Steve Yegge quits Google in the middle of his speech [OSCON Data 2011] • Hacker News Board

Re: Steve Yegge quits Google in the middle of his speech [OSCON Data 2011]

#91

Post by tom_b » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 6:20 PM UTC

cing wrote: post #82

tom_b wrote: post #42

So I'm not really an ask me anything type guy, but I work on a bioinformatics team at an academic cancer research center. We have genomic sequencers and a software stack running 24/7/365 plus your normal collection of IT and small dev projects here. If you have questions about what it's like to be a hacker in this type of environment, post them here and I'll share what my experience is like. BTW, I completely wish I…

I worked at a bioinformatics co-op job for 8 months about 4 years ago. I had fun, but my main impression was that the field is a major clusterf*ck of databases and data management. I think you could take this list as evidence for that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioinformatics_workflow_managem...

This is definitely true. I deal with unstructured data, and every flavor of data storage weekly (XML, Access, Oracle, Postgres, MySQL, a few MS SQL Server instances, Excel, and plain text).

oh, and forget about stuff being normalized or making any sense . . .

Re: Steve Yegge quits Google in the middle of his speech [OSCON Data 2011]

#92

Post by absconditus » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 6:20 PM UTC

Create wrote: post #55

AndrewTerry wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I applaud his motives for change, we should also focus on HOW he quit, too. IMHO, his boss deserves the professional courtesy of being told personally (be it face to face, or by letter of resignation), rather than finding out via a YouTube clip...

downvote freely (but then don't laugh when watching Office Space). If you have enough life experience, or read enough of Matt Groening, worst case watch enough Office movies/series, then you could suspect that bosses can be manipulative sociopaths, who do not deserve any professional courtesy. BTW: most bosses don't fire f2f (Office Space), but with an indirection, through Human Resources Services (or hire scumbags,…

Doing something for someone even though you believe that they do not deserve it is part of being a better person.

Re: Steve Yegge quits Google in the middle of his speech [OSCON Data 2011]

#93

Post by absconditus » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 6:22 PM UTC

ryan-allen wrote: post #8

Wow, he really did. How this isn't on the front page, I don't know. It should be!

This is actually far less important than geeks believe that it is.

Re: Steve Yegge quits Google in the middle of his speech [OSCON Data 2011]

#94

Post by kenjackson » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 6:25 PM UTC

michaelfeathers wrote: post #81

AndrewTerry wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I applaud his motives for change, we should also focus on HOW he quit, too. IMHO, his boss deserves the professional courtesy of being told personally (be it face to face, or by letter of resignation), rather than finding out via a YouTube clip...

I'm trying to put myself in his boss's shoes. I think I would only be upset if I took it personally.

I think the fact that he did it at a conference made it personal. See the other post that is a peer of yours on this thread.

Basically Steve Yegge said that his boss doesn't deserve the respect to know this ahead of time. In fact its quite possible that 1000 people will know this before his boss does, including his boss's boss.

In many regards the only person this was disrespectful to was his boss -- and that makes it personal when you single out someone in this manner.

Re: Steve Yegge quits Google in the middle of his speech [OSCON Data 2011]

#95

Post by kenjackson » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 6:27 PM UTC

You want to change the world for the better? Be respectful of others you interact with on a day to day basis as a start. Steve should have given his boss heads up on this.

Re: Steve Yegge quits Google in the middle of his speech [OSCON Data 2011]

#96

Post by rektide » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 6:29 PM UTC

He looks so different than OSCON 2007: http://blip.tv/oreilly-open-source-convention/oscon-2007-ste...

Re: Steve Yegge quits Google in the middle of his speech [OSCON Data 2011]

#97

Post by jsavimbi » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 6:36 PM UTC

While we debate the merits of Mr. Yegge's principled talk at OSCON Data 2011 and the potential ramifications that a sudden shift in priorities would cause in the developer universe, #imisswhen is trending from my local cat-picture dissemination outfit.

Personally, I believe we've done enough for humanity already.

Re: Steve Yegge quits Google in the middle of his speech [OSCON Data 2011]

#98

Post by Create » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 6:37 PM UTC

absconditus wrote: post #92

Create wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

downvote freely (but then don't laugh when watching Office Space). If you have enough life experience, or read enough of Matt Groening, worst case watch enough Office movies/series, then you could suspect that bosses can be manipulative sociopaths, who do not deserve any professional courtesy. BTW: most bosses don't fire f2f (Office Space), but with an indirection, through Human Resources Services (or hire scumbags,…

Doing something for someone even though you believe that they do not deserve it is part of being a better person.

Try to explain the meaning of your sentence to a manipulative sociopath.

Re: Steve Yegge quits Google in the middle of his speech [OSCON Data 2011]

#99

Post by T_S_ » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 6:42 PM UTC

Can anybody see the books on his dining room table (at 13:49)? I think I spotted Concrete Mathematics at the bottom, Duda and Hart, and Hastie, Tibshirani and Friedman. Good places to start.

What would your list be for Steve?

Re: Steve Yegge quits Google in the middle of his speech [OSCON Data 2011]

#100

Post by PaulHoule » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 6:47 PM UTC

AndrewO wrote: post #83

tom_b wrote: post #42

So I'm not really an ask me anything type guy, but I work on a bioinformatics team at an academic cancer research center. We have genomic sequencers and a software stack running 24/7/365 plus your normal collection of IT and small dev projects here. If you have questions about what it's like to be a hacker in this type of environment, post them here and I'll share what my experience is like. BTW, I completely wish I…

How would you describe the attention to craftsmanship of software in scientific computing? The most illuminating thing about Climategate to me was the state of the software: is this kind of code widespread? Is there interest in improvement? If I went to work for a research team and suggested pairing, code reviews, version control, continuous integration, or other accepted good practices from my experience in software…

Software Craftsmanship is often disastrous in Computer Science departments, never mind other fields.

I remember getting a C program from one of the biggest names in both undergrad CS education and machine learning and finding it wouldn't run on 32 bit machines because it had a static array that consumed 4 GB.

Even in computer science, the product is papers, not working software, and the situation is worse in other fields.

As someone who had an academic background, I think going from "pictures of cats" to "math and science" is like going from the frying pan to the fire. Entry level positions in the math and science Juggernaut pay from 2-5x less what a junior or senior person in the social media Juggernaut gets. You can sink anywhere from 5-10 years into getting a PhD, and then you'll find that there are just enough new jobs for the children of yesterday's professors who weren't totally destroyed by their upbringing and that they've got an insurmountable advantage in the game of musical chairs.

Science and Math is a system that uses up young people, especially men, the same way that the racing industry uses thoroughbred horses. There's no realistic career path for 95% of the people who get involved... other than working on "pictures of cats" or whatever it is that pays.