Kris Nóva
So here is the thing that keeps me up at night.
Over the last 5ish years I’ve observed the tech industry. I’ve watched a few of my startups exit. I’ve watched founders walk away with millions. A lot of it didn’t make sense to me when I was younger. It does now. I’m sitting here watching Wall Street move money around after hours and watch my RSUs turn into toilet paper overnight “just cuz”. I’m watching profit motivated corporations directly impact the sustainability of our planet. 1/2
Kris Nóva
It became exceedingly obvious to me that this entire thing is a sham. You mean to tell me prior generations knew this? And proceeded forward regardless? Like people knew the entire time?
Like — in all sincerity — there were other grown ups who woke up one day and looked around at the **motions broadly** broader system we call “the tech sector” and “the economy” and said to themselves… fuck it… let’s do it again… fuck everybody else. This is about me and my money.
dpflug
@nova
Did you see this, recently? https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/08/one-last-job/
yuvipanda
@nova yeah, currently feeling lots of rage. This didn’t “just happen”
Chris Hunt
Joseph Quigley
@nova This is why I haven’t been all that angry at crypto like some folks are. Because the rest of the tech industry behaves very similarly, only sometimes (unlike crypto) they occasionally make useful products for a few years.
VC funding culture ? crypto culture
Kris Nóva
I know there has to be people out there doing all this in the name of “generational wealth” which honestly I feel like is a antisystem for “economic captivity”. I don’t think you can have one without the other.
Like how do you go around exploiting the world and sleep at night knowing the next generation is going to clean up after you? How do you reconcile that?
The buck stops with me. I can’t condone this without a little more ownership and accountability in the outcomes of the system.
vashbear
@nova
I hear you and I have similar feelings. But I also wonder about "Us". People vote with their dollars. And too often "We" vote for cheap stuff and connivence, we vote for distractions, we ignore real problems, and we cheer the moguls who has figured out how to rig the system.
Sam Wronski
@nova This is one of the reasons I struggle with words like "Impact". These are metrics that bias towards action and *hurt* you for being ethical.
I see a lot of people compromise somewhere in this in order to get promoted, a bonus etc.
Very much not a fan.
Rodney Norris
@nova I think there are some, but very few people, who say “fuck everybody else.”
Everyone is the hero of their own story, and they (we) are really good at bullshitting ourselves into believing lots of different things so we can feel good about whatever we choose to do.
Thinking about the morality of this system, especially the tech sector, is definitely something I struggle with the older I get.
Kris Nóva
Disclaimer: These likely jaded and trauma provoked opinions are my own. I don’t have kids and I never will. So a lot of this is just the thoughts front of mind. In full disclosure I’m also a small angel investor. I’m posting this just to share the depth of my thought process. I don’t know if a would say this is my one and only opinion.
Kris Mitka :java: :rust:
@nova the solution is deceptively simple. In 2020 COVID demonstrated how to do it. Mushrooms present a reference implementation.
John Refior
@nova *Parts* of previous generations -- not the majority -- and the same people repeat it as much as they can.
One of the motives, I've come to realize over the years, is competitiveness. Some people have a competitive drive to outdo and beat other people -- have the biggest yacht, the bigger total market cap, the ownership/market power to foil a perceived rival's goals, the greater net worth, etc. -- that drive is their greatest impetus; and they just don't care much about others' welfare
Jeff ♨️ Darcy
@nova There are certainly many who are simply greed-monsters. And many *many* more who convinced themselves that they couldn't change the system, that if they declined to participate another person would simply take their place, and that they could still do some good - for themselves and/or more generally - around the margins. As had many generations before and probably many yet to come. It's a classic collective action problem (Stag Hunt IIRC).
Lesley Carhart :unverified:
@nova there are two types of people in the world- the type who returns the shopping cart and the type who doesn’t (especially when nobody is watching). That’s really it.
bffjossy (she/her) :verified:
@nova I feel like most of the grind culture people at the large companies dont even really understand how options cap tables and RSUs work. Id say they should educate themselves, but since its all a sham anyway, possibly theyre making the most efficient use of their energy
Im curious to know whether you would have done anything differently if you knew then what you know now. Do you think the learning curve is inevitable for marginalized or 'othered' people as part of the toehold process?
AzMoo
@nova I'm of the opinion that regardless of Adam Smith, many people see the economy as a zero sum game. Then there's a bunch right on top who are fiercely competitive and see money as a scorecard.
jurney
@nova I worked in pre and post dotcom startups, and after the first crash there were *tons* of people who were spectators the first time that were totally open about wanting a second bubble so they could make their personal fortune.
TinyExplosions ?
@nova I don’t think you have to feel bad at participating. You appear to genuinely want to do things for the benefit of all, and that’s commendable. The majority of the sector can be totally rotten, but there are (and always will be) a few shining lights that try to leave things better off, and they are the Mr Rogers Helpers we should look for.
🏴 Lispegistus 🧠➕🖥️
@nova I started my serious programming education essentially through the Y Combinator media ecosystem(Hackers&Painters, PG's essays, Hacker News, PGs twitter) in the late 00s, and even picked my favorite language to this day(lisp) that way. The assumptions and worldview of SV is my starting off point. Deprogramming from all that and going back(but this time less naively) to my teen punk/anarchist/FSF roots took a while but was worth it. I'm a better techie for it.
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