I'm About as Good as Dead: The End of Xah Lee • Hacker News Board

Re: I'm About as Good as Dead: The End of Xah Lee

#261

Post by andywood » Fri, May 16, 2014, 5:06 PM UTC

mercer wrote: post #237

muyuu wrote: post #205

What in the f *. I've been following this guy since a bit before Orkut/Tribe days when he had full hair (~2003?). He's been very inspirational. At first I thought he was a bit of a jerk and a troll (not the right place or time to elaborate on this, but well this was long ago so it doesn't matter) but when I saw him take on his education in his 30s I was quite impressed with what he achieved. I think this guy is top d…

It could perhaps be the effects of isolation (which, as recent submissions and discussions here make evident, can have a huge effect on a person). I've had periods in my life where I withdrew from others, and every time I recovered, I was amazed by how much this withdrawal warped everything about me, and by how easy it was for me to forget simple social behavior. It was almost like I was a completely different person…

Yes. Isolation can be very damaging, and he seems to be aware of this. And for some people, sometimes, it really can be something that 'just happens' as relationships wax and wane, and not a conscious choice.

Re: I'm About as Good as Dead: The End of Xah Lee

#262

Post by Beanis » Fri, May 16, 2014, 5:08 PM UTC

jpwgarrison wrote: post #255

Beanis wrote: post #201

I interviewed/phone screened Xah Lee about 2 years ago. I'd never heard of him, so I skimmed over his resume and checked out his site an hour or two before the call. I remember when I was looking at his site I was seeing various articles around math and programming, and then articles about things like "2 girls 1 cup". The breadth of articles completely threw me off. He seemed to have this unfocused interest in EVERYT…

>"...internal feedback..." Not so internal anymore! Don't get me wrong, I read your comment with interest, but then was struck with how we are talking about him as if he _was_ dead. Apparently he likes his life to be public but actual job interviews somehow strike me as private.

You're right. I was thinking about it for a while and have seen his name show up other times where I've thought about commenting and haven't. Normally I wouldn't say anything, and it would have stayed personal and private. I hovered over the submit buttton for a few minutes and then even after I submitted I was hovering over the delete link for a few minutes.

I wanted to give some perspective on what "not interviewing well" means in this case. It seemed as if a lot of comments were assuming age discrimination and issues with mental illness among other things. I wouldn't doubt that is the case sometimes, but from my experience that wasn't the case. There were other issues. I'm sure most people who interview him run into the same issues.

I think his biggest interviewing problem is that he can't live up to the expectations others will expect from a one-man encyclopedia.

Re: I'm About as Good as Dead: The End of Xah Lee

#263

Post by khyryk » Fri, May 16, 2014, 5:12 PM UTC

overgard wrote: post #110

mercer wrote: post #90

Cases like this, when the talented person in question is a geek who "doesn't interview well," always frustrate me. Most of my professional success is a result of social skills and a lot of experience with wildly different social environments and cultures. While I do work hard at being actually good at what I do (because that's just more fun!), I could get pretty far as a cruddy developer. And that just feels unfair,…

I get what you're saying, but I also tend to think: if they're so smart, why not learn some social skills? It's not like being socially awkward has to be an innate thing; they're called social skills for a reason, you can learn them. Many people were once socially awkward, and then fixed it. It's not particularly fair, but social awkwardness does tend to send a signal about what people value. And what a socially awkw…

If doctors are so smart, why do they die from cancer?

Re: I'm About as Good as Dead: The End of Xah Lee

#264

Post by clinton_sf » Fri, May 16, 2014, 5:14 PM UTC

15thandwhatever wrote: post #70

thegeomaster wrote: post #33

I don't think anyone should judge him based on the small amount of information available. I understand that his situation is mostly his fault, but there may be other things at play. Why be so fast to condemn someone when an unfortunate sequence of events could've put some of us into a similar situation? I'm not defending Xah Lee's irresponsibility nor I am defending people who condemn him, I just want to say that we…

he still hasn't learned his lesson. he's actively asking people to send money to him in a way that skirts the lien the irs has filed against him. if the irs notices this and gets pissed, it absolutely puts his 'helpers' in harm's way. by continuing to not file taxes, the probability of irs aggression only increases with each passing day. i'm all for giving people a 2nd chance, but he still hasn't realized that it's h…

> he's actively asking people to send money to him in a way that skirts the lien the irs has filed against him. if the irs notices this and gets pissed, it absolutely puts his 'helpers' in harm's way.

I'm not sure that's actually true. Is it? If you donate money[1] or buy something from him, you're giving him property; whether he is properly reporting that property and paying any necessary tax on that is his issue -- he's not asking you to enter into a conspiracy to hide anything.

At the very least, he could use cash donations to pay off whatever lien is against him. And according to [1] below, the recipient of the donation isn't the one paying taxes on the donation amount.

[1] The gift tax doesn't apply for amounts under $14k or so per year, according to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_tax_in_the_United_States

Re: I'm About as Good as Dead: The End of Xah Lee

#265

Post by jqm » Fri, May 16, 2014, 5:21 PM UTC

jqm wrote: post #200

This kind of case is why I don't think guaranteed income will work. Some people won't even be able to manage that money. We have to find a way to insure people have the basics without money (in their hands anyway). The salvation army type/soup kitchen programs aren't it. No dignity, 5000 other guys (a significant percentage of which would slit your throat for a rock), an underlying "join the cult theme".... no, that…

I don't mind down votes.

At the same time I am curious how someone could feel significantly differently than the point of view I posted to down vote it. Does someone not believe an internet addiction is partly to blame for Lee's problems? That this isn't a disorder or there isn't a treatment? That his basic needs should not be met? That our social support service system doesn't need a pivot? What exactly is the argument?

Re: I'm About as Good as Dead: The End of Xah Lee

#266

Post by stefap2 » Fri, May 16, 2014, 5:29 PM UTC

"well, i can only say i procrastinate"

No there is my motivation to end the lunch break earlier.

Re: I'm About as Good as Dead: The End of Xah Lee

#267

Post by raverbashing » Fri, May 16, 2014, 5:31 PM UTC

CatMtKing wrote: post #239

raverbashing wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After reading his original post (of unnecessary expletives and excessive nitpicking) can't say I feel sorry for him

http://xahlee.info/perl-python/xlali_skami_cukta.html Well, I think his criticisms are pretty well-founded. He just doesn't say it in a way you would enjoy.

True, in this text there's a lot of things I agree, however, for example

> If you are accustomed to Perl's semantics, the search operation is what you're looking for.

> Its mentioning of Perl is irrelevant, since the majority reading that page will not have expertise with Perl regex.

Are you sure? I assume a lot of python users (and the docs he's critiquing are not the latest, and may have some "old stuff") used Perl first. Perl users would be familiar with Regexes, so this is a useful piece of info

Or, praising an example as good for a Python tutorial that uses the format def okaydokey(self): return "okaydokey" which is not recommended by PEP-8

Re: I'm About as Good as Dead: The End of Xah Lee

#268

Post by arbuge » Fri, May 16, 2014, 5:32 PM UTC

octopus wrote: post #241

antocv wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is porn something to hide? I dont understand it, is it because its shameful?

I think it is just US "puritan" culture. In general it is not a good idea to let a potential employer know that you are actively watching porn ... What you do in private is nobody's business, but if you do it publicly ... this could rise a red flag for an US employer.

>>I think it is just US "puritan" culture.

Sticking this one to the US isn't quite fair. I'm originally European (now European-US) and my wife is Chinese. I don't know of any major culture which openly encourages sharing your love of porn.

Re: I'm About as Good as Dead: The End of Xah Lee

#269

Post by rbanffy » Fri, May 16, 2014, 6:03 PM UTC

freshhawk wrote: post #250

sanxiyn wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also Jon Harrop. There is no doubt he is trolling, but also no doubt he is a very accomplished programmer. (He may disagree he is trolling, but if audience thinks you are trolling, you are.)

"if [the] audience thinks you are trolling, you are" Really? I thought the entire definition of trolling was based on intent. Trolling is trying to provoke a reaction from people. By your definition a significant percentage of the world is trolling the anti-vax and truther communities for example. And many mentally ill people who comment online are trolls instead of just being mistaken for them? This definition seems…

> a significant percentage of the world is trolling the anti-vax and truther communities for example

You don't go to an anti-vax or truther community to remind them how crazy they are. When we consider mental conditions, it may be that some people have compulsive troll disorder or something to that effect.

Re: I'm About as Good as Dead: The End of Xah Lee

#270

Post by klibertp » Fri, May 16, 2014, 6:04 PM UTC

throwaway283719 wrote: post #26

He could start by rewriting his resume. This in particular stands out - Accomplishment highlights: * Autodidact. High school dropout. No degree. To almost any employer, that is not an accomplishment, much less a highlight! If you're a high school dropout who is very accomplished since then, just silently drop any mention of your education from your resume. Everyone will assume that you left it off because it's irrele…

> If you're a high school dropout who is very accomplished since then, just silently drop any mention of your education from your resume.

Yeah, do this, it really works, at least worked for me and apparently a couple of other commenters here.

The general advice is to lie^Wdisplay social skills, ie. present your facts in a way which makes them look like they are what the other person is looking for, and hide everything which would interfere with your lie... I mean, story or narrative.

People don't want to really know who you are, even if they tell you otherwise - especially in the professional setting. They want to read an interesting story and resume is the ultimate literary short form. For me writing a resume is very similar to writing a short story or novel, it's just even harder, because you're the main character. But the creation process and reception mechanisms are essentially the same.

The only specific advice I could give is the same I'd give other aspiring writers: get yourself a competent editor (a human, not software!) and let your imagination run wild.