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68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

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Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#121

Post by globular-toast »

barbegal wrote: post #112
anthony_r wrote: post #100

> Never use a credit card for credit. The only kind of credit, or debt, that is acceptable is debt to acquire something whose exchange value is extremely likely to increase, like in a home. The exchange value of most things diminishes or vanishes the moment you purchase them. Don’t be in debt to losers. While true on credit, I would like to point out that the statement "something whose exchange value is extremely lik…

Yeah I completely disagree with this sentiment that debt = bad. You should use debt where it acts as an investment (in the true sense of the word investment, rather than speculation). If you need to take on debt to buy that car that saves you an hour walk to work every day then that is good debt. Is it a good idea to use debt to purchase a house? If we believe in free markets then ownership should have roughly the sa…

It's only a good debt if you have something useful to do with that hour you save. If it's just to spend more time watching TV then walking to work is the better investment by far.

Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#122

Post by mattkrause »

MauranKilom wrote: post #113
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes even that isn't enough. You have to read it twice. I was having a text exchange with a manager on the road. Hard to come to a consensus that way. So I wanted to talk when he got back to the shop. I texted "We can talk some more when you get it." One letter. The issues it caused lasted for years.

Sorry, I don't see the one letter change that fixes the message. What did you intend to say?

"Get in" -> arrive here (i.e., let's continue the discussion in person)

"Get it" --> understand (i.e., you need to take some time to realize why I'm right).

Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#123

Post by CivBase »

anthony_r wrote: post #100

> Never use a credit card for credit. The only kind of credit, or debt, that is acceptable is debt to acquire something whose exchange value is extremely likely to increase, like in a home. The exchange value of most things diminishes or vanishes the moment you purchase them. Don’t be in debt to losers. While true on credit, I would like to point out that the statement "something whose exchange value is extremely lik…

I did not buy a house because I expected it to appreciate in value. I bought a house because the alternative was to pay rent.

Rent is a service. A renter does not get anything of inherent, transferable value out of the exchange. A renter is also subject to the whims of his/her landlord and, from my experience, a renter has to move regularly to avoid rent increases and bad landlords.

The majority of my mortgage payment goes towards ownership of a product - my house - which has inherent, transferable value. When I'm ready to move again, I can sell my house and put that money towards acquiring a new one using less debt. Meanwhile, I don't have to worry about landlord problems or rent increases so I can wait to move until I am ready.

I'd say that's a perfectly good reason to take on some debt. After all, if that money wasn't going to the bank, then it would just go to a landlord instead.

EDIT: I'm not saying rent is bad. It is a perfectly reasonable option for many people depending on their preferences and circumstances. I just wanted to highlight the reasons why I chose to take on some debt to buy a house, regardless of whether it will appreciate in value.

Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#124

Post by ivanche »

anthony_r wrote: post #100

> Never use a credit card for credit. The only kind of credit, or debt, that is acceptable is debt to acquire something whose exchange value is extremely likely to increase, like in a home. The exchange value of most things diminishes or vanishes the moment you purchase them. Don’t be in debt to losers. While true on credit, I would like to point out that the statement "something whose exchange value is extremely lik…

Spot on! I once read that Warren Buffet doesn't recommend leverage greater than 1.4x and I can only say I agree fully. The fact that most of the people find 5x leverage "normal" is scary.

Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#125

Post by 9wzYQbTYsAIc »

newswasboring wrote: post #118
9wzYQbTYsAIc wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In sociology and social psychology, an in-group is a social group to which a person psychologically identifies as being a member. By contrast, an out-group is a social group with which an individual does not identify https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-group_and_out-group

Are you implying that the out group is them? But that will mean that there is no out group, everyone is in the in group and thus we should listen to everyone's opinion and give it credence.

Correct, “them” is always an out-group. “Us” is always an in-group.

Everyone is human, we all bleed red, death is a part of life, and all that.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that we should attribute everyone with credibility, however. But we should certainly attribute everyone with humanity.

Unless “them” identify as non-human, I guess.

Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#126

Post by Scarblac »

ashtonkem wrote: post #120
jacquesm wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's dated. This used to be true, absolutely. But the size of various eco-systems is such that if you want to really master something now you have to invest a lot of time and if you bet on the wrong horse then you can lose a lot of time and effort for little return. Front end is especially brutal in this sense.

Nonsense. You can migrate a back end developer to the front end in far less time than it takes to train a new front end developer from scratch. The domain knowledge of front end specific tasks must be learned, sure, but the core fundamentals of how to program remain. You don’t suddenly forget how to actually program once you pick up JS, all jokes notwithstanding.

True for the programming part of front end development, not so much for the making things look good part.

Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#127

Post by theandrewbailey »

barbegal wrote: post #112
anthony_r wrote: post #100

> Never use a credit card for credit. The only kind of credit, or debt, that is acceptable is debt to acquire something whose exchange value is extremely likely to increase, like in a home. The exchange value of most things diminishes or vanishes the moment you purchase them. Don’t be in debt to losers. While true on credit, I would like to point out that the statement "something whose exchange value is extremely lik…

Yeah I completely disagree with this sentiment that debt = bad. You should use debt where it acts as an investment (in the true sense of the word investment, rather than speculation). If you need to take on debt to buy that car that saves you an hour walk to work every day then that is good debt. Is it a good idea to use debt to purchase a house? If we believe in free markets then ownership should have roughly the sa…

Debt is risk. What happens when you lose all your income (as millions are right now)? Payments can't get made, and repossessions happen. If losing a job doesn't sound like a disaster to you, you've probably never experienced it, and/or you have the privilege of having a career in an in-demand field.

Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#128

Post by Scarblac »

newswasboring wrote: post #96

Just a question, and I know it is completely dependent on culture, do people really believe > Trust me: There is no “them”. I feel like there is constantly a them. The way I interpret it is that you should not modify your behavior based on other people's opinion. Or is it about people who don't matter? How do you know people who don't matter? I have never known from the beginning of a relationship that this person wi…

I thought it was a warning against an "us vs them" mentality; in the end it turns out that everybody is just another one of us.

Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#130

Post by globular-toast »

> Don’t be the smartest person in the room. Hangout with, and learn from, people smarter than yourself. Even better, find smart people who will disagree with you.

I've often struggled with this one. It might sound arrogant, but I am 90% of the time the smartest person in the room. This is a frequent cause of unhappiness as I just feel I'm carrying others and I'm not able to learn anything myself. I've changed jobs many times to try to combat it but before long I find that I am, once again, the smartest person in the room.

The only time I never felt like this was with my PhD supervisor who was definitely always the smartest person in the room.

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