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I quit the tech industry (2015)

eev.ee

81–90 of 276 posts

Re: I quit the tech industry (2015)

#81
post #15

“Rich kid cash stocks and stops working in tech to do whatever he likes” Come on.

100%. The entitlement in that post is comical. Reminds me of startup colleagues bitching about the free gourmet sandwiches being 'shitty'. Some people need a reality check.

Re: I quit the tech industry (2015)

#82
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's arbitrary about a family? It's changed in size over the history of homo sapiens, but it has always existed and is pretty obviously a biological necessity and unavoidable natural law for us. The arguments against it are entirely abstract and ungrounded.

You assign an enormous amount of special status to certain people who you happen to be related to by blood, and that's arbitrary. It works when it works, and it doesn't work when it doesn't. What natural law says it's better to spend time with/live only with people who are related to by blood? The only necessity for reproduction is sexual intercourse. A family is susceptible to the same abuse and corruption as any ot…

Divorces are between people not related by blood (usually). The reason you provide resources to blood relatives (kids) is to give your genes the best chance to survive.

Re: I quit the tech industry (2015)

#83
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd argue that, while it may not be selfish to have kids, most people who are having kids do it for selfish reasons. They don't want to "die alone". They want to show that they can afford it. They want to vicariously get into Harvard and work in publishing (if traditional publishing still exists in the 2040s at all) and live some imagined high life... even though the probabilities are minuscule and most children are…

There is nothing less selfish than havint kids. The amount of sacrifice you have to put in is huge. If you are not on board with that, don't have kids.

You're doing it for a return though: the joy of having kids, planning for the future and so on... I'm sure it's hard work, but it's certainly not an altruistic act.

Re: I quit the tech industry (2015)

#84
So, what could you advice for people who's about to enter the tech industry? I've been having extreme senioritis for more than two years and one of the reasons, I think, is fear of entering this industry. Don't get me wrong, I love tech and all, it's just that I don't think my personality fits the standard employers look for. I don't want to constantly learn new skills just to prove my worth. Yes, most jobs nowadays require regular updates on your knowledge but the frequency of that update in tech is just ridiculously high.

Re: I quit the tech industry (2015)

#85

So, what could you advice for people who's about to enter the tech industry? I've been having extreme senioritis for more than two years and one of the reasons, I think, is fear of entering this industry. Don't get me wrong, I love tech and all, it's just that I don't think my personality fits the standard employers look for. I don't want to constantly learn new skills just to prove my worth. Yes, most jobs nowadays…

There’s not one “tech industry”, there’s just a bunch of companies and people, all unique, all flawed in their own ways. So join a company, and if you don’t like it, quit and try a different one.

Re: I quit the tech industry (2015)

#86
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd argue that, while it may not be selfish to have kids, most people who are having kids do it for selfish reasons. They don't want to "die alone". They want to show that they can afford it. They want to vicariously get into Harvard and work in publishing (if traditional publishing still exists in the 2040s at all) and live some imagined high life... even though the probabilities are minuscule and most children are…

Whoa, that's a lot of super weird assumptions you're making. Fwiw, neither myself nor any other parent i ever met even gets in the remote vicinity of the picture you're painting. It sounds to me like you just have shitty parent-friends in your bubble? But rest assured that there a legion of other parents out there who neither got kids because they're afraid to die alone nor want to force their own wishes and life goa…

> kids enrich your life, and they allow tremendous opportunity for self-growth and a host of experiences that are hard to replicate otherwise

As other people said, these are by-the-book examples of selfish justifications. (And no, I'm not saying that ALL parenting is selfish)

And this is without considering climate change. If you consider it, having kids is very selfish.

Re: I quit the tech industry (2015)

#87

We talk about externalities. A chemical company pours toxins into a river, an automaker knows its products kill X people per year. These are tangible, understandable. But we don't yet think of the effects on the workforce as social externalities. Industrial safety has made the workplace a much safer space physically, but not mentally. The reality is, a great many jobs make us sick. Depression, anxiety, heightened agg…

I wish I could favourite this comment. So insightful.

Re: I quit the tech industry (2015)

#88
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd argue that, while it may not be selfish to have kids, most people who are having kids do it for selfish reasons. They don't want to "die alone". They want to show that they can afford it. They want to vicariously get into Harvard and work in publishing (if traditional publishing still exists in the 2040s at all) and live some imagined high life... even though the probabilities are minuscule and most children are…

There is nothing less selfish than havint kids. The amount of sacrifice you have to put in is huge. If you are not on board with that, don't have kids.

That does not make it less selfish.

Imagine putting the same sacrifice in donating money or otherwise contributing to a charity that does important work.

And you only get a "thank you" letter. Does it feel the same?

If you are as selfless as you said it should not make a difference.

Re: I quit the tech industry (2015)

#89
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd argue that, while it may not be selfish to have kids, most people who are having kids do it for selfish reasons. They don't want to "die alone". They want to show that they can afford it. They want to vicariously get into Harvard and work in publishing (if traditional publishing still exists in the 2040s at all) and live some imagined high life... even though the probabilities are minuscule and most children are…

There is nothing less selfish than havint kids. The amount of sacrifice you have to put in is huge. If you are not on board with that, don't have kids.

Even if sacrifice and selflessness were always the same, if one would treat having your own kids differently to adopting a newborn, all other things equal, then at least part of your desire to have kids is some kind of "selfish" motivation, rather than a purely altruistic endeavour to bring up a child or contribute to the workforce of tomorrow (or whatever the ostensible motivation is).

If one actually only cared about performing a service for the child and/or future society why do the exact genes matter?

Unless one actually thinks ones own genes are so superior that they're a service in their own right, in which case, one should be having as many children as possible.

Conversely, if one thinks that by having a child is some kind of cost, either to the child or society (or anything other than oneself), it can be a selfless choice to not have the child, even if you personally wanted one.

Re: I quit the tech industry (2015)

#90
post #69
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>A viable option if you have a zoophile polyamorous commune you can rely on to support you while you fiddle around Does a bit of furry art really give you such mental anguish that you have to spew some junk on hn? > Please don't pick the most provocative thing in an article or post to complain about in the thread. Find something interesting to respond to instead.

You must've missed the controversy a few years ago then. There's more to it than that

What is the controversy?
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