"When rats were tested in Skinner boxes where they could stimulate the reward system by pressing a lever, the rats pressed for hours."

I guess the author's definition of lotus-eaters is similar to the rat experiment mentioned above. There is something about the satisficing and infantilizing nature of tech companies that seems engineered to keep employees complacent about work that's just okay but maybe not challenging or rewarding.

The story is a good analogy but the tone of the article is weird and condescending.