Reviving an old one that I think hit Readup before I did... her book with the same name as this piece just came out and it is making the rounds again. Definitely looking to get my hands on that book.
After reading this essay I can only say that I am so grateful to be out of the job market. What have we become, as a culture, that encourages such idiotic, soulless and empty behavior?
+1 re: title. I wrote an essay in college about uncanny valleys in the literature of Charlotte and Emily Bronte. I'm pretty sure the paper was trash (fake work, fake thinking) but the term -- uncanny valley -- has definitely stuck with me. I love it.
I live in the Silicon Valley and work in tech.
I laughed at some parts because they're so real. For example, "In this environment, my lack of interest in learning JavaScript feels like a moral failure" and "I chatter on about Paleo adherents and people who do CrossFit and practice polyamory" and "a normal event in the Burning Man off-season — whippits, face paint, high-design vaporizers".
I wanted to cry at other parts for the same reason. These hurt: "This city is changing, and I am disgusted by my own complicity" and "It will take almost a year to realize I was gaslighting myself, that I was reading from someone else’s script."
The most shocking (and 100% real) part was when she asks what the guy wants to do with his tens of millions of dollars, and her friend says, "I don’t think he wants to do anything.”
This is one of the most accurate depictions of the culture behind tech that I’ve ever encountered. No wonder we’re producing the kind of tech we’re producing! I agree re: disturbing, soulless, sad. In a few decades, we’ll look back on this time in much the same way that we’re now looking back on the banking/finance - Wolf of Wall Street, etc.
Humans are funny/strange creatures. Especially the white-collar ones. They’re strangest of all.
Reviving an old one that I think hit Readup before I did... her book with the same name as this piece just came out and it is making the rounds again. Definitely looking to get my hands on that book.
Update: this
Upvote. I want her to write about Readup one day. :) Her piece on the guys behind Hacker News was awesome.
I remember reading this when it was first published. Still as relevant as ever. Has anything changed?
After reading this essay I can only say that I am so grateful to be out of the job market. What have we become, as a culture, that encourages such idiotic, soulless and empty behavior?
WHOA. That was one of my favorite reads of all time.
Awesome find. Captivating story telling and fascinating insight into a seriously disturbing culture/lifestyle. Also A+ title.
+1 re: title. I wrote an essay in college about uncanny valleys in the literature of Charlotte and Emily Bronte. I'm pretty sure the paper was trash (fake work, fake thinking) but the term -- uncanny valley -- has definitely stuck with me. I love it.
I live in the Silicon Valley and work in tech. I laughed at some parts because they're so real. For example, "In this environment, my lack of interest in learning JavaScript feels like a moral failure" and "I chatter on about Paleo adherents and people who do CrossFit and practice polyamory" and "a normal event in the Burning Man off-season — whippits, face paint, high-design vaporizers". I wanted to cry at other parts for the same reason. These hurt: "This city is changing, and I am disgusted by my own complicity" and "It will take almost a year to realize I was gaslighting myself, that I was reading from someone else’s script." The most shocking (and 100% real) part was when she asks what the guy wants to do with his tens of millions of dollars, and her friend says, "I don’t think he wants to do anything.”
Yup. "I don't think he wants to do anything," was one of the best lines of the whole story!
I found this extremely disturbing, difficult to get through. Sounds so soulless and sad.
I would also like to add that this was very well written. Captivated me against my will!
This is one of the most accurate depictions of the culture behind tech that I’ve ever encountered. No wonder we’re producing the kind of tech we’re producing! I agree re: disturbing, soulless, sad. In a few decades, we’ll look back on this time in much the same way that we’re now looking back on the banking/finance - Wolf of Wall Street, etc.
Humans are funny/strange creatures. Especially the white-collar ones. They’re strangest of all.