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It's not really theft though, since the 'thief' doesn't gain the thing being 'stolen'. It's only the 'deny use' half of 'theft', ie it's more like DoS.
by jacknews 3y ago
It's not really theft though, since the 'thief' doesn't gain the thing being 'stolen'.
It's only the 'deny use' half of 'theft', ie it's more like DoS.
- ta988 3y agoit is denial of service in every way of the term.
- t-writescode 3y agoThere’s power in the word “theft” that doesn’t exist in “denial of service”. Theft implies taking something that isn’t yours to take, which appropriately shames the perpetrator of their actions.
- steve_taylor 3y agoShaming someone is more important than the truth. Why am I not surprised anymore?
- maxbond 3y agoTheft is a reasonable interpretation of denial of service. You may disagree (which is also reasonable), that doesn't make it a lie. This is a disagreement about what label to apply, the existence of this phenomenon hasn't (at time of writing and in this subthread) been disputed.
- tom_ 3y agoThat's a question you'll have to answer yourself. Don't ask us to decide for you!
- msteffen 3y ago> the 'thief' doesn't gain the thing being 'stolen'. IIUC, they do—the thief delegates tedious, finicky work to preserve their own executive function for “important stuff”. They don’t have more executive function than before the task existed, but they do have more than before they delegated it, and the delegation is the theft.
- conradev 3y agoIsn't this just a description of hierarchical management? Which most organizations implement, including co-ops The article is just describing a phenomenon where the people with the power to decide who works on what are not the people in the explicit power structure, and thus don't have the same accountability that usually comes with that power?
- zo1 3y agoI get it the other way around. From lazy subordinates (usually juniors but older people too) that don't want to do the work required of them so instead they come "asking questions" because "they don't understand". Like if I wanted to do the work and figure out all the problems in this task, I'd have done it myself instead of delegating it to you. It's almost as if they want to be little assembly line workers that make the same CRUD widget over and over. They're not lazy, they're probably also just as stripped of their EF as the rest of us plebs.
- rexpop 3y agoIt's not only denial of use. The perpetrator gains the output of the delegated effort. The sale goes through. The business continues to operate. Paychecks get signed. The home's functionality is maintained. When the "non-promotable work" of a firm, community, or family gets done "the rising tide raises all boats" if that work is necessary for the organization's profitability and/or autopoiesis. I am confused as to how you don't see the profit in delegating. Edit: for example, if I were to borrow your lawn mower with out asking, mow my lawn, and then--crucially--return your lawnmower wouldn't that be theft? Even though you'd only been "denied service" and not lost an entire mower?
- jacknews 3y agoYour example is not what's claimed. In your analogy, it would be more like I'd contacted the housing association to force you to mow your driveway, denying you the time to properly manicure your lawn. I'm not gaining any improvement to my lawn in that case.
- ehnto 3y agoI think you are both on the wrong track. The claim is that, instead of you mowing your lawn, you get someone else to do it. What you gain is time, and reduced cognitive load. It's kind of a childish thing to say about your manager since that is just how the cookie crumbles, but still a real exchange. Managers delegate certain tasks so they have time to focus on other tasks. Some managers delegate almost everything and leave you wondering if they do anything at all. The person in the article feels their partner is also delegating to them and so they feel as though they have no executive function by the end of the day. In regards to work though, that is just how some jobs are structured. You get paid to take certain load off of your 2IC or Manager or whoever.
- rexpop 3y agoWhat you gain is a lawn, mowed.
- 3y ago
- eyelidlessness 3y agoDon’t they? This part of the article stood out and rung true to me: > The thief has chosen to prioritize their executive function over another person’s and, having found that this makes their lives easier, repeats this behavior unless it is disrupted. (Emphasis added.) By imposing the executive function-depleting responsibility onto others, they reserve EF capacity of their own which they wouldn’t otherwise specifically by extracting that cost from others.
- davorak 3y agoPollution is a negative externality and I would understand the gist of it if it was called theft of clean air, but hesitate to endorse the wording. I think of theft is something that you catch someone for and punish and potentially get back what was lost or some of it. Negative externalities I think of as something that needs to regulated legally or through some other feedback mechanism.
- satisfice 3y agoIt's not theft or denial of service or anything like that. It's ordinary, reasonable, ethical behavior.
- thomastjeffery 3y agoI have ADHD, which should really be titled something like "Executive Functioning Disorder". That's the main symptom: not having enough executive function ability. So what happens when my executive functioning is stolen? Debt. I am eternally indebted to any task that demanded more executive functioning than I could provide. And society demands I pay up one way or another: that's the ADHD tax. Couldn't finish homework? Gotta stay after school. Couldn't work on the company project before its deadline? Get fired. Couldn't cold-call 2 dozen mental health clinics to find an opening that works with my insurance? No meds or therapy for me. Every social system that interacts with me is designed with a baseline expectation of executive functioning: I experience that as a DDoS attack. I think both terms are correct, and you are welcome to use whichever best fits the context you are using it in.