Re:IBM's Asshole Test
by kragen on Thursday May 05, 2022 @09:33AM
(#31273098)
Since you've interviewed candidates for programming jobs you know that being 99th percentile among them is pretty easy. Just being a programmer is enough. It's easy to exceed 10× zero.
It's true that many people get anxious about programming job interviews. Except in rare cases, it isn't really rational. But people get even more anxious about giving public talks, which, as you point out, often isn't rational either.
It's true that people sometimes create artificial time-pressure deadlines. Those people are manipulative schmucks who deserve no quarter. In reality, time to market is a huge competitive advantage, and when a business's site is down it generally loses money every minute; getting it back up allows the business to start making money again. Similar, but worse, when customer systems are broken because your software broke them.
When you're giving a talk at a conference, you're forming part of a community. You have a reputation in that community. That reputation can be good or bad. Having a bad reputation hurts you in myriad ways, even without anyone in the back row making a mark on your permanent record.
You're confusing your limited experience of reality with reality itself, and consequently you come off as dogmatic and defensive, which could limit your learning. I think everyone would benefit from incorporating more aspects of reality into their worldview.
It's true that many people get anxious about programming job interviews. Except in rare cases, it isn't really rational. But people get even more anxious about giving public talks, which, as you point out, often isn't rational either.
It's true that people sometimes create artificial time-pressure deadlines. Those people are manipulative schmucks who deserve no quarter. In reality, time to market is a huge competitive advantage, and when a business's site is down it generally loses money every minute; getting it back up allows the business to start making money again. Similar, but worse, when customer systems are broken because your software broke them.
When you're giving a talk at a conference, you're forming part of a community. You have a reputation in that community. That reputation can be good or bad. Having a bad reputation hurts you in myriad ways, even without anyone in the back row making a mark on your permanent record.
You're confusing your limited experience of reality with reality itself, and consequently you come off as dogmatic and defensive, which could limit your learning. I think everyone would benefit from incorporating more aspects of reality into their worldview.