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Shame on all of the people working on those systems. Legit companies trying to make the world better struggle to find competent people.

by ta988 2y ago

dylan604 2y ago
Ugh. Eye roll on the whole “make the world better”. So few SV products remotely make the world better. The purpose of the vast majority is to make money at all costs. I also disagree with what most people claim is making the world better. All in all, I think social media is a net negative for the world for any good that might be found. Every SV thing after that is just chasing the recketship to the moon dream.
- RajT88 2y ago
  I believe this was parodied multiple times in season 1 of Silicon Valley.
  - dylan604 2y ago
    That scene in the pilot with the way over enthusiastic founder on stage with Kid Rock was pretty much when I knew I would <3 that show
  - nicbou 2y ago
    Direct link to the scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8C5sjjhsso https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8C5sjjhsso
  - spencerflem 2y ago
    One of my favorite seasons of TV <3
- unification_fan 2y ago
  > So few SV products remotely make the world better Because devs have to eat in order to survive?
  - 9283409232 2y ago
    You don't need to work on adtech or work at Meta to survive. Don't pretend that it has nothing to do with the lavish salaries.
  - dylan604 2y ago
    Right, because SV is epitomized for the struggling dev as much as Haight Ashbury is known for struggling artists.
  - layer8 2y ago
    Ah, yes, the profession that most struggles to make ends meet.
quacked 2y ago
I think a big part of the ability of these shady companies pulling the brightest minds away from more clearly beneficial fields is that important flavors of ideology necessary to motivate people to take less lucrative work have been stripped from "business". There's a lot fewer appeals to art, history, cultural stewardship, or empire-building present in things like transportation, medicine, construction, etc. than there were in the past. Any flavor of "for the glory of God/the nation/the People/the Art" etc. is pretty effectively stripped out of American business, and I think that's the only kind of thing that would motivate someone who could make $250k in Adware to make $100k in something else. People are now very well-trained to look out for their own bottom line, and take jobs accordingly.
- rolph 2y ago
  i believe there are somewhat fewer practicing freemasons in those places of layte.
- quantified 2y ago
  Doing things because they increase some non-monetary value has fallen out of fashion for sure. A colleague of mine recently shared, in a group social setting, a sense of disappointment that his daughter was studying to be a doctor. I was, as far as I could tell, the only one to note that there is practical utility to having doctors. But the "be part of our mission" was shown to be hollow over and over too. First and foremost, you as an enployee are making the investors and CEO rich. The mission is usually exploiting the employee, even when it's not exploiting the world. Employees have recognized the real social ethic (money over everything) and are just playing the same game. Which is sad. Ideally the people who see these choices would make alternative choices that will leave their grandchildren better off in the world. It has taken only a generation for the "greed is good" mentality to drop us into this fetid soup.
  - quacked 2y ago
    I think the phrase you called out--"be a part of our mission"--that most corporations (and, mimicking them, government agencies) regurgitate is itself the approach to socialization that causes people to feel less inclined to work for any non-profit reason. "Part of OUR mission" redefines the company as the entity to be loyal to, rather than casting the company as part of society itself. You can't replace constructs that tend to inspire people to heroism and selflessness with a corporate avatar and expect the fabric of society to remain similarly motivated. It does make a set few people a hell of a lot of money in the short term, though.
9283409232 2y ago
What companies?
- throwaway847739 2y ago
  I have the same question. It did not seem easy for me to find a job where we are at least not writing malware (according to my judgement). But it's far from making the world better :|
- yread 2y ago
  I work in cancer research. Some companies are there just for greed as well but at least the end product could be helpful
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

Shame on all of the people working on those systems. Legit companies trying to make the world better struggle to find competent people.

by ta988 2y ago

Shame on all of the people working on those systems. Legit companies trying to make the world better struggle to find competent people.

dylan604 2y ago

Ugh. Eye roll on the whole “make the world better”. So few SV products remotely make the world better. The purpose of the vast majority is to make money at all costs. I also disagree with what most people claim is making the world better. All in all, I think social media is a net negative for the world for any good that might be found. Every SV thing after that is just chasing the recketship to the moon dream.

RajT88 2y ago
I believe this was parodied multiple times in season 1 of Silicon Valley.
- dylan604 2y ago
  That scene in the pilot with the way over enthusiastic founder on stage with Kid Rock was pretty much when I knew I would <3 that show
- nicbou 2y ago
  Direct link to the scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8C5sjjhsso https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8C5sjjhsso
- spencerflem 2y ago
  One of my favorite seasons of TV <3
unification_fan 2y ago
> So few SV products remotely make the world better Because devs have to eat in order to survive?
- 9283409232 2y ago
  You don't need to work on adtech or work at Meta to survive. Don't pretend that it has nothing to do with the lavish salaries.
- dylan604 2y ago
  Right, because SV is epitomized for the struggling dev as much as Haight Ashbury is known for struggling artists.
- layer8 2y ago
  Ah, yes, the profession that most struggles to make ends meet.

quacked 2y ago

I think a big part of the ability of these shady companies pulling the brightest minds away from more clearly beneficial fields is that important flavors of ideology necessary to motivate people to take less lucrative work have been stripped from "business". There's a lot fewer appeals to art, history, cultural stewardship, or empire-building present in things like transportation, medicine, construction, etc. than there were in the past. Any flavor of "for the glory of God/the nation/the People/the Art" etc. is pretty effectively stripped out of American business, and I think that's the only kind of thing that would motivate someone who could make $250k in Adware to make $100k in something else. People are now very well-trained to look out for their own bottom line, and take jobs accordingly.

rolph 2y ago
i believe there are somewhat fewer practicing freemasons in those places of layte.
quantified 2y ago
Doing things because they increase some non-monetary value has fallen out of fashion for sure. A colleague of mine recently shared, in a group social setting, a sense of disappointment that his daughter was studying to be a doctor. I was, as far as I could tell, the only one to note that there is practical utility to having doctors. But the "be part of our mission" was shown to be hollow over and over too. First and foremost, you as an enployee are making the investors and CEO rich. The mission is usually exploiting the employee, even when it's not exploiting the world. Employees have recognized the real social ethic (money over everything) and are just playing the same game. Which is sad. Ideally the people who see these choices would make alternative choices that will leave their grandchildren better off in the world. It has taken only a generation for the "greed is good" mentality to drop us into this fetid soup.
- quacked 2y ago
  I think the phrase you called out--"be a part of our mission"--that most corporations (and, mimicking them, government agencies) regurgitate is itself the approach to socialization that causes people to feel less inclined to work for any non-profit reason. "Part of OUR mission" redefines the company as the entity to be loyal to, rather than casting the company as part of society itself. You can't replace constructs that tend to inspire people to heroism and selflessness with a corporate avatar and expect the fabric of society to remain similarly motivated. It does make a set few people a hell of a lot of money in the short term, though.

9283409232 2y ago

What companies?

throwaway847739 2y ago
I have the same question. It did not seem easy for me to find a job where we are at least not writing malware (according to my judgement). But it's far from making the world better :|
yread 2y ago
I work in cancer research. Some companies are there just for greed as well but at least the end product could be helpful

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]