spaceprison

A middle class dad that's anxious about not having enough cash being told consistently for years that 'others' want more of his money may be a bit selfish or lack perspective but he's not a "bad" person. The same way a substance abuser isn't a "bad" person.

Those who feed toxic beliefs/prey on folks' insecurities for personal gain, range from misguided/unscrupulous to bad.

100% These situations will have to become more pervasive because we're talking about shattering identity to adopt change.

An observation.

On the micro scale these aren't mean or bad people. A lot of people I know back home (Missouri, middle class, many of them baby boomers) follow this brand of logic and the accompanied tough-guy/cult-of-the-dollar ethos.

Not one of them applies this ruthless logic in their daily life. They are compassionate with the people in their lives, some to the point of enabling people with substance abuse problems as opposed to letting the authorities 'deal' with them.

The complexity and scale of these problems out-strips the empathy required to solve them for many people. The experiences(no health care, mental health issues, prejudice) do not match their own experiences which makes those dealing with them the 'other'.

The way to getting some traction with these problems probably lies more in bridging the empathy gap than in the solution space.

Moved to Colorado 4 years ago and open concept was unavoidable... It sucks 88% of the time. The only win is holidays and even then with nothing to break up the sound you're one loud conversation in the other "room" away from forced participation. And then there's meal prep... A kitchen is loud heaven forbid there's a quiet moment on a show the same time someone wants some ice in a cup.

I agree, perhaps brain scans aren't an option, but I do think two tracks based on some kind of testing makes a lot of sense.

I really struggled with the rote path and it wasn't until I could see more of the "why" and where it applies to practical situations that it all started to click.

Webrings!

It's good to see studies like this.

To my knowledge addiction to nicotine poses no known health risk. Its interesting that the anti-smoking movement that was motivated by the public health risk associated with smoking has gradually turned into a puritanical drive to eliminate addiction.

It seems to me that identifying less harmful alternatives to smoking (ecigs) is a more realistic path to smoking cessation than saying it's all bad.

Midwesterner checking in, always have my "old timer" in my back pocket.

I just experienced this. To have gone through 8+ interviews over the course of a few months to find out that the firm essentially thinks you have a bum personality was quite the experience. Throughout my whole career, technical capability aside, my inter-personal skills have been what have really propelled me to where I am today. Some of the best Engineers I have worked with have had INTERESTING personalities and we have been able to get great stuff done despite potential incompatibilities.

In the end I'm glad it didn't work out, for one it grounded me, apparently my shit does stink. It also helped me recognize that I really do enjoy working with all stripes of people and would hate to give that up. I also feel like I get bonus points for not joining a cult.