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It's easier to hold onto principles than to deal with people. If there's anything that makes "tech people" in general outcast it's that. Ironically there's also
by mentat 15y ago
It's easier to hold onto principles than to deal with people. If there's anything that makes "tech people" in general outcast it's that. Ironically there's also a tendency to reject other people who strongly hold on to opposing principles, but I guess that makes sense without empathy.
- barrkel 15y agoYour first two sentences are contradictory; if holding principles was easier than compromising and dealing with people, then that group would be the majority, and "tech people" would not be "in general outcast" (though I happen to think they aren't). Either that, or you mean something different by "easy" than I think you do. I mean, peer pressure is substantial; it's much easier to stick with the crowd, not stick out, go with the flow, etc. Holding to principles and walking against this tide is hard, not easy. Such people are very much the exception, not the rule.
- mentat 15y agoEasier meaning more simple not easier in terms of effort. Dealing with the complexities and ambiguities of human behavior is more difficult in terms of the processing, both mental and emotional, that must happen. It's easier to say "it's always wrong to lie" then to consider all the situations that might come up in which it may be better to lie.
- barrkel 15y agoFor sure, but saying you never lie is much easier than not ever lying, and I think that's what's at issue here. Stallman lives what he preaches, to the point he can be a major PITA (witness the rider thread on HN earlier). That's more than just parroting some principles.