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Don't Become the Machine

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Re: Don't Become the Machine

#61

Post by rglover »

Just do the work at your body's natural pace. Your body will tell you when it's tired, when it's ready to focus, and when it's excited to work.

As with everything, the problem is hubris and impatience. So eager to prove god-like status, you stumble and fall, posting ephemeral think pieces about your "journey" on social media. Reading LinkedIn is the closest I've ever got to thinking "maybe asylums would be okay with a few reforms..."

My favorite (which I think/hope was a joke) was the guy cooking chicken breast in his hotel coffee maker to "show his commitment to the company" and how hard he was willing to grind.

Re: Don't Become the Machine

#62

Post by HellDunkel »

roncesvalles wrote: post #13
avaer wrote: post #12

Around 2019 it became clear to me how much I was underestimating how quickly AI would "take over" and "take credit" for the parts of my identity I wanted to keep (engineering, design taste, invention for example). But it also made me realize that because I was always at the tip of my chosen curve of tech adoption, I was also the first to be feeling the existential dread that would soon permeate the lives of everyone…

I think AI is completely optional for software development. There seems to be a new kind of anxiety wherein devs feel that they aren't leveraging AI to the fullest in order to make them more productive at developing software, and that since they aren't doing so, they should just give up writing software completely. This anxiety is unfounded. The difference between using AI vs not using AI is not like using a physical…

Don‘t worry, these „LLM Whisperers“ are too busy on social media to get anything done.

Re: Don't Become the Machine

#63

Post by throwaway290 »

I know many people who are full on into hustle culture and they don't care to optimize their productivity.

the hustle is being strategic, work smart not hard, fake till you make it, lie and be ruthless and amoral

It's kind of disgusting...

Edit: Actually, I don't know many such people. Just 2-3 maybe. But it feels like many

Re: Don't Become the Machine

#64

Post by horns4lyfe »

samuraijack wrote: post #31

The constant anti work agenda that is thrown in your face if you use almost any social media is so annoying. Have these anti work people ever considered that maybe some people actually like work and labelling them as slaves is insulting?

If you read the article that’s not at all what they’re saying.

Re: Don't Become the Machine

#65

Post by kibwen »

pests wrote: post #33
ge96 wrote: post #20

It seems so silly to say but I too have a dream of not wanting to work. Then I can just exist. I came across this YT video about enjoying boredom. It slows down time and you do things you really want to do. I'm currently the type of person that is always plugged into noise (music, podcast, YT). It is rare that I sit in silence. But yeah I'm hoping I can save, exit working, I'll still be making stuff that I enjoy at a…

> I'm currently the type of person that is always plugged into noise (music, podcast, YT). It is rare that I sit in silence. Not directed towards you, but this brings up a thought I often ponder. I have friends and people around me who are plugged in 24/7. I don't really think they spend any time, what so ever, on internal thought or introspection / reflection. I think it really affects them. The "default mode networ…

> I do accept people for who they are. If this is what they want, and they enjoy it, then whatever.

You do you, but you're not obliged to accept someone for who they are if who they are is a brainless wastoid. I recommend minimizing the time wasted on zombies in favor of seeking out people who still value their brains.

Re: Don't Become the Machine

#67

Post by unsungNovelty »

pests wrote: post #33
ge96 wrote: post #20

It seems so silly to say but I too have a dream of not wanting to work. Then I can just exist. I came across this YT video about enjoying boredom. It slows down time and you do things you really want to do. I'm currently the type of person that is always plugged into noise (music, podcast, YT). It is rare that I sit in silence. But yeah I'm hoping I can save, exit working, I'll still be making stuff that I enjoy at a…

> I'm currently the type of person that is always plugged into noise (music, podcast, YT). It is rare that I sit in silence. Not directed towards you, but this brings up a thought I often ponder. I have friends and people around me who are plugged in 24/7. I don't really think they spend any time, what so ever, on internal thought or introspection / reflection. I think it really affects them. The "default mode networ…

Wrote about this - https://www.unsungnovelty.org/posts/04/2025/you-dont-need-ai...

Re: Don't Become the Machine

#68

Post by kibwen »

ge96 wrote: post #20

It seems so silly to say but I too have a dream of not wanting to work. Then I can just exist. I came across this YT video about enjoying boredom. It slows down time and you do things you really want to do. I'm currently the type of person that is always plugged into noise (music, podcast, YT). It is rare that I sit in silence. But yeah I'm hoping I can save, exit working, I'll still be making stuff that I enjoy at a…

> I too have a dream of not wanting to work.

The OP isn't about not wanting to work. To labor in pursuit of your own personal purpose is a virtue and a privilege. But labor for the sake of labor is not a virtue, nor is labor for the sake of watching that bank account go up, and least of all labor for the sake of watching your billionaire CEO's bank account go up.

Re: Don't Become the Machine

#70

Post by posix86 »

> Hustle-culture optimizes for work input because it's sexy. It's easy to post the inputs. It's hard to face the output.

Hustling is sexy insofar as the output is sexy imo. What hustlers miss is that working hard is only cool if the work you do makes sense - work for its own sake is one of the most uncool things there is. And I also think that willingness to work hard comes on its own if you find something meaningful; reading on how to work hard is like treating symptoms (you don't work hard) rather than actual cause (you don't have anything to work hard on). Getting up at 5am to go to the gym then manage.your 500 dollars of crypto portfolio you don't understand anything about is the epitome of finance bro that everyone cringes about.

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