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0 pointsjordwest3d ago0 comments

> The scary part now is people denying its happening right in front of them.

I wonder if age is a factor. Those of us who have been around for a while have seen all the promises and hope and excitement about the future, that maybe 20% of that comes true and the rest ends up being the usual exploitation and greed.

The younger people haven't been through that cycle of disillusionment yet so they still believe that only the positive, hopeful dreams will come true. It's natural, but naive, to believe that humans will always collectively choose the best path forward [1].

My grandma always refused to touch computers despite my excitement about them in my youth and I couldn't understand why. Now I think I get it.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

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jnpnj3d ago

Could you tell us more about your grandma point of view (if she ever told you more of course).

With age I'm becoming jaded with computing, not personal computers per se, but the overwhelming space taken by them now (especially due to cheap networking I guess).

karmakurtisaani3d ago

This made me think about the difference of growing old in a static world vs a one where change is constantly accelerating.

In the former, you understand it better and better as you age, but in the latter you're left with knowledge that's of no use while the next generation is ahead of you just by the privilege of being young.

In the former, you are a valuable source of information. In the latter, a burden.

coldtea3d ago

>In the former, you understand it better and better as you age, but in the latter you're left with knowledge that's of no use while the next generation is ahead of you just by the privilege of being young.

I'd put it more like: you're left with knowledge that sees right through bullshit and the same-old promises and error modes, but nobody's buying. And the next generation is hired precisely because they're naive to all of that to repeat the same mistakes eagerly while sociopaths profit.

pjmlp3d ago

Exactly, something that seniority brings is the ability to say no, and that isn't something most managers want to hear.

coldtea3d ago

Yes. Also folks who've been around remember what e.g. the dream of FOSS was (it wasn't merely about getting "software with a specific type of license" at your phone or behind some corporate cloud).

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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jnpnj3d ago

Could you tell us more about your grandma point of view (if she ever told you more of course).

With age I'm becoming jaded with computing, not personal computers per se, but the overwhelming space taken by them now (especially due to cheap networking I guess).

karmakurtisaani3d ago

This made me think about the difference of growing old in a static world vs a one where change is constantly accelerating.

In the former, you are a valuable source of information. In the latter, a burden.

coldtea3d ago

pjmlp3d ago

Exactly, something that seniority brings is the ability to say no, and that isn't something most managers want to hear.

coldtea3d ago

Yes. Also folks who've been around remember what e.g. the dream of FOSS was (it wasn't merely about getting "software with a specific type of license" at your phone or behind some corporate cloud).

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse