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Discussion on: What's your atomic bomb?

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isaacdlyman profile image
Isaac Lyman

Spent two years working on a web platform for multi-level marketing companies. MLMs are, by and large, get-rich-quick schemes that sell McGuffins--the product doesn't matter as long as the sales rep can claim it will cure you of psoriasis, loneliness, poverty, ennui, or unattractiveness. They're very popular around here.

Ultimately I rationalized that not all of our clients were that bad. And the company was chock-full of really brilliant, wonderful people. And hey, it wasn't a cigarette factory. But I was always uncomfortable with what our clients were doing.

Now I work on products that help hospitals save money, hopefully by providing more effective care to patients. I'm sure the company has opportunities to compromise ethically, but for the most part we try to leave those decisions to our clients. It's not a perfect job but I feel better about myself now that I work in a field with clear ethical standards, like the Hippocratic oath.

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ben profile image
Ben Halpern • Edited

This reminds me of some of my earlier work that I forgot about when first trying to answer the question.

I ultimately didn’t take the work, but I remember being asked to help with MLM-type stuff when I was doing web dev consulting in college.

The whole thing was just so weird. I’ve never felt comfortable blindly implementing some scheme.

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Eljay-Adobe

I used to use over-the-counter maximum strength placebo.
But I found that wasn't helping my psoriasis, loneliness, poverty, ennui, and unattractiveness.
Now I'm using prescription placebo. Sure, it costs more, but its worth it!
(I kid! I kid!)