general life question

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d3ad1ysp0rk
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Post by d3ad1ysp0rk »

Grim... wrote:In fairness, our jobs are a bit boring when you try to explain them, especially to a non-techy.
+1

We make <span style='color:blue' title='I&#39;m naughty, are you naughty?'>smurf</span> work.

That's about it. :D
SpiderMonkey
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Post by SpiderMonkey »

No, the ignorati have contempt for everything techies do, to the point of often being actually abusive to us and openly telling us to 'shut up' if we start talking about anything more sophisticated than bloody Big Brother.

Of course, they all have mobile phones, laptops and broadband. And they all come crying to us when their computers stop doing what they want. They say "my computer doesn't work" when they don't know how to use their computer, and even better they say "the internet doesn't work" when they don't know how to connect to the internet. Morons always blame the technology instead of themselves.

They just *expect* you to share your technical knowledge for free. They can't understand why you become irate at them when they ask you to spend an hour fixing the mess they made on their computer, after a hard day at work. It just doesn't occur to them that you don't enjoy removing the spyware and viruses they accumulate so fast its like they go out looking for the stuff.

Theres a stupid woman on a BP advert right now who says, seriously, "if we can put a man on the moon, why can't we create a car that doesn't create mess (sic) ". Science and technology are just like magic to some people. I think that the world would run a lot smoother if those people were made to live in caves.

We should only allow technology to be used by those who can demonstrate an understanding of it. No more power without discipline.
timvw
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Post by timvw »

SpiderMonkey wrote:only allow technology to be used by those who can demonstrate an understanding of it. No more power without discipline.
This would disallow the concept of blackboxes (which are a good thing imho).
Roja
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Re: general life question

Post by Roja »

Charles256 wrote:ever find yourself frustrated? no one in my life that is close to me gives a damn about what I do..not even remotely interested..won't feign interest..so as a result I never get to talk about what I love...hell..even the people it puts food on the table for don't care..very depressing at times...
Imagine you have a friend who is a janitor. Would you be interested in the details of what he does?

Most people are purposely uninterested in the menial details of the jobs people work. We've become a society that specializes. Because Bob works as a janitor, I don't need to know what chemicals you need to use to clean up grease in my companies cafeteria - it just happens (technically, Bob knows, and does it correctly). Similarly, when Bob goes to get on the internet, he doesn't need to know what the router configuration needs to be for him to get online - because Jim in Networking already did that.

Specialization isn't by its nature a bad thing, but it can make everyone feel 'alone'. There is a solution (beyond just hanging out with the rest of the people in your boat).

People are interested in things that they can relate to. For example, when I used to tell people I worked for a cell phone company, they would relate stories about their horrible reception, their service, their billing, and so on.

Then I changed my phrasing. I said instead that "I keep computer networks secure". Nine times out of ten, someone would ask "Oh, you mean like against (insert evil tone here) HACKERS?". Which was a great queue for me to explain a variety of things, like:

- "Hacker" is a misused term. Hackers are good people, making interesting solutions to problems. Think MacGuyver with DuctTape - he was a hacker. What you really meant was "Attacker".
- Most attacks don't come from without - they come from within. Employees more often than not cause the problem by doing things they aren't supposed to. Browsing to bad websites gets you popups, spam, and viruses. (I usually make sure to mention that in almost all cases, the people did nothing WRONG, they just didn't understand the rules, or understand what they were clicking on).
- I help people understand the rules, and understand what they are clicking on.
- By writing horribly boring policies.

Invariably, we ended up with a branching discussion on hacker, internal v. external threats, browsing, and "understanding the rules" long before we got to the real answer - that I was a policy wonk! :)

By explaining things in an interesting manner, and providing a link to things they understand, suddenly, boring policy writing, or even janitor work can be worth asking about.

On the flip side, not explaining your work can prevent friends and family from considering you "free tech support". :)
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Benjamin
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Post by Benjamin »

Roja is dead on correct.

People are proud of what they do. People feel good about their accomplishments. Other people have different ambitions and what you might consider incredible, they don't quite understand. Try to tell them how incredible something you did is, and they just look at you funny.

There is a book I read a while back that tells you how to convey the value of your accomplishments by using analogies. Kind of silly but I guess some people use it for sales purposes...
Charles256
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Post by Charles256 »

i try. don't know. I was just feeling alone. It's all right. I've gotten to the point in my career that I'm making enough I should console myself with the money. I guess it's my fault because I try to take an interest in everything someone i acre about tells me, ask questinos if i follow and ask for clarification if I don't. I go through the effort, why won't someone else is my beef.
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RobertGonzalez
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Post by RobertGonzalez »

Not everyone is as thoughful as you. I can tell you right now what my three or four closest friends do for a living. I can tell you what they do for leisure. Could they tell you the same about me? No. But that is not important to them. It is to me, that is why I take the time to learn and care. But that is me (and apparently you). I would be willing to bet that the people that don't care so much for what you do care about other aspects of you (like your mom, who always tells you that you have the cutest dimples :oops: ).

I would say many of us know what you were feeling when you posted this originally. And I would say that many people in other carreer paths probably get the same feeling as you do from time to time. But we're here for you dude. So when you feel lonely, just post. We'll either join you or make fun of you :wink: .
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feyd
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Post by feyd »

Everah wrote:We'll either join you or make fun of you
I'm sooo the latter.

:D
Charles256
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Post by Charles256 »

it's aight. i still hate you too feyd ;-)
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