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Create value for others and don’t worry about the returns

geohot.github.io

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Re: Create value for others and don’t worry about the returns

#341

Post by [deleted] »

neuralkoi wrote: post #325
ramraj07 wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everyone knows who geohot is and even if they do they may not see the url handle. They may (like me) think why is a glorified shower thought tweet on top of HN. They may not know that this dude was an anti-masker (with nuance) for example. This could really make them decide not to even spend too much time thinking about the passage which in theory is profound for 10 seconds but no further. As much as ad hominem a…

Ad hominem attacks are never good approaches. They're irrational in nature. Ad hominem is one of the first fallacies taught in a critical thinking class.

[deleted]

Re: Create value for others and don’t worry about the returns

#342

Post by DangitBobby »

yard2010 wrote: post #212
shaman1 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://geohot.github.io/blog/jekyll/update/2026/02/27/the-i... from the same author

> What do you plan to buy with your free government dollars? Want to buy eggs? Sorry, the egg people stopped making eggs, they are living free on UBI. Want to buy a house? Who built it? Nobody, because they all were getting UBI and didn’t want to build houses anymore. They write poems now. There’s still old houses available, but the price for them has 20xed, well outside of what you can afford. In my country the peop…

But then you can end up with a lot of people making what's fun to produce but we have an excess of (waste) and few people filling in to make what's missing (scarcity). Markets aren't perfect but they do help us solve that particular problem.

Re: Create value for others and don’t worry about the returns

#343

Post by manphone »

edgyquant wrote: post #279
paulryanrogers wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Effectively helping elect a dictator who is in love with fossil fuels undercuts at lot of his "wins". Never mind the Nazi saluting, fraudulent advertising, or bypassing safety regulations.

[flagged]

And which part of the things he said, would we find a counter argument to in the grass?

Re: Create value for others and don’t worry about the returns

#344

Post by swiftcoder »

mike_hearn wrote: post #226
deaux wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's look at other wealthy countries with large economies. Germany, Japan, UK, France, Italy, Canada, Spain, Australia, South Korea, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Taiwan.. Which of these have trouble verifying identity reliably, to the extent that it would be a meaningful obstacle to UBI?

Even if governments were perfect at ID verification it wouldn't change the argument above, right? Being perfect at verifying UBI eligibility would require a large government infrastructure, just like today, so you can't claim that the U part makes it super cheap to administer. But no government is close to perfect. Here are some examples for your edification. The UK doesn't even know how many people are living there,…

Most EU countries have national IDs, so the "only receive it once" is a solved problem.

The "still paying dead people" problem exists in the current pension system, so we already have bureaucracy in place to solve that one (yes, it's not 100% accurate, but it works sufficiently well en masse) so no need for new bureaucracy there.

Re: Create value for others and don’t worry about the returns

#346

Post by keiferski »

harimau777 wrote: post #336
keiferski wrote: post #318

As is often the case, the title is a bit misleading and implies a universality that I don’t think the author intended. He is specifically talking about AI, and saying (in my understanding) that you shouldn’t worry too much about whether your specific thing will be overwritten by AI, as long as you focus on actually creating true, real value with your work. I agree with that completely and can see it happening in my o…

That still seems super naive, at least if its extended to software engineering. Companies already treat software engineers like disposable cogs to be burnt out and discarded. I don't see how AI will improve that.

I think if you’re legitimately providing value to the company, you aren’t disposable.

If you are but still get canned, then you’re just dealing with irrational management, and that predates AI.

Re: Create value for others and don’t worry about the returns

#347

Post by sarchertech »

keiferski wrote: post #321
WJW wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not become a skilled craftsman and make a much better wage than in food service or retail? Every western country I've ever been in seems to have everlasting shortages of skilled plumbers, electricians and welders and prices have risen to match.

The un-politically correct answer is that many college educated people perceive those working in the trades to be socially beneath them. And they often have different opinions on social issues than the typical tradesperson, which is apparently really important if you’re a plumber but not if you work at BigCo.

I think that’s more of an urban/rural divide than anything else. Most of tech workers living in the sticks have plumbers and electricians and contractors in our social circle because that’s who has money in the boonies.

But until you get to the very top of those professions, the work environment is worse in every way.

You’re working 2x as many hours for 1/4 the pay, you go back to work the day after your kid is born. Your knees are just absolutely fucked. It’s in no way an equivalent job. That’s the primary reason tech workers don’t want to do it.

Re: Create value for others and don’t worry about the returns

#348

Post by camillomiller »

vasco wrote: post #246
camillomiller wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stoicism must be the most misconstrued and misunderstood philosophical framework ever. It's just so good for the people in power, and Silicon Valley seems to have eaten it up perfectly and spit out a version of it that is quintessentially functional to convince people that questioning power is useless.

That is not what I said. You seem to assume people have no ability to change anything. I said people should focus on the things they can change. > Disagree. You can still get fucking angry at how they’re capable of fooling others because of the skewed incentives we built in our capitalistic society This is what I replied to. You cannot change that other people want to fool others. You can decide to fool others though…

Funnily enough I totally agree with you in principle. Though I believe we are witnessing a constant erosion of these alternatives constantly and organically at the hand of the owner class. What you say assumes that the solutions you are mentioning are still viable. Let’s say I agree and decide to join USaid to do good. Elon fucking Musk comes in, guts it, indirectly causes thousands to lose help and die. My answer to this according to this frame should be “oh well, he would have done it anyway, can’t change that. Won’t help me being angry at the massive twat, so I’ll just jog on then”?

Re: Create value for others and don’t worry about the returns

#349

Post by YCpedohaven »

locallost wrote: post #156

Great advice if you want to be old and poor. Yes, there's a chance it works out because you're that good, but there's a chance it doesn't. This doesn't mean do the opposite and only worry about your returns, but strike a balance. The world we live in is not in general a bunch of isolated people in a meritocracy, connections and relationships within your workplace play a huge role. Politics exist. I know a lot of assh…

> Great advice if you want to be old and poor.

A more conspiracy minded version of myself might suggest there’s an active attempt to break the politically active middle class. Subtle changes in messaging that have been happening over the past few years from business owners and politicians seem to suggest that the future will involve masses of poverty. Gone are the days of “hard work” and “meritocracy” and they have been replaced by beef liver and romanticization of peasantry

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