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Comment by surprisetalk | Hacker News Reader

Author here!

It's not satire, but it's definitely not serious :)

Like, I actually believe "do unforgettable work" is great advice.

But it's hard to get people to stop and consider what "unforgettable work" looks like.

Same with the other "productize yourself" stuff. I've been seeing a lot of it lately, and I thought it would be fun to make an over-the-top guide. Here's an example:

[0] https://www.productizeyourself.co

I guess I enjoy flirting with extreme beliefs, even if I'm not committed to them haha

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> But it's hard to get people to stop and consider what "unforgettable work" looks like.

I always liked the Richard Hamming approach (that made him super unpopular with colleagues).

You sit down for lunch with some folks and ask: “What is the most important problem in your field?”. They answer. Then you say “Why aren’t you working on it?”

Hamming: "What is the most important problem in your field"

Me: "It is administrated/directed by uninformed individuals who get paid more than me and have more authority than me (they call them managers)"

Hamming: "Why aren't you working on that?"

Me: "Are you seriously rhetorically inciting me to "get rid" of people? You know that could make you an accomplice in a court of law..."

If you don't think your org is working on important problems, why are you working there and not elsewhere?

You need a job, I get it. Why are you applying to jobs you don't think are important?

Because my identity isn't defined by my work? I mainly prioritize my friends, family, and community. I'm happy to take a boring, pointless job if it pays well and I'm never working overtime.

Cool. Then you will never do work that is important to you. Which is totally fine if that's what you want, but to me spending 40h/week on things I consider pointless sounds hard.

The brilliance of Hamming's question is that you, the person being asked, define "important". There is no judgement attached. It's purely a question of your personal fulfillment.

So more like hyperbole?

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