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The Cosmetic Class

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Re: The Cosmetic Class

#41

Post by elboru »

flanbiscuit wrote: post #34
trophycase wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even commercials are tapping into absurdist themes. I can remember a few asian ones I've seen but a recent one that comes to mind is the newest Sprite commercial where the kid is running around the house yelling about how they are out of sprite.

Haven't commercials been doing absurdism for a while? Speaking of Asian ones, it's been known that Japanese commercials can be weird AF (to the western mind) that it was made fun of in the Simpsons with the Me Sparkle episode back in the early 90s. US has also been creating absurdist commercials pre-internet for a while now as well

So they aren't weird for the Asian mind? I doubt it.

Re: The Cosmetic Class

#42

Post by Raphmedia »

stealthmodeclan wrote: post #11

Yes, it's absurd. I've my 20 able developer friends who weren't able to find job despite being very good developers. They were always messing up interviews. Yes, they can solve whatever tricky questions you throw at them because they've lots of experience working on low level stuff. People's eyes are so used to Instagram people that they think less attractive people are less healthy so they'll not be good at problem…

Of course those changes helped them. It has always been this way and will always be. There is little to no relation to social medias. A job interview is a date with an employer. You are supposed to look your best, your 110%. You can come dressed as a slob the next month, but by then people will know that you can and are able to dress correctly if the need rise (meeting with an important client).

Makeup hides your unhealthy lifestyles. Baggy eyes from working all night look the same as baggy eyes from staying out in bars or gaming all night. It can also hides defects such as acne and bad skin tone that make you look younger or make give out the perception that you are or sick. Remember that they are hiring someone to be part of a team, so you are expected to look the part.

As for the script you had them learn and read... I'm confused... Did those people improvise their last interview on the spot? You should always be ready during an interview. You should have been rehearsing your speech so that you are able to deliver it in an eloquent way. Every answers to the typical interview questions should be aced. Programming is a team effort and communication is the key. Nobody wants to hire that loner who is unable to talk about himself for 10 minutes because how would this person be able to vulgarize a problem to the client or other department?

This is something that really irks me with the programming community. People tend to think that because we are geeky and outcasts we should get hired without putting any social effort. Social skills are just like any regular skills. You need to read books, follow tutorials and train them. Otherwise you look like a skilless individual and nobody wants to hire that.

Re: The Cosmetic Class

#43

Post by V-2 »

freetime2 wrote: post #28
V-2 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I am 23 as I write this" . I can't say I'm surprised, and the author is clearly of the "I love the sound of my own voice" type. That's how the piece reads at least. Narcissism isn't only about looks.

My first thought when reading your comment was “wow that’s more sharply critical than the author deserves”. But on second thought it is a bit ironic that a piece so critical of “signaling” and empty gestures (the author cites things like joining student counsel) would be posted to the author’s personal blog. I think it would have leant credibility to the article if the author had the self awareness to point out the f…

It is of course ironic, but perhaps it is also to be expected.

It might be that we're more sensitive to - and insightful about - the social phenomena that stem from personality traits not unlike our own (on some level at least).

Re: The Cosmetic Class

#44

Post by tjr225 »

_bxg1 wrote: post #4

Sometimes I think the deepest, most absurdist corners of the internet are its last bastion of humanity. Where the memes are fueled by people's desire to be so incredibly nonsensical and inscrutable as to defy marketability. Of course, if you look at recent trends in corporate Twitter accounts you can see companies doing their very best to appropriate even that.

The more and more I read the comments on public forums(popular ones, such as this one and Reddit)- the more I ask myself "why am I doing this to myself?"

I think there may be something to taking a step back from knowing what hundreds, thousands of strangers think about a given thing at a given point in time.

Re: The Cosmetic Class

#45

Post by akvadrako »

Ensorceled wrote: post #25

There are several comments complaining about the lack of an introduction or topic sentence. Maybe it’s me, but I knew what ride I was on from the large clear title and subtitle: “The Cosmetic Class” “What happens when a society with a penchant for the cosmetic meets a medium dominated by it?”

That says nothing about if it's worth reading the article.

I wish every article came with an abstract and conclusion like a scientific paper. Generally that's enough and you don't even need to read the middle.

Re: The Cosmetic Class

#46

Post by carapace »

saagarjha wrote: post #5
carapace wrote: post #3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topic_sentence !?

Are you asking why the author chose not to include one?

Some people write to communicate, others to show off their linguistic skills.

Nethercutt, whether he knows it or not, is the latter.

(There are people who can do both. Wendell Berry comes to mind. His essays have been compared to "fine whiskey for the mind.")

Re: The Cosmetic Class

#47

Post by akavel »

V-2 wrote: post #22
grive wrote: post #19

I really, really dislike this kind of medium-to-long form article that don't bother to even expose some sort of context (topic introductory line). This is incredibly disrespectful to the reader. You read the first half trying to put the pieces together, while given that this is a proto-longform article (does not have the length, but has the tone), there is fluff added here and there for flavor. This is so frustrating…

"I am 23 as I write this" . I can't say I'm surprised, and the author is clearly of the "I love the sound of my own voice" type. That's how the piece reads at least. Narcissism isn't only about looks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem

Re: The Cosmetic Class

#48

Post by TeMPOraL »

akvadrako wrote: post #45
Ensorceled wrote: post #25

There are several comments complaining about the lack of an introduction or topic sentence. Maybe it’s me, but I knew what ride I was on from the large clear title and subtitle: “The Cosmetic Class” “What happens when a society with a penchant for the cosmetic meets a medium dominated by it?”

That says nothing about if it's worth reading the article. I wish every article came with an abstract and conclusion like a scientific paper. Generally that's enough and you don't even need to read the middle.

That was supposed to be gold standard. The "inverted pyramid"[0]. It's taught to journalists as very important. It's also universally ignored everywhere.

I've seen one news source do that, by putting a bullet-point summary at the beginning of the article. Sadly, I don't remember which one was that (I don't usually pay attention to who is writing, when an article lands on HN). Most others prefer to do the inverse - bait you with the headline, make the beginning confusing, and only later on reveal the important details.

--

[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_pyramid_(journalism)

Re: The Cosmetic Class

#49

Post by JTbane »

_bxg1 wrote: post #4

Sometimes I think the deepest, most absurdist corners of the internet are its last bastion of humanity. Where the memes are fueled by people's desire to be so incredibly nonsensical and inscrutable as to defy marketability. Of course, if you look at recent trends in corporate Twitter accounts you can see companies doing their very best to appropriate even that.

>Sometimes I think the deepest, most absurdist corners of the internet are its last bastion of humanity.

You might have overdosed on memes, my dude.

Re: The Cosmetic Class

#50

Post by TeMPOraL »

LandR wrote: post #12
stealthmodeclan wrote: post #11

Yes, it's absurd. I've my 20 able developer friends who weren't able to find job despite being very good developers. They were always messing up interviews. Yes, they can solve whatever tricky questions you throw at them because they've lots of experience working on low level stuff. People's eyes are so used to Instagram people that they think less attractive people are less healthy so they'll not be good at problem…

The fuck? This is a joke right? I would have thought development would be the one sector unaffected by look / image etc. Unless you're interviewing for some hipster startup.

You could say the same about development vs. politics and absurd emotional dramas in the past. It turned out to be wrong.

Truth is, it's not developers that are hiring you. It's the regular folks.

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