I'm sharing a piece inspired by a fellow HN member who asked what to do when dealing with a bad manager.
IMHO, and from someone who's lived this, unless you're a founding member, it's best to start quietly looking for another job. No matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise, a toxic environment will always hold you back from your full potential. Been there, done that, and never looked back.
TL;DR:
A tiny spider kept rebuilding its web on my car mirror, only for the wind to destroy it every day. Watching it became a metaphor for staying in toxic environments and calling it "resilience."
We often mistake endurance for progress. Like the spider, we keep rebuilding in places(workplaces, relationships, or online spaces) that are tearing us down or, at very least, holding us back, believing endurance equals strength. True resilience is knowing when to stop rebuilding and move somewhere healthier.
I think that part may have been misunderstood. My wife wasn’t upset about me being argumentative, her point was that it bothered her I was convinced by the AI, rather than by her, and what stuck with me is how quickly I was convinced by AI and stopped dead in my tracks. That is why I wrote the piece.
Your comment is appreciated and heard. That’s the beauty of learning new things, you try, you stumble, and you learn from your mistakes. As I’ve shared before, my blog started out heavily relying on AI for editing and grammar to get my ideas into words.
I quickly realized that wasn’t the best approach and that I needed to respect my readers’ time. If you look at my newer articles, you’ll see they’re shifting, becoming more me.
I’m lightly revising my earlier posts, but honestly I won’t change them much. I think it’s valuable for readers to see the progression, stumbles and all. Thanks for your comment, it might even become the subject of my next article.
Humans are not this quick to be gratifyingly sycophantic, as your posts (note that I am careful not to say "you") in nearly every comment reply on this post. I sincerely must ask you, what are you getting out of all this? If it is the satisfaction of having conveyed a compelling story, does it not feel hollow? If it is the satisfaction of gamifying Hacker News, what insights could you possibly gain from this other than "people really hate AI writing"? If it is to waste people's time, congratulations.
What is the point of you?
Please don't bother copy-pasting my comment into your AI to prompt it for a response. I want to know what YOU value in your life, not some premasticated, overly-positive nonsense.
To nourish your curiosity, the real domain was meant as a community platform to help others going through something personal my wife has experienced. She has a beautiful soul and wants to share that journey.
As an example and not the real name, but in true HN style, imagine losing sight in one eye, still learning to code like anyone else, and wanting to share that story. You might come up with something like TheCyclopsCoder.com. (Totally made up just now, no comments needed.)
I debated it, since I worried it could alienate or offend blind coders. She disagreed, felt it was genuine.
I hope that helps feed your curiosity and who knows, one day i might just promote her site if she moves forward with it.
Not sure where the “blasting people” take is coming from. I’m not for or against it, people should use whatever tools work for them. I do have a few real concerns, like its ability to convince us so quickly, which is why I wrote about safety and the need for regulation. That doesn’t mean I’m anti-AI. Like any new tech, there’s good and bad. I use it, I write about it, and I share my experiences; that’s all I’m really doing.
A year later, I found myself learning Sumerian for no reason at all.
Just sharing my experience and curious if anyone else has found meaning by doing something seemingly useless.