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Comment by georgieporgie | Hacker News Reader

That didn't seem very cohesive or insightful.

I found that: "We’re experiencing the natural and healthy fluctuations of a market that is deeply starved for technical skills, or at least people who can use their creativity and intuition in unison with technology."

Is something that escapes a lot of people these days and something I agree with and have taken notice of for a while, so it may not be insightful to some but I believe it can help a lot of people to find perspective.

The original version was a bit more harsh and I had to revise it. I was fairly critical of people who went into debt over liberal arts degrees and argued that if you're going into debt, do it in a degree that's going to make a return on your investment.

Edit: the original article is here if you're interested http://jmtame.posterous.com/private/kjInGGicAa

I have three liberal arts degrees and think your criticism is completely valid. People shouldn't go into debt for liberal arts degrees. If you're good enough you'll get a full ride; if not, you're only being admitted as slave labor to fill lower division teaching slots[1].

Unfortunately, most people who pursue liberal arts degrees aren't interested in "technical" subjects. And when you get down to brass tacks, what someone is capable of is largely a function of what interests them.

1. Not to knock teaching. It was one of my favorite parts of grad school.

I really don't look forward to a future where everyone is some variant of a STEM major. Talk about pedantry and a lack of cultural texture...

The reference to the Redditor that automated his work and took a disproportionate portion of the bonus pool was a strong example of changes to come. Any thoughts on that piece?

An opinion: anything which is that easy to turn into a process will be commoditised.

The Reddit question wasn't really what I would consider relevant for HN, but I personally found the ethical issues at least a little bit interesting. I commented on it: my thoughts being that he should stay under the radar of management and do side work to earn more money. This is by no means ethical, and I'm assuming a fairly dysfunctional company structure, but in my experience that's the way things work in the real world.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com