211–219 of 219 posts
My only point is that not all similar events prominently feature the male/female power dynamic described in this article.
Wall Street, Hollywood, Silicon Valley... are there any other high-rolling industry hubs out there that don't have a decadent underbelly? Maybe Motor City in its heyday.
Ultimate levels of NOPE.
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This, basically. The kinds of parties being described aren't all that unusual for the bay area. It's certainly not isolated to tech. Meet interesting people, network. You'll figure it out eventually.
Where do I start meeting people? Seek out networking events online?
Required reading: https://burningman.org/culture/ especially https://burningman.org/culture/philosophical-center/10-princ...
Relatively friendly community: https://www.reddit.com/r/burningman
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This sounds like something out of Eyes Wide Shut, but with social awkwardness, baggy dad jeans, and crocs and socks... Orgies are fine. I've never been to one and have no desire to go to one. The real issue here is the power-asymmetry between the men and women involved Heck, there are low-rent "eyes wide shut" style events in Houston which are distinctly lower middle class. Glowing bracelets to color code your availa…
My honor, mind, and optimism are surviving the sex parties of the poly and BDSM scene just fine, thank you very much.
Thank you for that. I dated a poly woman at one point. Not all parties are the same. From my experience, there is a definite rationality and morality associated with the poly scene which is based on consent. I'm not saying that pleasure is bad. Nihilistic pleasure without regard to anything else is pessimistic and simply doesn't lead to good things in the long run. Even Orthodox Jewish teaching recognizes certain kinds of sexual pleasure as a mitzvah. (In fact, sex has been shown by researchers to encourage neurogenesis. One grows more brain when one has good sex.)
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It's not just high-rolling ones. Over the last few years I've been involved in the furniture and construction industries and their "decadent underbellies" are just as bad if not worse than what I've seen in tech, finance and elsewhere. According to many insiders I know in the concrete world, they have the most insane industry parties. Carpeting is pretty crazy too from what I've seen. It's not unique to any industry.
Chemical engines have a rep for really hard drinking as do civils I have heard (at a top 5 consultancy) a discussion of the best computer cleaning fluids to make hooch with.
I would expect a bit more from a Bloomberg presenter but then again superficiality is clearly what she needs to sell her book.
This is honestly nothing new at all unless you're a prude
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Putting silicon valley in the title == free clicks for an otherwise inconsequential article / book.
I agree with you that SV in titles has largely become linkbait but in this case it seems reasonably accurate. We're pretty careful to take linkbait out of titles on HN, but beyond the gratuitous "Inside" I didn't see a lot. I suppose we could s/dark side/side/ as well.
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This, basically. The kinds of parties being described aren't all that unusual for the bay area. It's certainly not isolated to tech. Meet interesting people, network. You'll figure it out eventually.
Where do I start meeting people? Seek out networking events online?
That aside, they can be fairly inclusive.
I got involved in the community in 2002. I was a typical dot-com nerd. I'd been doing some amateur rocketry events in the black rock desert and had heard about Burning Man. Eventually, I decided I had to go. Got introduced to a group of people that had a camp, they discovered I was terribly useful (I could weld, machine, fix electronics, repair generators, build things, etc), and the rest was history.
I went, met a tremendous number of people, cultivated lots of friendships and from there became privy to all the other inter-related things happening in the bay area, including the kinds of parties described above. The debauchery I've had the opportunity to participate in is quite extensive.
Be useful, be nice, be non-judgmental, go meet people, get involved, do stuff, become part of the community and you'll enjoy similar opportunities.