2 ms·

It definitely reads as envy or sour grapes. One thing I always have in the back of my mind is to work hard to avoid hating anyone because they're good at what

It definitely reads as envy or sour grapes. One thing I always have in the back of my mind is to work hard to avoid hating anyone because they're good at what they do, and it's hard work because the human psyche is tremendously good at finding justifications and pulling the blinders over oneself. Tearing someone else down is the childish and easy way to build yourself up, but it's only in your own head, it doesn't actually make you any better and it doesn't impress anyone around you. Hate should be reserved for people who really do bad things, and even then we're probably better if we can avoid the hate entirely.

michaelochurch 13y ago
One thing I always have in the back of my mind is to work hard to avoid hating anyone because they're good at what they do Stop right there. None of us hate people who are good at what they do. When we find someone who's better, we seek that person out and try to learn as much as we can. I'd believe this to be especially true on HN, where there's an above-normal proportion of top-5% programmers, many of whom rarely get that opportunity to learn from someone of truly superior skill. The problem with political players is that, while they suck at what they do, they're great at hacking evaluation processes and making themselves look superior. That hurts everyone (except them) because their shitty decisions and ideas result in a widespread proliferation of crap.
- dasil003 13y ago
  Sure, sometimes. But if your company is not doing so hot and you see some ridiculous acquisition and think to yourself how the fuck did that happen, it's easy to jump to the conclusion that it's political bullshit when in fact you don't really know the whole story. You don't know what the tech is or what the real numbers are or what the purpose of the acquisition was. I think it's very easy to jump to a conclusion on an emotional basis, and our belief in our objectivity is what makes this all the more treacherous.

michaelochurch 13y ago

One thing I always have in the back of my mind is to work hard to avoid hating anyone because they're good at what they do Stop right there. None of us hate people who are good at what they do. When we find someone who's better, we seek that person out and try to learn as much as we can. I'd believe this to be especially true on HN, where there's an above-normal proportion of top-5% programmers, many of whom rarely get that opportunity to learn from someone of truly superior skill. The problem with political players is that, while they suck at what they do, they're great at hacking evaluation processes and making themselves look superior. That hurts everyone (except them) because their shitty decisions and ideas result in a widespread proliferation of crap.

dasil003 13y ago
Sure, sometimes. But if your company is not doing so hot and you see some ridiculous acquisition and think to yourself how the fuck did that happen, it's easy to jump to the conclusion that it's political bullshit when in fact you don't really know the whole story. You don't know what the tech is or what the real numbers are or what the purpose of the acquisition was. I think it's very easy to jump to a conclusion on an emotional basis, and our belief in our objectivity is what makes this all the more treacherous.