Conversation

Hmm. There are literally NO engineers in the top 20 mob-raising culture war feudal barons that I can think of. Not one. A couple of pure science types, but the rest are economists, psychologists, lit/culture type people. Either we're too dumb to raise armies or... we know better?
Replying to
Follow up to these 2 tweets
Quote Tweet
It’s curious that humanities/social science evangelists like to lecture technologists that “just because you can doesn’t mean you should,” but see no problem with cultivating online mobs just because they can. Something they’re admittedly far better at than techies.
Show this thread
1
6
I almost counted Scott Adams as an engineer, but looking him up, though he was a programmer briefly before he was a cartoonist, his education is a BA in economics and an MBA, and he seems to have held more managerial roles than technical.
14
Show replies
Replying to
But there's plenty of very smart, clued-in engineers who've made enough to retire and could, if they chose to, build hellraising careers online.
2
1
Show replies
Replying to
The few engineer-types who are clued-in enough to understand and manipulate emotions are busy being CEOs. Why raise a mob and be forgotten after a few years when you could make millions/billions starting a company?
2
Replying to
Not true in my experience. About as many are clued in as any other field. It’s a basic human trait/aptitude like language. There’s just other wiring that seems to get in the way of making it (persuasion/manipulation) an addictive compulsion.
Replying to
Maybe the personality types of strong engineers don’t do well w/dishonesty & social conflict? The best engineers I know cut thru political bullish!t w/tangible solutions - addressing small problems incrementally thru prototypes & feedback/testing.
1