DEV Community: tinmanjk

Why Do "Gaps In Your Resume" Matter?

tinmanjk — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 20:32:18 +0000

To me it seems a personal question which has no professional bearing.

So, why does it seem to be almost mandatory to ask such questions from the employer's point of view.

How do you respond when you would rather not?

The Curious Case Of Self-Exploitation

tinmanjk — Sun, 17 Feb 2019 13:13:15 +0000

Just finished "The Burnout Society" by Byung-Chul Han.
It's a very short, but dense philosophical book about some obvious, but overlooked trends in recent times. I decided to share some of them here because I think we developers have an especially large blind spot when it comes to them. (If the essence of writing is re-writing, then the essence of reading philosophy texts is re-reading philosophy texts, so here comes the first quote:)

"Twenty-first-century society is no longer a disciplinary society, but rather an achievement society. Also, its inhabitants are no longer obedience-subjects” but “achievement-subjects.” They are entrepreneurs of themselves".

"... after a certain level of productivity obtains, the negativity of prohibition impedes further expansion. The positivity of Can is much more efficient than the negativity of Should. Therefore, the social unconscious switches from Should to Can. The achievement-subject is faster and more productive than the obedience-subject."

Sounds familiar? What side-projects are you working on? What new tech stacks are you exploring in your free time? What books to read, which courses to take, what open-source project to contribute to...
And the best part - you CHOOSE to do that. Nobody is forcing you. You are developing into the best possible version of yourself. In short, you win. And society wins because of your increased productivity and commitment to your passions which translates into more and better products and services a.k.a. growth and development.

So everybody wins?
Well, not quite according to Byung-Chul Han:

"The achievement-subject stands free from external instances of domination forcing it to work and exploiting it. It is subject to no one if not to itself. However, the absence of external domination does not abolish the structure of compulsion. It makes freedom and compulsion coincide. The achievement-subject gives itself over to freestanding compulsion in order to maximize performance. In this way, it exploits itself. Auto-exploitation is more efficient than allo-exploitation [other's exploiting you] because a deceptive feeling of freedom accompanies it. The exploiter is simultaneously the exploited. Exploitation now occurs without domination. That is what makes self-exploitation so efficient."

The compulsion (the action or state of forcing or being forced to do something) is still here, it's just self-inflicted. We push ourselves with our guard down. As a result we allow levels of exploitation that we will never ever put up with had they come from outside.

Byung-Chul Han mentions some factors that exacerbate this dynamic even further:

the gratification crisis

"A definitive work, as the result of completed labor is no longer possible today. Contemporary relations of production stand in the way of conclusion. Instead, one works into the open."

This is especially relevant for developers. Our work is perpetual work-in-progress almost by definition. There is always more to do. (1)

less reflection and more ...

" [...] hyperattention. A rash change of focus between different
tasks, sources of information, and processes characterizes this
scattered mode of awareness."

I am pretty sure all of us have felt the tremendous pull towards hyperattention and the almost Sisyphean effort it is to battle it. We forget to pause. (2)

(1) + (2) = hyperactivity

"If one had only the power to do (something) and no power
not to do, it would lead to fatal hyperactivity."

For me the costs of this sneaky dynamic for a number of instances over the years were diminished health, failed relationships and friendships.

What I have learned and forgotten and re-learned is that the power NOT to do (negative potency) seems to be the only weapon. Most importantly, it has to be exercised consciously and continuously or it will lose its vital strength. The best catchy one-liner (mantra) I have heard is that "We have to have the discipline not to have discipline".

Have you felt the self-exploitation? It is really that bad?

What do you do when you should do nothing :) ?

Is it just me or power users have been losing their power?

tinmanjk — Fri, 15 Feb 2019 17:54:53 +0000

I don't know if I am just getting older, or the trend in the past 5-7 years is really that bad for the average power user.

1. Laptop -> ThinkPad

ThinkPads used to be more than mere laptops. They were function over form all the way. They looked ugly to the untrained eye, but for me I knew to appreciate what was on the inside (and on the outside). Durability, serviceability, fantastic keyboard and of course the trackpoint. But slowly designers started the quest of trying to "modernize" the ThinkPad and make it more and more generic.
The original keyboard got replaced with a new island-style keyboard. Next on the list were the physical buttons beneath the trackpoint. Why not replace the convenience of physical buttons with touch-based buggy ones (and not do any usability testing)? Fortunately this experiment lasted only one generation. Next - upgrading hardware was too easy, why not make it hard by having the user to unscrew everything and remove the whole bottom case? I have almost forgotten about the ThinkLight - gone.

2. OS -> Windows7

Windows7 used to be an OS. Not OS as a Service as Windows10. I could disable all updates indefinitely if I wanted to. Not with Windows10. I will be forced to be MS beta user for life (if I ever decided to upgrade?)

3. Smartphone -> BB10

BB10 was (still is) the best mobile OS I have ever experienced. No home button. All navigation is gesture-based. Great device search, best unified notification system, best stock apps there are -> file manager, browser, calendar etc, super original device unlock mechanism via Picture Password (youtube it), device encryption, Android runtime and... physical keyboard.
Now if I want to use a physical keyboard, my only option (hence no choice) is the inferior Key-x series running an inferior OS - Android.

4. Browser -> Firefox

Firefox used to be fully and easily customizable. Not anymore.
The first blow for me was when the Panorama feature was removed. Why? Nobody seemed to have been using it. Great. Next, let's kill all of the add-ons that made Firefox what it is. Why? We wanna be as fast as google no matter what!!! Next, let's remove said add-ons from our repository as if they never existed.
Why? We truly want to disown our legacy. Next, and this was it for me, let's hide the "Never update" option. Why? Nobody seems to be using it. Yeah, right.

PS.
Wherever you found one, it was mostly intended.

Explain Five Like I am Five

tinmanjk — Sat, 26 May 2018 17:19:25 +0000

What's the point of topics like that? I find them clickbaity and absurd to be honest. Why limit the answers to only employing analogies/metaphors that a five year old might understand? Are there any actual benefits of doing this?