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If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

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Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#301

Post by antisthenes »

Apocryphon wrote: post #262
lsd5you wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure but the Flynn effect is just something measured and could well just be a 'low hanging fruit' environmental gains that will/already have run out.

What mythical better times are Idiocracy theory proponents even mourning? When have literacy rates and educational attainment for the masses ever been better than the present? As a species, we still have a long way to go before the low hanging fruit gains are realized.

To suggest that basic literacy and educational attainment are somehow indicative of above average intelligence or the ability to understand complex and abstract ideas is a bit of a stretch.

With grade inflation and babysitting modern age students, what are the realistic requirements to attain a university degree in a low-difficulty major at a mediocre school? 80 IQ? 85?

The literacy argument is trivially refuted in a similar manner. Reading by itself is not indicative of higher cognitive function above an elementary school child.

Also, proportions are what matter here. I doubt the proportion of people with high fluid/crystallized intelligence is higher now, than it was, say in 1850. The only difference is that now a higher proportion of the general population have degrees.

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#302

Post by StavrosK »

ticmasta wrote: post #298
garmaine wrote: post #146

I find it hits a bit close to home, so much so as to ruin the comedy sometimes... it’d be funny if it weren’t so true, which is depressing. Still watch it, and love it though. And super impressed that a Hollywood production finally understood Northern California. That never happens (see: The Social Network, Hackers, every Steve Jobs movie, etc.)

I love Silicon Valley as much as I loathe Big Bang Theory. Talk about a show that plays to what "regular" people think nerds are like. I am absolutely dumbfounded how popular it is. Then again, Chuck Lorre has a track record for that type of garbage...

I used to like BBT, but lately it has devolved into the characters just being mean to each other all the time. You are spot on with your comment, too.

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#303

Post by edoceo »

cknoxrun wrote: post #195
garmaine wrote: post #146

I find it hits a bit close to home, so much so as to ruin the comedy sometimes... it’d be funny if it weren’t so true, which is depressing. Still watch it, and love it though. And super impressed that a Hollywood production finally understood Northern California. That never happens (see: The Social Network, Hackers, every Steve Jobs movie, etc.)

I would highly suggest checking out Halt and Catch Fire. It's a period piece, but I think it captures the spirit of Northern California. The first 2 seasons are in Texas before they jump ship to San Francisco.

I thought that show went off the rails when spoiler the dude set the van full of hardware on fire

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#304

Post by eanzenberg »

screye wrote: post #263
suddensleep wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was at NeurIPS last year, and I can actually confirm that the line to see Flo-Rida went around the block. It's unclear to me whether or not there was genuine interest in the performance, but there was certainly interest in the event. Say what you will about the world's biggest nerds, but irony, whether purposeful or inexplicably accidental, is not lost on them. Ninja Edit: New conference name :)

> NeurIPS That was fast. I was all for a name change from a juvenile pun, but "NeurIPS" is hilariously bad. It confirms, that everyone but the press, continues calling it NIPS. > line to see Flo-Rida went around the block I mean, if it was a free (already paid for) concert, then I would go for it too.

Not just free concert but free food and booze.

BTW the whole renaming of NIPS to NeurIPS could be an episode of SV, where a board of directors are all offended by names of body parts!

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#307

Post by tenaciousDaniel »

humanrebar wrote: post #277
smsm42 wrote: post #101

I love the show, but there's a lot of things that Silicon Valley is that it does not cover. It's not the fault of the show - it probably would be much worse if it did. But some aspects of SV - like how much it is integrated into the big politics and yet how much they try to downplay it and make it look like their behemoth companies are just young and agile rebels playing this new Internet thing, as if it were the ear…

> ...how office politics often becomes more important than tech... Basically all the Hooli scenes are about that. Also just about the entire careers of Big Head, Jack Barker, and Denpok the "spiritual advisor".

I thought the whole "failing upwards" thing was a funny part of the early show, but I didn't realize it was a real thing until I saw it in person. It's amazing how accurate that portrayal is.

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#308

Post by r00fus »

eanzenberg wrote: post #304
screye wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> NeurIPS That was fast. I was all for a name change from a juvenile pun, but "NeurIPS" is hilariously bad. It confirms, that everyone but the press, continues calling it NIPS. > line to see Flo-Rida went around the block I mean, if it was a free (already paid for) concert, then I would go for it too.

Not just free concert but free food and booze. BTW the whole renaming of NIPS to NeurIPS could be an episode of SV, where a board of directors are all offended by names of body parts!

Let's just ignore the racial epithet part shall we?

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#309

Post by kohanz »

humanrebar wrote: post #273
kohanz wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Big Bang Theory Oh how I loathed that show, especially at height of its popularity. I got so tired of smiling and nodding (or rolling my eyes, depending on who it was) as non-technical people at work and even my mother-in-law made it clear they thought of me when they watched that show (simply because I was the "smart engineer", so obviously a huge nerd with no social ability). None of these people were my age thou…

> ... I was the "smart engineer", so obviously a huge nerd with no social ability... > I got so tired of smiling and nodding (or rolling my eyes, depending on who it was)... > ... Silicon Valley would have likely been much too sophisticated for them. Not to get personal, and I'm sure you're more empathetic in real life, but your frustrations might seem like geeky egotism to your coworkers.

I'm being a bit over-dramatic, truth be told (I never had the courage to roll my eyes at any of them). I put "smart engineer" in quotes because that was really just a label (for my MIL, it meant I was the only engineer in the family, for people in the company, I was one of many smart nerdy folk). I'm primarily a self-deprecating guy with a healthy bout of impostor syndrome once in a while.

My strong dislike from BBT comes mainly from people associating me with a show that I find wholly unfunny. Not because it makes fun of geekdom and I don't like that, but simply because I don't find it funny at all. I saw a lot of parallels in the type of comedy on BBT and that on "2 and a half men" and could never understand their high ratings.

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#310

Post by [deleted] »

riazrizvi wrote: post #278
snowwrestler wrote: post #63

Amazing anecdote from a 2016 New Yorker article on the show: > During one visit to Google’s headquarters, in Mountain View, about six writers sat in a conference room with Astro Teller, the head of GoogleX, who wore a midi ring and kept his long hair in a ponytail. “Most of our research meetings are fun, but this one was uncomfortable,” Kemper told me.... > “He claimed he hadn’t seen the show, and then he referred ma…

It was a great show because of on point, biting satire like this. Then in the last season the writing dropped off a cliff, I guess they got neutered - post Gawker world and all that.

[deleted]
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