophiles? Do I need to force myself to cooperate with and respect them too? I mean, where do you draw the line? Just because you work with somebody doesn’t preclude them from being a despicable shithead. To me, that’s just obvious.