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Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

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Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#21

Post by ljp_206 »

sokoloff wrote: post #7
TOGoS wrote: post #6

> A lot of day jobs structurally inhibit capital formation. If I were a Marxist I'd say "And this is an intended consequence of Capital's desire to keep Labor subservient to it", but I honestly think it's true even without anybody needing to twirl their mustache. I feel for the author's Marxist friend. That no mustache-twirling is required is kind of the point. But I guess it's a hard one to communicate in our superh…

What makes you think that Patrick is mistaken about his claim that he is a capitalist?

I'd guess the commenter means, that from a Marxist perspective, most workers are not 'capitalists,' i.e., they don't make their living from owning capital. These 'non-capitalist' workers get wages primarily from capitalists. Perhaps the author is moderately successful and does live off of investments now. That could technically make him a 'capitalist' - again, from a certain perspective.

I'll readily admit this is mostly a semantic difference, but to me it serves as a good reminder that, for example, calling even the most ardent free market supporter minimum wage WalMart worker a 'capitalist' is about as sick of a joke as pretending that the majority of jobs offers workers a chance of building 'capital' in the first place - as the author points out.

Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#22

Post by acapybara »

miguelmota wrote: post #15

I agree with the post for the most part. It's important to feel that your work is acknowledged to feel worthy. I disagree with this statement however: > I prefer being upfront with people rather than doing the "It is easier to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission" route a lot of folks suggest. Asking your employer if you can work on a side project is like asking them if you can play golf on the weekend. It's y…

> If you're not sure that your employer will screw you over then get something in writing.

This might be a good indicator that you should leave your employer. If you don't trust that they won't screw you over...

Granted, I know that's easier said than done. But we should all aim to put up with less of this kind of shit from employers.

Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#24

Post by bckr »

GavinMcG wrote: post #11
vulcan01 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 48 laws of power Where are the others?

In the book titled "The 48 Laws of Power."

I recommend this book. It is literally Woo ("winning over others") but in the best way. It's advice for the softest, least-scientific domain I can think of, namely navigating the social dynamics of life, including the poetics of other people's egos. Each "law" is illustrated vividly with examples from history and given caveats/inversions, so that it could be called "48 dynamics that you should think about if you want to engage in the social sphere more effectively". Of course, "laws of power" is better marketing. The author really sells it at the beginning, too — you don't have a choice but to engage in games of power: abstaining from power is itself a power play, and an inauthentic one at that.

Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#26

Post by sjg007 »

dzolob wrote: post #10
gwgundersen wrote: post #4

I like this framing. In graduate school, I worked for 2+ years before my first paper was published. In that time, I passed my PhD qualifying exam, took classes, wrote code, read papers, learned math, and so forth. Yet when I applied for internships, I received no interest from employers. I suspect this was because I had no concrete signal that I knew anything in my field. While working on my second paper, I started b…

This happened to me when I left academia. No “real credentials”. Math expert with strong computer background (phd, published papers, years of experience in research/teaching) didn’t said more than “one year data science ‘masters’ abroad”. It took me quite some time to translate my expertise into marketable skills. Before that, I got passed on even for entry level positions.

While a PhD can do the work, you really want the PhD to direct the work and explore new related things. A lot of this will depend on where you apply. That being said the market for data scientists has exploded in the past 2 years. 3-5 years ago things were different. Part of this is due to maturation of the tooling and the development of data platforms with organizations building out their data pipelines etc...

Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#27

Post by IHLayman »

magicroot75 wrote: post #8

Reminds me of one of the 48 laws of power: Law 6. Court Attention at All Costs

I had forgotten how sleazy many of the 48 laws of power actually are. Important to know them to recognize the tells in others. A pertinent example is the very next “law”: “7. Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit.”

Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#28

Post by darawk »

ljp_206 wrote: post #21
sokoloff wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes you think that Patrick is mistaken about his claim that he is a capitalist?

I'd guess the commenter means, that from a Marxist perspective, most workers are not 'capitalists,' i.e., they don't make their living from owning capital. These 'non-capitalist' workers get wages primarily from capitalists. Perhaps the author is moderately successful and does live off of investments now. That could technically make him a 'capitalist' - again, from a certain perspective. I'll readily admit this is mo…

Patrick runs his own software business afaik, so I think he definitely qualifies as a capitalist in terms of his economic role in society. However, I assume by 'capitalist' he meant more the suite of economic beliefs he subscribes to than his own personal role in the economy.

Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#29

Post by dzfKgs »

Idk most of this fell flat or feels outdated.

I’ve never had issues getting jobs without externally visible artifacts. During interviews they ask you to describe projects you’ve worked on. A few companies will also call references. My experience is in the usual Bay Area tech cos, maybe this advice applies better elsewhere.

As far as side projects, most broad clauses are to protect the company. You don’t even need to bring it up to your employer if you’re not competing with them. They don’t care. Even non competes are mostly non enforceable in some states including Cali.

I do agree with the sentiment of being an owner rather than employee though.

Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#30

Post by kirubakaran »

darawk wrote: post #28
ljp_206 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd guess the commenter means, that from a Marxist perspective, most workers are not 'capitalists,' i.e., they don't make their living from owning capital. These 'non-capitalist' workers get wages primarily from capitalists. Perhaps the author is moderately successful and does live off of investments now. That could technically make him a 'capitalist' - again, from a certain perspective. I'll readily admit this is mo…

Patrick runs his own software business afaik, so I think he definitely qualifies as a capitalist in terms of his economic role in society. However, I assume by 'capitalist' he meant more the suite of economic beliefs he subscribes to than his own personal role in the economy.

> Patrick runs his own software business afaik

He used to. Now he works at Stripe.

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