Re:Slack closes account of an Iranian user living in Canada
by wpietri on Thursday December 20, 2018 @01:29PM
(#18727598)
Yes, this attitude is a clear part of why Slack crushed IRC. "It was easy for me, therefore anybody who finds it hard is dumb and we can ignore them."
I too figured out all sorts of computer things at 12. By standardized tests, I'm also in the top 1% of ability for things like that. And my dad was a programmer then, so I had a leg up.
At some point, I realized I had a choice. I could feel smug about my (narrow) genius and focus on tools for my (narrow) cohort. While grumping, of course, about how stupid everybody else was. Or I could recognize my luck and use it to make things that were good for everybody.
You know what helped me make this choice? Realizing how bad I was at so many other things. And how generous other people were in not only putting up with that, but helping me along.
I too figured out all sorts of computer things at 12. By standardized tests, I'm also in the top 1% of ability for things like that. And my dad was a programmer then, so I had a leg up.
At some point, I realized I had a choice. I could feel smug about my (narrow) genius and focus on tools for my (narrow) cohort. While grumping, of course, about how stupid everybody else was. Or I could recognize my luck and use it to make things that were good for everybody.
You know what helped me make this choice? Realizing how bad I was at so many other things. And how generous other people were in not only putting up with that, but helping me along.