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Ok, so why don't you build things for fun that affect the real world outside of your office job? And before you tell me you are too tired of coding from your d

Ok, so why don't you build things for fun that affect the real world outside of your office job? And before you tell me you are too tired of coding from your day job, which is the cliche response to this question, you can do anything, even woodworking, it just has to affect the real world and not a video game.

nostrademons 2y ago
The not-cliche response coming from about 8 years of experience as an entrepreneur: most people don't want you to affect the real world, or at least their real world. Most folks want to tightly control their environment, and today's world of cheap manufactured goods is already oversaturated with physical products. I think this is the real reason why people aren't building, and on a societal and not just individual level. Other people don't want them to. Just look at the response whenever someone tries building new housing or mass transit. It's endless environmental reviews, neighborhood reviews, lawsuits, public hearings, ballot initiatives, etc. The market for mobile apps dried up not because there aren't enough of them (there are millions) or that they're crap (90% are, but 90% of everything is crap), but because most people already have the apps they need to manage their daily life. When it comes to my real world, I do plenty of stuff. I garden, largely unsuccessfully, but now that's ballooned into construction projects to keep the dear away. I had the kids helping me redo my home's gutters and putting new crown moulding on, as well as assembling furniture and caulking the driveway. I'm in the process of organizing my kids' toys. But these also have diminishing returns: once the gutters are done I hopefully won't need to re-do them for another 10-20 years, the driveway caulking should last a few years at least. I don't feel any particular need to pick up a hobby like woodworking just for the sake of doing it; that's just as unproductive as computer gaming, but generally less fun.
aleph_minus_one 2y ago
> Ok, so why don't you build things for fun that affect the real world outside of your office job? > And before you tell me you are too tired of coding from your day job, which is the cliche response to this question For the first point: I do, but this does not change what you consider a cliché responses that 1. I am often very tired from my job 2. I can only invest little time (at night and at weekends), which is far too little to affect the world around me. I nevertheless invest these precious little ressources, but the reasons lie in my personal convictions.
godelski 2y ago
What a terrible argument. We're people, not machines. We cannot spend all our time working. People have passions, families, and lives to live. I'd even argue that ignoring those things makes it harder for people to get the ideas to build the things that actually matter.

nostrademons 2y ago

The not-cliche response coming from about 8 years of experience as an entrepreneur: most people don't want you to affect the real world, or at least their real world. Most folks want to tightly control their environment, and today's world of cheap manufactured goods is already oversaturated with physical products. I think this is the real reason why people aren't building, and on a societal and not just individual level. Other people don't want them to. Just look at the response whenever someone tries building new housing or mass transit. It's endless environmental reviews, neighborhood reviews, lawsuits, public hearings, ballot initiatives, etc. The market for mobile apps dried up not because there aren't enough of them (there are millions) or that they're crap (90% are, but 90% of everything is crap), but because most people already have the apps they need to manage their daily life. When it comes to my real world, I do plenty of stuff. I garden, largely unsuccessfully, but now that's ballooned into construction projects to keep the dear away. I had the kids helping me redo my home's gutters and putting new crown moulding on, as well as assembling furniture and caulking the driveway. I'm in the process of organizing my kids' toys. But these also have diminishing returns: once the gutters are done I hopefully won't need to re-do them for another 10-20 years, the driveway caulking should last a few years at least. I don't feel any particular need to pick up a hobby like woodworking just for the sake of doing it; that's just as unproductive as computer gaming, but generally less fun.

aleph_minus_one 2y ago

> Ok, so why don't you build things for fun that affect the real world outside of your office job? > And before you tell me you are too tired of coding from your day job, which is the cliche response to this question For the first point: I do, but this does not change what you consider a cliché responses that 1. I am often very tired from my job 2. I can only invest little time (at night and at weekends), which is far too little to affect the world around me. I nevertheless invest these precious little ressources, but the reasons lie in my personal convictions.

godelski 2y ago

What a terrible argument. We're people, not machines. We cannot spend all our time working. People have passions, families, and lives to live. I'd even argue that ignoring those things makes it harder for people to get the ideas to build the things that actually matter.