Conversation

Notices

1. Embed this notice
   Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2025 05:44:48 JST Paul Cantrell

   Just to be clear, because a bunch of assholes have hijacked public perception and lifted up some of the worst people on Earth as exemplars of what the “tech world” is supposed to be:

   I’ve been in the software world for decades, surrounded by thoughftul, creative, and humane people with whom I’ve formed many wonderful friendships and done meaningful work. That’s possible. It’s normal, even.

   You don’t have to become a sociopath to make it in the tech world. Or a malignant narcissist. Or a Nazi.

   Your instincts to be a decent person are good instincts. Don’t let anyone talk you into being an antisocial monster. You don’t have to be.

   • Haelwenn /элвэн/ :triskell: likes this.
   • Embed this notice
     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2025 05:55:45 JST Paul Cantrell

     in reply to

     NO:

     “Look, these Muskerbergzos types are kind of dislikable, sure, but they’re just proof that that’s what it takes to succeed! Gotta be a shitstain if you want to get ahead!”

     YES:

     “All decent and wise people have some sense of ‘enough.’ Past a certain point, pursuit of further wealth is nothing but a sign of deep psychological brokenness.”

     Haelwenn /элвэн/ :triskell: likes this.
   • Embed this notice
     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2025 06:34:38 JST Paul Cantrell

     in reply to

     • Paul (Tex) Hewson

     @texhewson
     My argument (per the next post) is not that you must be monstrous in order to achieve wealth, but rather that you must be monstrous in order not to know when to stop. IOW, billionaireship is survivor-biased in favor of broken people.

   • Embed this notice
     Paul (Tex) Hewson (texhewson@datasci.social)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2025 06:34:40 JST Paul (Tex) Hewson

     in reply to

     @inthehands but to make a lot of money you do need to be those things. That's the change I've seen (I think). Lots more people not motivated by curiosity but by the chance of making a *lot* of money

   • Embed this notice
     groxx (groxx@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2025 07:32:58 JST groxx

     in reply to

     @inthehands tech has an *incredible* history of wide-open sharing of information and effort and it's a big part of why I really enjoy it. Just look at how much has been created because of open source software, for instance.

     There are definitely problems, but every field has problems. And e.g. Musk-flavored issues are exceptional in a "literally nobody ever has had this much money and power this quickly" sense so I don't think it actually reflects on the field at all. Except maybe to say "open sharing allows abuse too" but like everyone knows that.

   • Embed this notice
     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2025 09:50:08 JST Paul Cantrell

     in reply to

     • okanogen VerminEnemyFromWithin

     @Okanogen
     It might be less “infection” than “invasion:” the greedy follow the money; the power-hungry follow the power.

   • Embed this notice
     okanogen VerminEnemyFromWithin (okanogen@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2025 09:50:09 JST okanogen VerminEnemyFromWithin

     in reply to

     @inthehands
     Why did this weird narcicist infection occur in tech (for lack of a better description)? Why not physics? Chemistry? Etc.?

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Pińska (confluency@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2025 19:28:50 JST Adrianna Pińska

     in reply to

     @inthehands I needed to see this today. I've been feeling pretty disillusioned and burned out.

     I've been a computer toucher since I was a child. I love programming and open source software in general, and I've certainly met a lot of lovely people through my local tech communities. There have always been shitheads in the broader tech world, and it's been pretty depressing to watch the worst of them become so loud and prominent. But the lovely people are still there, doing the actual useful work.

     It's going to be much harder to run local conferences ethically, though -- they live and die by sponsorship, and most sponsors of small tech conferences are large tech companies.

   • Embed this notice
     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2025 23:10:49 JST Paul Cantrell

     in reply to

     • Adrianna Pińska

     @confluency
     I’m glad it helped! Stray strong, stay true to yourself, and remember that we have always lived lives of meaning and value in the midst of the awfulness — in defiance of it as we stand next to it! — not apart from it or free from it.