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It's self-deprecating humor. He knows it sounds narcissistic and expects it to be interpreted as ironic i.e. making the statement demonstrates that it isn't tru
by Veen 4y ago
It's self-deprecating humor. He knows it sounds narcissistic and expects it to be interpreted as ironic i.e. making the statement demonstrates that it isn't true. He's aware that he isn't charismatic and is letting you know that he knows it. It's like a weak person flexing their muscles to show you how strong they aren't.
(Although, there could be another level of irony, i.e. he is narcissistic, and worries you might think so, so he deploys irony to persuade you that he isn't by making a narcissistic-seeming comment in a self-undermining fashion—but I doubt it in this case).
In my experience, much British humor tends to follow a similar model (and Russian too perhaps), but I've observed that it's common for people who don't share that type of humor to misinterpret it.
- drdaeman 4y agoI'm not so sure, and I'm a native Russian speaker, who had read the original Russian language post just to make sure of this. That guy genuinely sounds unironically arrogant to me. It's much harsher in Russian than the English translation. Compare: > You'll sit next to me and memorize the way the work should be done. and > А ты, бездарь, сиди рядом и запоминай, как работать надо. which literally translates to "And you, bungler, sit and watch how the work is done [right]." And I utterly fail to see any self-deprecating piece that would turn this into a joke. If anything, author treats those "Google"-programmers as trash. Even as a joke, I would say it's very poor and distasteful one, especially for a public blog post.
- djur 4y agoTo the extent there's self-deprecation, it's that he believes he made the "mistake" of assuming that these "Google programmers" could be taught to do better.
- oldjavacoder 4y agoNothing in the article content, however suggests the author had the competency to teach or lead. Everything in the article does suggest the author thought they were hiring experienced programmers on new programmer salaries and were amazed and probably credited nicely by their management team initially.
- mbrodersen 4y agoThe author makes it clear that he was the problem. That he was the “idiot” that caused the problem in the first place. That is the opposite of narcissism. So I think the rest of the article should be read while keeping that in mind.
- drdaeman 4y agoI disagree. See, if I'd say that I'm an idiot for not realizing someone is trash (or some stronger expletive) - yes, that would be ironic, but all the irony would be in the invisible quotes around the "idiot", with none around the "trash". A totally opposite effect. And the author talks about "Google" programmers in a clearly derogatory manner. It is not just in the title (which would've been okay on its own because it uses "idiot" for both sides).
- lamontcg 4y agoI am an enjoyer of sarcasm and irony. One principle of sarcasm in the written language is that there needs to be a bit of a 'tell' to reinforce that it is sarcasm. You need to write it in such a way that it just doesn't make sense if you take it literally. For example, I'm fond of pointing out that I'm aware that American scientists have mathematically proven that it is not possible to determine sarcasm from the written word. That is clearly sarcastic because thinking that you could mathematically prove that is just not grounded in reality and nothing anyone would seriously suggest, so it provides a 'tell' that it is sarcastic. Read sarcastically it is self-referential and makes perfect sense. Another classic example is _A Modest Proposal_ where its so over the top that it has to be sarcastic. Just posting something "edgy" without any kind of a "tell" isn't really sarcasm. I can't really find much of a 'tell' in this whole article. The whole article is consistent with him being a total narcissist. And the way that goes around "correcting" people by forcing them to watch him solve their problem the "right" way is something a narcissist would do that someone who was actually instructing and teaching someone else wouldn't do. So if I read it like he's just a narcissist then its all consistent. If I try to read it like he's being ironic, then he's at a minimum both really bad at sarcasm and irony and still really bad as an instructor.