A Platitude on Software Failure | Hacker News Reader

A Platitude on Software Failure

pastebin.com

It sounds like a poetic call to action that everyone on HN should probably heed. Too many talented people are pouring their efforts into the next location-based photo sharing app that nobody is going to use (trust me, I did it myself for almost a year) and not tackling real problems with positive sum solutions. We all need to get out of the SV hype machine a little more often to make sure what we're working on matters.

This is a knee-jerk reaction from someone who has been bitten.

The fact is, EVERY worthwhile venture has failure waiting at every step. Every good idea has a multitude of people doing it poorly for each rare person doing it right. And whatever industry you find yourself in is the one that will seem the most fucked up because it's the one you're closest to. It's an imperfect world we live in, and that's not going to change.

But if you're childish enough to expect things to go your way without YOU taking charge of and responsibility for your affairs, don't expect any sympathy.

Who dares, wins.

Exactly. The only person you can change is yourself. If you wait for others to change before you, and if everybody else does the same, then no change will happen. :-)

This was certainly a cheerful piece.

Seriously though, I'm convinced the person who wrote it needs the help of a good psychiatrist and maybe some antidepressants more than they need... whatever it is they're asking for.

I'm pretty sure that's why it was put on Pastebin, which lately is turning into a sort of PostSecret of random geekery. Thanks probably in part to Lulzsec.

I suspect this was the start of mainstream pastebin-as-publishing-platform: http://www.michielovertoom.com/python/pastebin-abused/

Really? I thought this was rather good prose and the core message is quite accurate. As someone neither disturbed or depressed, I found it a quite refreshing read. On the one hand you can always argue that humanity isn't doing enough "meaningful" work--and perhaps the author is really distraught about that (though I'm not one to imagine it'll ever change). On the other hand, the tech industry is undeniably filled with snake-oil salesmen, herd mentality, and general bullshit.

I thought it was very well written, a rare phenomenon on the internet. Don't let perceived bitterness make _you_ bitter.

If you (do not believe what this guy wrote OR will try to forget it) AND (still develop software) == You have already failed and (should find another job OR find a good psychiatrist)

A piece on software written by mere mortals.

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