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Henchman21today at 2:15 AM4 repliesview on HN

I've said this a million times to people in this industry: we have a Real Problem with adderall, it's abuse, and the way it robs a person of their ability to feel empathy. Yes, you're a 10x engineer, yes you write amazing code, yes you can work and work and get. it. done. But you'll also be A-OK with dark patterns, just fine with spying on people who aren't you, and hell, you might even think building the first Terminator robots is an interesting project.

Hyberbolic? Sure. But we live in a society that reinforces the idea that the performance enhancement is worth it. But there is a cost, and what you've described is it.


Replies

pasquinellitoday at 3:28 AM

i think it's silly to think we just need gooder coders with better morals. if the tech industry didn't do what it does it wouldn't enjoy the position in society it has.

kgwxdtoday at 2:30 AM

I've been on it, never once felt a lack of empathy, or forwent my principles. If that's happening to a person, it's likely a mask is just being lifted.

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Aeglaeciatoday at 7:20 AM

if youre going against the regime of hyperpathologization please be strong and gentle. people dont want to have their pacifiers ripped out, whether that be by lifting the veil of hypercapitalistic coercion, or simply by making plain the wealth of side effects that can be entirely avoided by ignoring artificial diagnoses and seeking solutions more in line with our biology.

like no shit people are going to be more willing to do the bidding of evil when their decision making apparatus is unnaturally saturated. and no shit people are going to have adhd symptoms in a screen based society. its completely obvious. but me saying that is going to get down voted to oblivion. people don't enjoy having a comfortable narrative questioned; dissent (no matter how minor) is equivalent to full scale assault on perceptions of existence. that being said, i dont blame anyone for this, considering that the entirety of existence is currently geared towards forcing the populace into fight or flight mode, thus rendering null the capacity to exact societal change and disrupt the status quo.

people really do think their best interests are at the heart of billion dollar companies like those producing pharmaceutical goods !

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