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All the critique about that 10x programmer thread going around makes me feel like shit because of my social defects. I recognize that a lot of people are using it to signal they have an inclusive team oriented culture, but it makes me feel they haven't made space for misfits.
I'm going to sit on this idea for a bit and see if I can form a more coherent narrative around what I see happening.https://t.co/Gx1Z10xxoi
I feel like this discussion we're having as a culture at large is useful, but what I'm picking up on is a sort of gatekeeping dynamic. The original thread is seen as gatekeeping, but instead of unlocking gates, it feels like we're arguing where gates should be. Lines in the sand.
Viewing 10x'ers under this lens of 'hackers' illuminates gatekeeping issue."what I want to do is I want to foster a technology culture in which a high value is placed on understanding and being explicit about your biases about what you’re leaving out"https://t.co/fcT1vH9LQz
There's something weird about the discussion too. So much of the dynamic about hiring programmers feels like we're being treated as cattle; cogs in the machine. DHH tried to make this dynamic more explicit in his thread here: https://t.co/5TgBzi5euo
So much of the reaction seems to be shitting on these straw workers themselves. Very few talk about social dynamics to handle misfits. It's framed as the 10x'ers fault for being given too much workload. Rarely to we question management paradigms that makes that dynamic possible.
There's really two sorts of phenomena occurring that seem to be conflated in people's mind on the issue. There are assuredly toxic workers who drag down others and act as roadblocks. But equally so many of our office environments breed toxic incentives and mishandle task load.
I think what i'm reacting negatively to in this larger discussion space is the blame going around. We're taking people's very specific connotations of 10x'er and then holding up our own straw version of them and then screaming at each other about how bad these people are.
And naturally people react to this screaming "oh hey, we don't keep those straw programmers at our office, those people are assholes".It's projections? Even my own unease is that I can project myself into the socially aloof genius programmer role. Easy to take personally.
I think the original thread that sparked the resurgence of this discussion, as well as the blow back, all cuts me deeply because it seems to be so close to just listing off all the failures we typically see in autistic individuals WRT social needs in the workplace.
I literally have the ability to do what that thread epitomes as a 10x'er - keeping things in my head and remembering large swaths of code. This is how my brain works. It made me feel good that someone thinks i'm valuable for being able to do that.
I think it hurts more because I recognize these are my failures. The things so many people are critiquing as being aspects of a bad team player are the very issues I try so very hard to ameliorate. It feels like my failures being shoved back at me after feeling good about myself.
So many people feel the need to highlight how shitty this straw programmer is. And many CEOs are going out of their way to signal that they don't keep these individuals because they're toxic.Am I toxic? How do I stop being toxic?
Where can I find employers who see this dynamic and try to make space for people like me. People who take on more burdens than they should because they don't know how to say no. People who aren't good at navigating social nuances and can't really handle pair programming.
Everybody says how awful it is that the 10x'er ends up trying to do everything on their own and becomes a bottleneck. I haven't seen a single person yet who has spoken against this narrative and wondered "maybe they have an executive issue and need more help planning their work?"
When I see stuff like that cropping up, I start to wonder how much agency that person has over their work. Are they trying to take on more work to look good? Why do they feel compelled to do that? Is the work environment making people feel like they have to perform or get fired?
I was watching "New Game!" - an anime series about a fresh graduate who entered a game development as a programmer. Something that stuck with me was how strong their team was. How flexible they were to accommodate the programmer who's anxiety made them unable to do face-to-face.
I'm struck against my sense of how dysfunctional most workplaces are. I personally gravitate toward startups; there is room to for many of them to accommodate misanthropic behavior. E.g. you don't need to endure stressful meetings if your workplace operates entirely via Slack.
So many attacks against this straw programmer are how much they ignore changing business needs and how often they'll just fuck off and do their own thing. I don't find this the case when you're working on a team with strong goal alignment and mission.
For some places, I feel this need to perform as a team is often people upset that a socially aloof person isn't participating in a (toxic?) culture because they don't enjoy participating in office politics. I've been burned by this dynamic myself.https://t.co/tZ9icISsmf
So much of the way we work together comes off as performative. Someone like me isn't good at doing that kind of thing. Heck, I sometimes forget other people need to see me smile otherwise they think i'm mad. Its exhausting having to jump thru these hoops to 'prove' I'm helping.
I'd rather work alongside people in an online space because I don't need to constantly smile and nod and do all the social niceties that people need to see so they don't start thinking you're mad or jealous of them. In an office environment, I'd be seen as a loner.
We frame this straw 10x programmer as getting grumpy and being a 'Jackal and Hyde' character. But I can't help but question if this is a failure mode of an over-stressed autistic type struggling with feelings of inadequacy; Worried they might get fired for their social failings.
I often wonder how others view me. Is my behavior coming off as toxic? Does my dysphemistic language and radical honesty come off as rude and negative? Do I drag down the people around me? What kind of organizational structure would protect others from my toxic attitude?
Again, much of this is my own projection into this space. I've been trying to find a role where I can 'work' and be productive and not just drive everyone away from me.https://t.co/FetRnrqAjG
All of my time spent trying to not be sick and get stable is so I can find time to code. It was the only point in my life I felt truly happy.https://t.co/2O6DUmb7mS
We can now replace every brogrammer with an AI that shares your values as a corporation.You can now replace harmful teachers with state approved chatbot services to better indoctrinate the next generation. https://t.co/tqiSbKofbZ
I time traveled and turned @balajis' idea into a joke.https://t.co/i2aOM6sLzn
AI nanny state when?https://t.co/4RVX610RNc
> implying you'll be in control of the AI software that teaches your children.https://t.co/mWuquJXwCW
Will you hold my hand one last time?https://t.co/lclEK4wqhq
one can imagine that those children would be helped in a real and serious way by an assistant AI caretaker but of course very quickly that leads to a similar result as those of stalin and mao via the usual moral slippery slopes and bureaucratic imperialism
And remind me I must fight?https://t.co/59KBvFDcL7
I have seen the future.https://t.co/PZMNgwrto9
Cuz I wanted to build it.https://t.co/nAve4k8Xib
State mandated AI support bots for autistic tots.https://t.co/ts8QbeXa0R
If autistic kids had a chip, it might mean police won't shoot them if they act out. Children like to fidget and autistic kids often will rip the armband off, donchaknow. Think of the children.🙄https://t.co/YI98ZRAcZFThis article is from 2013 btw.https://t.co/mUsNOV8JbI https://t.co/66aG5InOgL
Pick up that can, citizen.https://t.co/xYSTSKzIB6
"As the new school year kicks off in the Northern Hemisphere, we are highlighting a few useful ways that schools, institutions, and educators can use the new wave of AI tools." https://t.co/AWK6peuwoKI can smell it. https://t.co/gr1PCJPigZ
AI nanny state, for everyone!https://t.co/UbwgjnzQpK
"And you don't seem to understand." 🎶https://t.co/3bkOoLhBqY
Speak of the devil and he shall appear.https://t.co/RgtkNTk26I
State mandated AI tutors for reasons."How AI can accelerate students’ holistic development and make teaching more fulfilling"https://t.co/R6fa5f9Isuhttps://t.co/nTGFrSyqR0
Oh neat. I'm the first person to archive ed[dot]gov's page on where they're using AI to support outcomes.https://t.co/qwdVEJYHKIhttps://t.co/hTC1RasJuI