4 ms·

Different people are different. You're seem to be highly socially functional. There are a lot of people who aren't, and have no friends, and whose only exposure

Different people are different. You're seem to be highly socially functional. There are a lot of people who aren't, and have no friends, and whose only exposure to social interactions are at the office. These people are at much higher risk of bad outcomes like depression, suicide, etc., than someone like you. Someone like Milton from Office Space. Now, of course, there could be people who work at an office, say, as a security guard in an industrial facility where they never see anyone, have friends who they can't see and are depressed about it, and if they can WFH watching surveillance feeds, it makes them better off. Don't doubt that this can exist, but my gut feel is that Category 1 is bigger than Category 2.

A4ET8a8uTh0 4y ago
<<There are a lot of people who aren't, and have no friends, and whose only exposure to social interactions are at the office. These people are at much higher risk of bad outcomes like depression, suicide, etc., I wrote several versions of this response including one that touched on how quickly "we are in this together" morphed back into the usual "got mine, fuck you" during start of Covid. I hesitated several times. Ran it internally against HN rules about taking stuff at face value, but I think at the end of the whole process only one real question came back to me. Is it really my responsibility to live somebody else's life? To me answer came back quickly. It is not.
- squokko 4y ago
  It’s not your responsibility to live someone else’s life but it is the responsibility of senior decision makers to set policies that broadly benefit the populace even if they hurt some people. Is it your responsibility to heal the sick? No, but government can tax you to do so, and now maybe you can’t get the leather seats in your Audi.
  - A4ET8a8uTh0 4y ago
    <<No, but government can tax you to do so, and now maybe you can’t get the leather seats in your Audi. You want to avoid sniping. It is typically frowned upon. That said, believe it or not, we are not that far apart on that front. The issue I have with the argument presented is that senior decision makers do not set policies that broadly benefit the populace ( as evidenced by reality itself ). Apart from that, why are senior decision makers even a consideration here? The recession in the article is that of the mind. It is spiritual in nature ( and that is assuming we are assuming posited argument ). If you are going to throw suicides at me again, I will ask you a simple question. Why are suicides are inherently a bad thing? People want to die. Why do you feel you have an obligation to stop them?
    - williamtrask 4y ago
      Forgive me, but you sound like someone who has never needed help from another person, or the help you received you felt you deserved. I think you should remember that all of our lives affect each other. We have a social responsibility to pursue a society where those effects lead to happy, healthy people. If you think you’d rather live in a survival of the fittest jungle there are plenty of countries you can move to. In the west, we consider the progress away from such things as one of humanity’s greatest accomplishments.
      - A4ET8a8uTh0 4y ago
        <<Forgive me, but you sound like someone who has never needed help from another person, or the help you received you felt you deserved. That is not accurate. Just the other week I had to pay people do complete a task for me. The task in question I could not do on my own simply due to its nature and my lack of skill in that domain. I absolutely needed help. I fully accept I live in a society and there will be times, where my skills will simply not be enough to face every situation thrown at me. <<We have a social responsibility to pursue a society where those effects lead to happy, healthy people. Do we? Why is that thrown as an axiom of some sort? I am looking at the history of human race and the history of various societies is at odds with that statement. <<If you think you’d rather live in a survival of the fittest jungle there are plenty of countries you can move to. I am relatively certain I live in one of those countries now ( US ). I think most would argue it is considered part of 'the west'. <<In the west, we consider the progress away from such things as one of humanity’s greatest accomplishments. Who is we in this statement? There are entire groups in US devoted to the exact opposite position.
        williamtrask 4y ago
        Then in the spirit of democratic values, I oppose the world you think we should (or do) live in. I hope a sufficient number of others will as well. I think we can and should aspire for more.

A4ET8a8uTh0 4y ago

<<There are a lot of people who aren't, and have no friends, and whose only exposure to social interactions are at the office. These people are at much higher risk of bad outcomes like depression, suicide, etc., I wrote several versions of this response including one that touched on how quickly "we are in this together" morphed back into the usual "got mine, fuck you" during start of Covid. I hesitated several times. Ran it internally against HN rules about taking stuff at face value, but I think at the end of the whole process only one real question came back to me. Is it really my responsibility to live somebody else's life? To me answer came back quickly. It is not.

squokko 4y ago
It’s not your responsibility to live someone else’s life but it is the responsibility of senior decision makers to set policies that broadly benefit the populace even if they hurt some people. Is it your responsibility to heal the sick? No, but government can tax you to do so, and now maybe you can’t get the leather seats in your Audi.
- A4ET8a8uTh0 4y ago
  <<No, but government can tax you to do so, and now maybe you can’t get the leather seats in your Audi. You want to avoid sniping. It is typically frowned upon. That said, believe it or not, we are not that far apart on that front. The issue I have with the argument presented is that senior decision makers do not set policies that broadly benefit the populace ( as evidenced by reality itself ). Apart from that, why are senior decision makers even a consideration here? The recession in the article is that of the mind. It is spiritual in nature ( and that is assuming we are assuming posited argument ). If you are going to throw suicides at me again, I will ask you a simple question. Why are suicides are inherently a bad thing? People want to die. Why do you feel you have an obligation to stop them?
  - williamtrask 4y ago
    Forgive me, but you sound like someone who has never needed help from another person, or the help you received you felt you deserved. I think you should remember that all of our lives affect each other. We have a social responsibility to pursue a society where those effects lead to happy, healthy people. If you think you’d rather live in a survival of the fittest jungle there are plenty of countries you can move to. In the west, we consider the progress away from such things as one of humanity’s greatest accomplishments.
    - A4ET8a8uTh0 4y ago
      <<Forgive me, but you sound like someone who has never needed help from another person, or the help you received you felt you deserved. That is not accurate. Just the other week I had to pay people do complete a task for me. The task in question I could not do on my own simply due to its nature and my lack of skill in that domain. I absolutely needed help. I fully accept I live in a society and there will be times, where my skills will simply not be enough to face every situation thrown at me. <<We have a social responsibility to pursue a society where those effects lead to happy, healthy people. Do we? Why is that thrown as an axiom of some sort? I am looking at the history of human race and the history of various societies is at odds with that statement. <<If you think you’d rather live in a survival of the fittest jungle there are plenty of countries you can move to. I am relatively certain I live in one of those countries now ( US ). I think most would argue it is considered part of 'the west'. <<In the west, we consider the progress away from such things as one of humanity’s greatest accomplishments. Who is we in this statement? There are entire groups in US devoted to the exact opposite position.
      - williamtrask 4y ago
        Then in the spirit of democratic values, I oppose the world you think we should (or do) live in. I hope a sufficient number of others will as well. I think we can and should aspire for more.