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I was in the Summer 2013 batch. Since this is the top-voted comment, let me be emphatic. The assumptions the parent comment makes about the HS experience bear
by antics 12y ago
I was in the Summer 2013 batch.
Since this is the top-voted comment, let me be emphatic. The assumptions the parent comment makes about the HS experience bear no resemblance to reality. A good example is the consistent theme in this thread that such a rule can't exist without a shaming ritual, or without loss of being considered an adult.
The context we're missing here is that participants at HS are self-selecting. One person in our batch quit his job as director of investment technology at a massive international bank to attend HS; another was a high school student. In all cases, participation represents serious costs of opportunity, time, and capital, and almost always, the reason they do it is because:
Fundamentally, participants already believe in the assumptions of the environment.
There is room for this theoretical debate about whether x policy extends to good rules for all of society. But realistically, the HS rules are effective because people at HS agree with them.
To have this discussion without this specific context is to miss the point entirely.
That is why the rule can be lightweight, and can still be incredibly effective. And if you don't think that's true, then I suggest you poll a nontrivial subset of HS, because almost everyone agrees.
- Zikes 12y ago> To have this discussion without this specific context is to miss the point entirely. The first sentence of the article: > We've enjoyed seeing our social rules spread into other parts of the tech community. The debate here is around whether or not these rules would work in other environments.
- antics 12y agoYeah, and you can't have that discussion without understanding why it works for HS. By ignoring this context, the parent comment, and your comment here, debate a position that was never posited at all. In some sense you are debating yourselves.
- Zikes 12y agoI actually agree, but I think it's a debate worth having. Clearly, this system works for Hacker School. Kudos. This system is also being advertised for wider implementation, possibly into communities and companies that all of us are a part of, and any broad social reform deserves a good deal of scrutiny before implementation. A key part of these rules, in particular, is the potential for abuse and the sorts of implications they have on the culture that implements them.
- thumbtackthief 12y agoI'd also point out that Hacker School's anti-isms rule is probably a lot _less_ strict than most corporate HR policies.
- Zikes 12y agoBeing strict and verbose leaves less room for abuse or loopholes.
- thumbtackthief 12y agoTo add to that, given that HS is more diverse--in terms of race, religion, sex, orientation, gender expression, whatever--than anywhere else I've ever seen in the tech industry, maybe HS is onto something...
- wmj 12y agoIf you artificially create an environment that empowers minorities to harass straight white men without consequence, of course you'll get more minorities. It's not exactly embedded programming.