There's so much going on politically that's set to change the world one way or another and I've been wondering what all the nerds of the world are doing in light of all the uncertainty.
Ask HN: How Is Everyone Feeling?
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Re: Ask HN: How Is Everyone Feeling?
#2My feelings go up and down, as they have for all human beings throughout history.
However, they trend down especially when I spend a lot of time on social media or news sites, including HN.
To put it another way:
Emotional state without "the internet" = varying around a general background of contentment.
Emotional state with "the internet" = varying around a general background of discontentment.
This is unrelated to current political events, which I view as an overcorrection to the state of unhealthy and extreme political correctness that we were falling into a few years ago (wokeness).
Now the pendulum is swinging the other way, towards an unhealthy and extreme focus on race and social differences, glorifying in political incorrectness (anti-woke).
It'll swing back again in a few years. Just how far it will go before then is impossible to say, but it's not something I can control and therefore shouldn't affect whether I enjoy life, since I'm lucky enough to not be directly affected, for the most part.
But if I go on the internet for hours every day and focus on it, it surely will make me feel terrible!
On the other hand, I want to stay informed and connected. Some amount of discomfort is acceptable to accomplish that. The trick is mindful use of the internet, and I'm afraid I don't always succeed there, when I have a distraction machine in my pocket all the time.
Re: Ask HN: How Is Everyone Feeling?
#3Down. The end of the world is on the horizon and everyone is partying and having a great time. Isn't anyone concerned that we are going extinct soon?
Re: Ask HN: How Is Everyone Feeling?
#4Been reading reviews of IABIED (If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies). So, a bit pensive.
Re: Ask HN: How Is Everyone Feeling?
#5Not great. I've been trying to get into a real "career" track software job for the best part of a decade. I study, work on side projects, got to events regularly. And now the job market is even worse. I'm starting to feel like I've missed the boat. I wonder what would've happened if I had managed to get a job with chances to progress, learn and improve 10 years ago. I dream of earning 6 figures, people make it sound like it is so easy. I'll pick up any tech stack, go into any industry, move around the world, whatever it takes.
Re: Ask HN: How Is Everyone Feeling?
#6My feelings go up and down, as they have for all human beings throughout history. However, they trend down especially when I spend a lot of time on social media or news sites, including HN. To put it another way: Emotional state without "the internet" = varying around a general background of contentment. Emotional state with "the internet" = varying around a general background of discontentment. This is unrelated to…
I can respect that and I considered whether I was taking in too much social media, but it feels like every Monday there's something new to scratch my head at.
Some of the recent stuff:
- Paul G confronting Palantir on X about respecting the US Constitution
- Developments with Ukraine, Russia, and NATO
- The insane valuations of AI startups and the back and forth in global trade policy
- How poorly positioned the Fed is in the event of stagflation
- Civil unrest in Nepal and several other countries
- Labor economy shift due to ICE and the new visa related legislation
I was trying to keep this less US focused, but it's really all tied together.
Point being, you don't think this time is different and may require planning ahead?
Genuinely curious. I've already come to terms with the possibility that I could be a doomer that has spent too much time on X.
Re: Ask HN: How Is Everyone Feeling?
#7Down. The end of the world is on the horizon and everyone is partying and having a great time. Isn't anyone concerned that we are going extinct soon?
Are we partying? I remember that during the inflation times during covid, but this feels like a long, drawn-out hangover.
Re: Ask HN: How Is Everyone Feeling?
#8Down. The end of the world is on the horizon and everyone is partying and having a great time. Isn't anyone concerned that we are going extinct soon?
Okay, so you're ahead of me. What're you thinking is the extinction event?
I was more wondering what's the most effective thing I could be doing, but this sounds more interesting.
Re: Ask HN: How Is Everyone Feeling?
#9Not great. I've been trying to get into a real "career" track software job for the best part of a decade. I study, work on side projects, got to events regularly. And now the job market is even worse. I'm starting to feel like I've missed the boat. I wonder what would've happened if I had managed to get a job with chances to progress, learn and improve 10 years ago. I dream of earning 6 figures, people make it sound…
I'm not the best person to get advice on employment, but you should trust this advice anyway.
The worst thing you can do is lose motivation. Labor markets have their own supply and demand and when others feel that job searching is futile, supply goes down. That may take a while, but businesses have an infinite amount of problems that they want to go away.
From their point of view, "can this person make X or Y go away and will they not cause problems for me later?"
Proving that is half the battle. The other battle is making friends that trust you and want you to succeed, so you get the chance to prove it.
You're not going to have a good time going through the same automated process as thousands of others do. Make a friend that can let you in through the back.
Re: Ask HN: How Is Everyone Feeling?
#10Personally I'm fine.
Communally I'm worried.
I'm worried the AI valuations bubble will collapse, pull the mag7 with it, that'll pull the us stock market with it considering they represent the vast majority of the value gain over the last years. That in turn will pull the dollar with it, even more than today. It'll make 2007 look like a picnic.
I'm worried about demographics vs retirement. I doubt retirement will be a thing for the children my generation has, I'm middle age now. I might get to retire because I've been lucky. Also related worries about the welfare state model overall.
I'm worried that Russia won't collapse quickly enough due to Chinese backing and pull us, northern europe, with it. They won't stop until someone makes them stop.
I'm worried about all the men struggling to find their place in society, the lack of constructive role models for young men and the right wing nazis happily channeling it.
I'm worried about climate change, it's basically gone of the agenda but that doesn't mean the problem has gone away. The chance of the gulf stream collapsing seems to increase for every new model they release.