> Selflessness is overrated. We respectable types, although women especially, are raised to think a life well spent means helping others – and plenty of self-he

> Selflessness is overrated. We respectable types, although women especially, are raised to think a life well spent means helping others – and plenty of self-help gurus stand ready to affirm that kindness, generosity and volunteering are the route to happiness. There’s truth here, but it generally gets tangled up with deep-seated) issues of guilt and self-esteem. (Meanwhile, of course, the people who boast all day on Twitter about their charity work or political awareness aren’t being selfless at all; they are burnishing their egos.) > If you’re prone to thinking you should be helping more, that’s probably a sign that you could afford to direct more energy to your idiosyncratic ambitions and enthusiasms This also applies to free software! Do things for your own selfish desires! Last week, I was asked if I have ever written about my work. The answer was no: I'm not much into social media or self promotion, because everything was written for myself and my selfish needs first. I genuinely don't care if people like what I do: If they do, good, they can leech and use my work, if they don't... That's good too! I don't care much more than that, as there are many fun things to try hacking (right now getting i915 to work on a lakefield) and time is in limited supply :)