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Latest imagesSaamiyaar, what do you think about this?
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Saamiyaar, what do you think about this?
by Rishi Tue Jun 18, 2013 10:12 pm
Snowden’s lack of formal education—no high school diploma—wouldn’t have bothered me. The ideal was a person who was sharp, independent, systematic, and very careful. The top tech programs—at places such as MIT, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, UC–Berkeley, and the Ivies— produced many strong candidates, but a computer science degree from most other universities was less of a positive indicator. People with nontraditional educations sometimes did just as well. They usually had some gaps in their knowledge of algorithms and data structures, but I cut them slack, because teaching yourself is harder than being taught, and often more valuable. If you could run the gauntlet of five or six whiteboard coding tests, you stood a good chance of being hired. Sometimes an applicant would be too hostile or uncommunicative, but for me at least, technical skill was the deciding factor the vast majority of the time. There are a nontrivial number of techies who are smart but literally impossible to work with because they are incapable of compromise or politeness. When eccentricity is the norm, it’s hard to have a litmus test for what acceptable eccentricity is.
Working in tech plays tricks on your mind. The quality of coding and other technical skills can be assessed far more objectively than other measures of intelligence or job performance, and it can split your worldview into the same objective, extremely meritocratic terms: People are smart or dumb (“flipping the bozo bit” is tech slang for deciding a person has nothing to contribute), ideas are right or wrong, morals are black and white. You start thinking you know what’s best for people. Snowden did when he leaked classified NSA documents, and he did when he advocated software piracy on Ars Technica, writing, “I don't want people to play mass-produced, uninspired games. I don't want them to because I don't want to… I want to protect myself and others from bad games, and this is inarguably the most efficient way to do so.” His attitude is that of someone who’s convinced he’s smarter than nearly everyone around him, and in his work and online, he met many who felt the same way. Tech attracts them. (And that’s why so much of the tech industry caters to an individualist mindset, with flexible work hours and flatter organizational structures.)
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/06/i_would_have_hired_nsa_whistleblower_edward_snowden.html
Working in tech plays tricks on your mind. The quality of coding and other technical skills can be assessed far more objectively than other measures of intelligence or job performance, and it can split your worldview into the same objective, extremely meritocratic terms: People are smart or dumb (“flipping the bozo bit” is tech slang for deciding a person has nothing to contribute), ideas are right or wrong, morals are black and white. You start thinking you know what’s best for people. Snowden did when he leaked classified NSA documents, and he did when he advocated software piracy on Ars Technica, writing, “I don't want people to play mass-produced, uninspired games. I don't want them to because I don't want to… I want to protect myself and others from bad games, and this is inarguably the most efficient way to do so.” His attitude is that of someone who’s convinced he’s smarter than nearly everyone around him, and in his work and online, he met many who felt the same way. Tech attracts them. (And that’s why so much of the tech industry caters to an individualist mindset, with flexible work hours and flatter organizational structures.)
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/06/i_would_have_hired_nsa_whistleblower_edward_snowden.html
Rishi- Posts : 5129
Join date : 2011-09-02
Re: Saamiyaar, what do you think about this?
by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Wed Jun 19, 2013 12:37 am
First this David Auerback is an idiot, and it shows.
Next...the Govt and the contractor knows this only too well and snowden made 200K for those qualities.
Those schools listed are good schools their programs are "great" bcz of the students who can teach themselves. But, this idiot lists only the private schools (he may even be thinking UC-Berkeley is PVT as many lay americans think), and falls under the american stereotypes who think only PVT is good.
The issue is that sofware requires constant innovation and creation and most people lose originality and creativity with age. Software becomes boring and they turn away. I put life of software interest is around 15 years.
what these great nerdy, natural, "raw" geniuses with no people skills do ??? behave like crazies.
that is why a college education, while blunting some originality gives these nerds a more wholesome education and personality.
Oh...btw, many arrogant but nerdy, smart people shine in all fields - not just in software.
Next...the Govt and the contractor knows this only too well and snowden made 200K for those qualities.
Those schools listed are good schools their programs are "great" bcz of the students who can teach themselves. But, this idiot lists only the private schools (he may even be thinking UC-Berkeley is PVT as many lay americans think), and falls under the american stereotypes who think only PVT is good.
The issue is that sofware requires constant innovation and creation and most people lose originality and creativity with age. Software becomes boring and they turn away. I put life of software interest is around 15 years.
what these great nerdy, natural, "raw" geniuses with no people skills do ??? behave like crazies.
that is why a college education, while blunting some originality gives these nerds a more wholesome education and personality.
Oh...btw, many arrogant but nerdy, smart people shine in all fields - not just in software.
Marathadi-Saamiyaar- Posts : 17675
Join date : 2011-04-30
Age : 110
Re: Saamiyaar, what do you think about this?
by Kris Wed Jun 19, 2013 1:12 am
Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:First this David Auerback is an idiot, and it shows.
Next...the Govt and the contractor knows this only too well and snowden made 200K for those qualities.
Those schools listed are good schools their programs are "great" bcz of the students who can teach themselves. But, this idiot lists only the private schools (he may even be thinking UC-Berkeley is PVT as many lay americans think), and falls under the american stereotypes who think only PVT is good.
The issue is that sofware requires constant innovation and creation and most people lose originality and creativity with age. Software becomes boring and they turn away. I put life of software interest is around 15 years.
what these great nerdy, natural, "raw" geniuses with no people skills do ??? behave like crazies.
that is why a college education, while blunting some originality gives these nerds a more wholesome education and personality.
Oh...btw, many arrogant but nerdy, smart people shine in all fields - not just in software.
>>>Some? The corporate world is like the army. You don't want philosophers or questioners. What you want are conformists. I am not dissing that outright. It has a practical benefit to both sides. The business world gets what it wants. The conformist gets what he wants, albeit grudgingly often, since he has to pay the bills and the mortgage. Certain industries allow you more leeway-- the oft-maligned software "geekdom" may actually be one of those since it is still young. Research may be another. I am not saying all software guys are out there are charting their own course and in research too, there are probably practical realities and results to show. Still, there is probably more freedom. I think the guy who wrote this piece is just highlighting that. Of course, eccentricity comes with the territory-
Kris- Posts : 5461
Join date : 2011-04-28
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