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So they hit a mid-life crisis, and rather then take small steps they read the bible and move to an island to start farming, I wish them luck.

jiriknesl 9mo ago
I guess, these things are long somewhere in the mind, before people execute. People change countries, partners, careers not because of one book. This is usually the last drop. They were long-term unhappy, yearning for something else. And as this guy wrote, he was sick, he was burned out. I suppose, he wasn't able to limit his screen time, it was all or nothing. Sometimes, those big changes work better than incremental steps. 20 years ago, I went from a pack of cigarettes a day to zero. If I went to 19, then 18, then 17, I might still smoke to this day.
- ironbound 9mo ago
  I know a guy with mental illness and without therapy, their a frog hopeing the next Lilly pad doesn't give way.
darkwater 9mo ago
Reading the description of his previous life, I think there is some background issue/reason that should have been addressed, rather than just go farming. I hope he is and will be happy for a long time now though. I have an acquaintance - not into IT at all - that did something similar, went to work in a solo eco-farming project (no fertilizers, just let the soil rest, no pesticides obviously, I'm not sure if he went as far as no artificial irrigation either though) and now after a few years he decided he wanted to come back to civilization and he is now working in a factory, in an assembly line.
- TheCapeGreek 9mo ago
  Agreed, I do get the feeling there's a lot more underlying the author's problems than "just" extreme burnout at a deskjob. Software has been a relatively high leverage career path in the last decade; surely there were other paths he could have taken before hitting an absolute wall. As other commenters have pointed out, this does seem like going from one extreme to another - especially once religion gets involved. I wish Dylan well, though I do hope some deeper, more moderate self reflection takes place at some point.
dbeley 9mo ago
Not sure about mid-life, he is still in his early twenties. He was a gifted programmer with very popular open source projects early on.
- gaws 9mo ago
  > Not sure about mid-life, he is still in his early twenties. As an IC, you're basically geriatric as soon as you hit your 30s. /s

jiriknesl 9mo ago

I guess, these things are long somewhere in the mind, before people execute. People change countries, partners, careers not because of one book. This is usually the last drop. They were long-term unhappy, yearning for something else. And as this guy wrote, he was sick, he was burned out. I suppose, he wasn't able to limit his screen time, it was all or nothing. Sometimes, those big changes work better than incremental steps. 20 years ago, I went from a pack of cigarettes a day to zero. If I went to 19, then 18, then 17, I might still smoke to this day.

ironbound 9mo ago
I know a guy with mental illness and without therapy, their a frog hopeing the next Lilly pad doesn't give way.

darkwater 9mo ago

Reading the description of his previous life, I think there is some background issue/reason that should have been addressed, rather than just go farming. I hope he is and will be happy for a long time now though. I have an acquaintance - not into IT at all - that did something similar, went to work in a solo eco-farming project (no fertilizers, just let the soil rest, no pesticides obviously, I'm not sure if he went as far as no artificial irrigation either though) and now after a few years he decided he wanted to come back to civilization and he is now working in a factory, in an assembly line.

TheCapeGreek 9mo ago
Agreed, I do get the feeling there's a lot more underlying the author's problems than "just" extreme burnout at a deskjob. Software has been a relatively high leverage career path in the last decade; surely there were other paths he could have taken before hitting an absolute wall. As other commenters have pointed out, this does seem like going from one extreme to another - especially once religion gets involved. I wish Dylan well, though I do hope some deeper, more moderate self reflection takes place at some point.

dbeley 9mo ago

Not sure about mid-life, he is still in his early twenties. He was a gifted programmer with very popular open source projects early on.

gaws 9mo ago
> Not sure about mid-life, he is still in his early twenties. As an IC, you're basically geriatric as soon as you hit your 30s. /s