Tragic. This does appear to be a solid description of software culture, especially of the Bay Area: avoid looking bad. That describes an unintentional form of

Tragic. This does appear to be a solid description of software culture, especially of the Bay Area: avoid looking bad. That describes an unintentional form of conformity, perhaps Machiavellianism. Contrast that with a near opposite subculture like military, especially of the east coast, often expressed in terms of stubborn hyper ethical deviation. In one case the goal is either to please or save face as determined by a person’s level of agreeability but in the other case the people, especially the self, are just nameless tools to accomplish a goal such that agreeability only determines level of care. When you learn how to recognize this in the intentions of other people you are in a much better position to manipulate the conditions to accomplish what you believe to be important.