Revenge of the nerds • Hacker News Board

Re: Revenge of the nerds

#21

Post by cojadate » Sat, Oct 03, 2009, 10:14 PM UTC

I really don't think article is meant to be taken very seriously. I mean dividing society into three powers, the footballers, the artists and the nerds... is not a sociological theory that anyone is going to defend without the aid of several pints of beer. And I'm sure that the author realizes that top sportsmen were highly revered in the 70s (even if in the UK there were more big-name cricketers and rugby players and less celebrity footballers) and that 'creative types' still get plenty of cultural kudos today (which has never been the same thing as easy money).

The only elements of seriousness I can detect are in the snipe at pirates and the allusion to the struggles of the creative industries, but I think there are genuinely two sides to those stories so I find it hard to get worked up it.

Re: Revenge of the nerds

#22

Post by sharpn » Sat, Oct 03, 2009, 11:23 PM UTC

brandnewlow wrote: post #17

sharpn wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, there are. But if your living is content, then ignoring developments in your industry is a failure to engage in your career - and if you blithely blame others for the result of that failing in print then you diminish your authority with your readership further.

We're on the same page here, but realistically, what is he to do? What specific advice would you give someone like him beyond "start a blog"? It sounds like he spent his career typing down his thoughts on the issues of the day and handing them off to an editor to publish. He's not in a good place.

I agree he's not in a good place & I empathise. But the awkward fact is that his work is lowering in value because of greater transparacy, not because of a decrease in worth.

There are several good UK writers earning decent money via newspaper readers today - for example Alexander McCall Smith serialises fictional accounts of ordinary lives, Robert Fisk explores international injustice, Luke Johnson muses on small businesses and Jeremy Clarkson rails against what annoys him - and many others.

Unfortunately, there are also many people paid to write for newspapers because previously nobody knew which articles customers read - now that's becoming clear, some people will lose out. Sad, but true.

Re: Revenge of the nerds

#23

Post by WinterAyars » Sun, Oct 04, 2009, 2:37 AM UTC

brandnewlow wrote: post #17

sharpn wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, there are. But if your living is content, then ignoring developments in your industry is a failure to engage in your career - and if you blithely blame others for the result of that failing in print then you diminish your authority with your readership further.

We're on the same page here, but realistically, what is he to do? What specific advice would you give someone like him beyond "start a blog"? It sounds like he spent his career typing down his thoughts on the issues of the day and handing them off to an editor to publish. He's not in a good place.

Advances in technology have often killed jobs. Actually, advances in technology kill jobs continuously. Like, since the invention of the wheel probably.

It's just that technology hasn't made people LIKE THIS obsolete before. At least, not recently. Now we're killing the jobs of people who can write stuff to thousands, if not millions at a time. It's all fair until it's YOUR job, right?

Re: Revenge of the nerds

#24

Post by JulianMorrison » Mon, Oct 05, 2009, 1:30 PM UTC

There's this thing on my desk with buttons and it beeps and I don't understand it (and the people who do wouldn't let me copy their homework) and I WANT MY 1960s BACK DARN IT. Help me, Mandelson, you're my only hope.