Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem • Hacker News Board

Re: Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem

#161

Post by dalke » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 7:52 PM UTC

raldi wrote: post #110

dalke wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now you've switched topics. I said there are reasonable arguments for saying that the thesis - that private buses reduce the number of cars and make more effective use of commuting time - is frivolous. Now you want me to make a specific judgment about a generic use of your car? Why the topic switch? My view is that my taxes should not help fund a personal garage for you to store your car. If it's kept on the street t…

I was using that as an illustrative example, and indeed, it has revealed the crux of our disagreement: You think "frivolous" means one thing, and the dictionary and I think it means another.

How am I using it incorrectly? I even quoted the dictionary meaning I was using.

There are other definitions as well. Do you mean one of them?

If you want everyone to have a 99% chance of finding free parking, because you like driving better than walking, then why can't I say that you're making a frivolous argument?

Re: Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem

#162

Post by nathanvanfleet » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 7:54 PM UTC

What a well written article. It really brilliantly summarizes why you really would and wouldn’t want to be part of the current tech field. I’ve been trying to go from IT at a University in Canada to working for companies like Apple. So far no luck, I feel like I’m 5 years behind every gold rush. There are so many articles these days stating “California is full, if you want to live here, bring your A game and a million dollars if you want to live someplace."

"A few weeks ago, a programmer friend and I were talking about unhappiness, in particular the kind of unhappiness that arises when you are 21 and lavishly educated with the world at your feet. In the valley, it’s generally brought on by one of two causes: coming to the realization either that your start-up is completely trivial or that there are people your own age so knowledgeable and skilled that you may never catch up.”

This is a great paragraph, again showing the dichotomy of power and impotency. I feel the same way having learned iOS development on my own but not feeling particularly “hireable” without a degree or full-time experience.

Re: Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem

#163

Post by 205guy » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 7:54 PM UTC

davidf18 wrote: post #32

king_jester wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Google bus issue is more about the self-involvement and less about the frivolity. Backlash against Google buses is about gentrification and the fact that a well paid group of workers comes in from a variety of locations and then dominates local politics.

The real issue here is the higher costs of housing caused by the politics of zoning that creates artificial scarcity in housing. In a healthy market, there would be increased construction to offset the increased demand caused by people with higher incomes.

Except if you have a neighborhood full of nice row houses (almost historic by American standards), friendly local businesses, etc., then the "politics of zoning" by the local residents has tended to the status quo, which they seem to like. In that case, where would you be able to increase construction? People want to live in those nice neighborhoods, not some new high rise in a "redeveloped" area. So the newcomers with google salaries buy up and price out the current residents of those pleasant neighborhoods. This creates friction.

Why should all systems be designed for growth?

Re: Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem

#164

Post by nathanvanfleet » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 7:55 PM UTC

powera wrote: post #50

I stopped reading this when I got to "Why do these smart, quantitatively trained engineers, who could help cure cancer or fix healthcare.gov, want to work for a sexting app?" - there was the cover article in Time Magazine not less than 2 weeks ago about these very engineers fixing healthcare.gov, and describing why they don't do it permanently (government procurement is awful and almost always unrelated to actual ski…

I think you should give the whole article a chance. It's about the dichotomy of tech industry and has more solid point of view if you read it the way through

Re: Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem

#165

Post by cinquemb » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 7:56 PM UTC

jmsduran wrote: post #99

powera wrote: post #50

I stopped reading this when I got to "Why do these smart, quantitatively trained engineers, who could help cure cancer or fix healthcare.gov, want to work for a sexting app?" - there was the cover article in Time Magazine not less than 2 weeks ago about these very engineers fixing healthcare.gov, and describing why they don't do it permanently (government procurement is awful and almost always unrelated to actual ski…

I don't blame people choosing to work in other business areas rather than putting their efforts in fixing government, curing cancer, improving medicine, rebooting our space program, fixing education, etc. Why? Because it's honestly very hard work, often with little recognition and less pay. People trying to innovate or 'disrupt' these fields are up against deep rooted political institutions, large corporations with m…

Another thing I was thinking about was if people had as many government recruiting requests come in their inbox/linkedin, if that would factor into more people in tech joining? It just seems like private sector throws more resources into keeping the machine fed with talent.

Re: Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem

#166

Post by krschultz » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 8:17 PM UTC

powera wrote: post #50

I stopped reading this when I got to "Why do these smart, quantitatively trained engineers, who could help cure cancer or fix healthcare.gov, want to work for a sexting app?" - there was the cover article in Time Magazine not less than 2 weeks ago about these very engineers fixing healthcare.gov, and describing why they don't do it permanently (government procurement is awful and almost always unrelated to actual ski…

Approximately 2296 days ago I started reflexively down voting anyone that starts a comment with 'I stopped reading this when X ...'.

If you didn't finish the article, then I don't think you are qualified to judge whether or not the author has a point.

Re: Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem

#167

Post by gruseom » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 8:17 PM UTC

rosser wrote: post #105

waterlesscloud wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So it's all someone else's fault?

Of course it is. I'm reminded of a scene in The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys , with Kieran Culkin and Emile Hirsch. (Great movie, btw.) Minor spoilers: The boys are riding their bicycles along a country road, and happen upon a dog that's been struck by a passing vehicle, and is dying. Hirsch's character, Francis, says (paraphrased), "Someone needs to come for it. They need to do something." Tim, played by Culkin, re…

Reminds me of Heidegger's concept of the "they self" as an inauthentic way of being.

Re: Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem

#168

Post by michaelt » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 8:28 PM UTC

badman_ting wrote: post #122

powera wrote: post #50

I stopped reading this when I got to "Why do these smart, quantitatively trained engineers, who could help cure cancer or fix healthcare.gov, want to work for a sexting app?" - there was the cover article in Time Magazine not less than 2 weeks ago about these very engineers fixing healthcare.gov, and describing why they don't do it permanently (government procurement is awful and almost always unrelated to actual ski…

It's funny how that line of thinking should boil down to "capitalism, or at least the way we are practicing it, misallocates resources", but the thought-buck always stops with the smart people. There's no "well, I the incentives must say these people should work on sexting apps, and they are acting rationally, I wonder why the incentives are that way?", it's just "Ugh! You're smart! Stop it with the sexting and start…

People who believe incentives are destiny tend not to take jobs writing for the New York Times. It's not like journalists enjoy high pay or great job security.

Maybe the author of this piece believes "I don't do X for the money, I do X to make the world a better place / for the love of X". Many people in the arts, education, charities, research etc act as if they believe this.

Perhaps it's never occurred to the author that people with the opportunity to change the world (a) might not care about changing the world or (b) might think a photo sharing app is the best possible way to do it.

Re: Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem

#169

Post by lnanek2 » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 8:30 PM UTC

> It provided an efficient solution to a niche problem — rich techies needed a ride home after a night on the town and couldn’t get one

Wtf? Uber is better than a taxi in every way but price. It certainly isn't limited to just rich techies at night. I wonder if he has ever even tried calling a taxi in SF or the valley. In SF, half the time, it will never show up. It just picks up someone else on the way there. In the valley, half the companies you call up refuse you saying they have no one in that town right now. With Uber you get a ride immediately and can watch it come to you on the screen and down rate any driver that ditches you for an easier fare.

Re: Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem

#170

Post by Hannan » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 8:35 PM UTC

ryanmarsh wrote: post #126

Kluny wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel exactly the same way, though you're clearly ahead of me. Right now I'm working in website development but trying to figure out how to get into the medical hardware industry, either with or without a software engineering degree. I'm signed up to take software engineering this fall, but if I can get the job I want without it... Anyway, can you mention the names of any unsexy companies that I ought to look at? PM…

I'm a high school dropout. The people who take money out of their pocket and hand it to you for solving their problems don't care much about your education, they care that you understand their problem better than they do. Pick a "green light" market and start interviewing people in that market for their pain points. Something will emerge.

>> Pick a "green light" market...

Sorry, I haven't heard of this term before and a cursory search wasn't helpful. Do you mean a market that is commonly thought to be growing or something else?