There's a whole class of software people who think the rest of the world is a bunch of pitiful and sadly ignorant apes stuck in the past who just need the loving administration of the clarity, vision and genius of the software engineer to fix all their problems.
I'm living in this ecosystem right now, and I see this every day. The mentality that "normal people" are beneath them.
I live a fairly social life and enjoy going to karaoke and going on hikes with friends or strangers not in tech/startups, and many of the others in the residency simply can't understand why I'd want to interact with people they perceive as less intelligent than them.
"Think about it. Think of the most average person you know. 50% are more stupid than them. And you won't get any value out of speaking to those"
"Think about it. Think of the most average person you know. 50% are more stupid than them. And you won't get any value out of speaking to those"
Possible response: “And yet they’re all still more intelligent, compassionate, interesting, and a better company than you.”
There are many others: “The average person I know is pretty smart. I’m sorry to hear about your family, though.”
Or: “You’re right, I do indeed not get any value out of listening to you. I feel stupider already.”
Alright, alright, let’s actually try to be kind and change some minds: “There are different kinds of intelligence, and everyone has a full life rich in perspectives that we know nothing about. Making a blanket statement that someone we never met is “stupid” is reductive, lacking in empathy, and stifling to our own personal growth. To put it in your terms: What’s the best <relevant tech stack>? The answer is, of course, that it depends. They all have strengths and weaknesses and to be good you must learn to identify what those are. People are similar. If you only hang out with one type of person, you are the proverbial hammer who sees everything and everyone as nails.”
This is the reason why the rest of the world rolls their eyes when a software developer starts speaking...
There are the people doing actual work and science to move society forward, and then there's the people who stroll up and confidently peddle their idea to replace them with a barely thought-through app...
The scary part to me is that it actually works. Not practically, but that upper management and whatnot actually buy it.
Most early stage startups around me right now are built on the premise of replacing groups of people. There's a startup strapping sensors and cameras onto blue collar workers in developing countries to take "egocentric" data and train "world models" to the get robots to replace skilled physical labor. Lots of "ambient capture" to then automate away the work of the employees getting recorded.
Even what I'm building right now, which was initially just a tool to help me with my ADHD and memory problems is slowly getting twisted towards the same direction based on where the money is.
I would love to know how to build a company that serves real humans rather than the accumulation of capital and the extractive nature of corporations.
The scary part to me is that it actually works. Not practically, but that upper management and whatnot actually buy it.
That “below average” intelligence pool are well represented in upper management. FOMO is a powerful thing, smart people are often tricked by dumb ideas because they don’t want to miss out on something or be perceived to not understand the value of a bad idea
Clearly not. Otherwise Bezos wouldn’t create a culture where employees feel the need to pee in bottles and continue working while a colleague is dead on the floor.
It is not possible, actually.
I don’t believe that. Sure, if you want to be filthy rich you’ll exploit people, but there are plenty of smaller companies who treat their employees well (some owners have even left their companies to their employees) and genuinely care about customers as people.
I don’t even know what you’re talking about. Why would Bezos be spending money to make me believe it is possible for small companies who can treat their employees well, all the while making me think even worse of him for how he treats his own employees? That makes no sense.
Bezos doesn’t want you to abolish private property.
If you believe it possible to build a company that serves real humans rather than the accumulation of capital and the extractive nature of corporations, you will try that instead.
If you believe it possible to build a company that serves real humans rather than the accumulation of capital and the extractive nature of corporations, you will try that instead.
No. That is wrong. Saying it is possible to generate less harm within a system does in no way mean I don’t think the system is flawed and rigged and incentives bad behaviour.
Ah, sorry, I didn’t realise I was the sole arbiter of private property and it was within my hands to abolish it. I’ll get on that first thing tomorrow, send me the papers.
Comments
There's a whole class of software people who think the rest of the world is a bunch of pitiful and sadly ignorant apes stuck in the past who just need the loving administration of the clarity, vision and genius of the software engineer to fix all their problems.
I'm living in this ecosystem right now, and I see this every day. The mentality that "normal people" are beneath them.
I live a fairly social life and enjoy going to karaoke and going on hikes with friends or strangers not in tech/startups, and many of the others in the residency simply can't understand why I'd want to interact with people they perceive as less intelligent than them.
"Think about it. Think of the most average person you know. 50% are more stupid than them. And you won't get any value out of speaking to those"
I’d take a nice person of average intelligence over a smart asshole any day of the week.
At your service :)
Possible response: “And yet they’re all still more intelligent, compassionate, interesting, and a better company than you.”
There are many others: “The average person I know is pretty smart. I’m sorry to hear about your family, though.”
Or: “You’re right, I do indeed not get any value out of listening to you. I feel stupider already.”
Alright, alright, let’s actually try to be kind and change some minds: “There are different kinds of intelligence, and everyone has a full life rich in perspectives that we know nothing about. Making a blanket statement that someone we never met is “stupid” is reductive, lacking in empathy, and stifling to our own personal growth. To put it in your terms: What’s the best <relevant tech stack>? The answer is, of course, that it depends. They all have strengths and weaknesses and to be good you must learn to identify what those are. People are similar. If you only hang out with one type of person, you are the proverbial hammer who sees everything and everyone as nails.”
That right there is very telling. They don't know the difference between median and average
"Who would you have me speak to instead? It’s not like I’m surrounded with geniuses anyway."
It's pretty common right here on this platform to call such people "normies". I cringe every time I read it.
Anyone trying to express intelligence in a single dimension has already failed to understand the topic.
This is the reason why the rest of the world rolls their eyes when a software developer starts speaking...
There are the people doing actual work and science to move society forward, and then there's the people who stroll up and confidently peddle their idea to replace them with a barely thought-through app...
The scary part to me is that it actually works. Not practically, but that upper management and whatnot actually buy it.
Most early stage startups around me right now are built on the premise of replacing groups of people. There's a startup strapping sensors and cameras onto blue collar workers in developing countries to take "egocentric" data and train "world models" to the get robots to replace skilled physical labor. Lots of "ambient capture" to then automate away the work of the employees getting recorded.
Even what I'm building right now, which was initially just a tool to help me with my ADHD and memory problems is slowly getting twisted towards the same direction based on where the money is.
I would love to know how to build a company that serves real humans rather than the accumulation of capital and the extractive nature of corporations.
That “below average” intelligence pool are well represented in upper management. FOMO is a powerful thing, smart people are often tricked by dumb ideas because they don’t want to miss out on something or be perceived to not understand the value of a bad idea
Wouldn’t we all. It is not possible, actually.
Clearly not. Otherwise Bezos wouldn’t create a culture where employees feel the need to pee in bottles and continue working while a colleague is dead on the floor.
I don’t believe that. Sure, if you want to be filthy rich you’ll exploit people, but there are plenty of smaller companies who treat their employees well (some owners have even left their companies to their employees) and genuinely care about customers as people.
Yeah, and these ♥genuinely-caring♥ capitalists always end up either bankrupt, or Bezos.
Of course not. Bezos is spending a lot to make sure you don’t.
I don’t even know what you’re talking about. Why would Bezos be spending money to make me believe it is possible for small companies who can treat their employees well, all the while making me think even worse of him for how he treats his own employees? That makes no sense.
Bezos doesn’t want you to abolish private property.
If you believe it possible to build a company that serves real humans rather than the accumulation of capital and the extractive nature of corporations, you will try that instead.
No. That is wrong. Saying it is possible to generate less harm within a system does in no way mean I don’t think the system is flawed and rigged and incentives bad behaviour.
Bezos doesn’t mind you thinking that the system is flawed and rigged and incentives bad behaviour.
Bezos is happy as long as you don’t abolish private property.
Ah, sorry, I didn’t realise I was the sole arbiter of private property and it was within my hands to abolish it. I’ll get on that first thing tomorrow, send me the papers.
You just described every single YC company.
I think I've read a short story by Cory Doctorow that explored this misconception.
Amazingly well put.