> There’s no sneering, no sarcasm, and no self-deprecation. Everyone is just sort of floating along in an earnest tranquility. As if each anecdote about “that cool loft I found on Airbnb” contained some deep spiritual significance beyond my grasp.
This is what I hate the most! Everyone here is so positive. It's like a cult. Any post containing an ounce of negativity is downvoted. Anything that strays from the party line of "technology will solve everything, and we are changing the world" is shunned. And whether this attitude comes from techno-utopians or from eager beaver entrepreneurs, it's toxic to our industry. It makes us ignore the social impact of our inventions. It keeps us narrowly focused on technological solutions when the problem isn't technological. And worst of all, it gives everyone a huge ego. Learn to laugh at yourself, accept that your crappy web app isn't changing the world, and remember that the homeless guy you passed on your way to work is a person like you (who just lacked the opportunities you did).
My biggest annoyance to way-too-much-positivism is at Chicago's Open Gov Hacknight (http://opengovhacknight.org/). The whole point of it is to use data from FOIAs or 'data portals' to either fix, or raise awareness on issues. Very few people seem to have any genuine interest in making the world a better place, with a constant happy-outlook.
The major focus seems to be about making websites with the latest frameworks, using the latest nosql databases, using AWS. That probably accounts for about 60% of the crowd. 30% of the crowd doesn't know how to code, and 10% of the projects will have a genuinely strong impact.
That's not to say that their work doesn't have a net positive effect on the city. However, considering the kinds of minds that go to these events, I feel that their time could be better spent in working on larger projects to make this a better place to live.
You're right--interviewers act fake. And besides, this article generalizes, hyperbolizes. But I'm not using this lone anecdote as evidence. My experience on HN is the evidence. My experience working for tech companies is the evidence. And the smug attitude in the article, even if fictional, captures reality perfectly in the same way that a comedian's impression reveals more about the subject than a faithful depiction.
This is what I hate the most! Everyone here is so positive. It's like a cult. Any post containing an ounce of negativity is downvoted. Anything that strays from the party line of "technology will solve everything, and we are changing the world" is shunned. And whether this attitude comes from techno-utopians or from eager beaver entrepreneurs, it's toxic to our industry. It makes us ignore the social impact of our inventions. It keeps us narrowly focused on technological solutions when the problem isn't technological. And worst of all, it gives everyone a huge ego. Learn to laugh at yourself, accept that your crappy web app isn't changing the world, and remember that the homeless guy you passed on your way to work is a person like you (who just lacked the opportunities you did).