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Ask HN: Do you look angry while you work?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you look angry while you work?

#141

Post by jrootabega »

_jal wrote: post #25
jrootabega wrote: post #9

Yes, I was once interrupted by a co-worker while I was working, and he just said "Smile." Part of working in the panopticon.

The only reasonable response is aggression. Any asshole who does that deserves it.

I think the act was wrong, but the person was someone I otherwise respected and got along with. This is one of the things that the culture does to people when you pack them in like sardines. It's not natural to be looking at someone all day and not have an urge to just say something to them. If you manage to resist the urge, or worse, signal that your focus has value to you, you start to get branded as unfriendly. It's emotional boot camp to break down your individual identity.

Re: Ask HN: Do you look angry while you work?

#145

Post by rewgs »

P5fRxh5kUvp2th wrote: post #82
toomanyrichies wrote: post #68

I've gotten this feedback from those around me for years. Even before I was a coder, when I was an ESL teacher in China, I had multiple students approach me (those I had made friends with, they were all 20-somethings and over) and ask me if I was OK, because I looked angry. I appreciated their concern but I didn't feel angry, so I had no clue what they were talking about. It was only later that I learned about the co…

I don't think resting bitch face is about looking angry, but I understand your overall point.

What else could it possibly be about?

Re: Ask HN: Do you look angry while you work?

#146

Post by t-3 »

design-of-homes wrote: post #112

I don't look angry when focusing at the computer, instead I just look miserable! You know how the corners of your mouth are turned down (looking miserable) and you simply forget how you look (even if you are peforming a pleasant task). I have to consciously turn up my mouth corners ever so slightly, relax my facial expression. It's not about turning into a fake smile. It can be a subtle change, but you immediately wi…

> You know how the corners of your mouth are turned down (looking miserable)

That's just my normal face. When I focus, my eyebrows bunch up and I am told I scare people.

Re: Ask HN: Do you look angry while you work?

#150

Post by replyifuagree »

This is one reason legacy companies have a hard time executing on software creation. They fundamentally don't understand wtf those engineers are doing. Just ITT alone there are engineers who have been characterized as daydreaming, angry and sad when in fact they were building "castles in the air, from air, creating by exertion of the imagination." to quote Fred Brooks.

That sort of ignorance is death on a bun for software innovation in MBA heavy organizations where non-technical project/product managers rule the roost.

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