Super Volatile

Krzysztof Szafranek's link blog

Hi, I'm Krzysztof and I make websites.
When I'm not making websites, I read these.
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Nov 13, 2011 / 11:41am

Don’t Call Yourself A Programmer, And Other Career Advice

There’s nothing wrong with this, by the way.  You’re in the business of unemploying people.  If you think that is unfair, go back to school and study something that doesn’t matter.
more on kalzumeus.com

Harsh but true career advice for programmers. A lot of it may seem obvious if you have been in the industry for a while, but it's not something one can get from academia. However, the article made me appreciate the fact that I took courses in economy instead of studying computer science alone.

Filed under: hiring   networking   programming   work  
 
Jan 2, 2011 / 1:52pm

The (Real) Hot Girl Effect and Networking

I was introduced to the ”Hot Girl Effect” by a girl I dated once. This girl is an absolute knockout, and very smart too. One time she took me to this random event, and people that I might have wanted to speak with were actively networking me. Once she started talking about Ruby on Rails, they were eating out of my hand. That one event yielded relationships that are still in my repertoire today, and the amount of effort I expended was effectively nil.

My mind was blown, but when you think about it it makes perfect sense. No matter how successful a man might be, no matter how much wealth he accumulates, power over women is the great equaliser and this eludes many men of great wealth, power, and influence. I saw this truth play out in their eyes “This woman is beautiful… HOLY SHIT SHE IS TALKING ABOUT RUBY ON RAILS. OH MY GOD, THIS IS SUCH A NOVELTY TO ME! WHO IS THIS GUY?! WHAT’S HIS SECRET?!”

more on blog.shrewple.com

Some psychological mechanisms look so ethically wrong, yet – and that's the most terrifying thing about them – they actually work.

Filed under: networking   psychology