Hacker News Reader

Comment by 13b9f227ecf0 | Hacker News Reader

> I mostly do it because I'm lazy.

You do realize that's exactly the impression your habit conveys, right?

Yes. But I'm the good kind of lazy. I choose to spend my time working on solutions to big problems, rather than working on what shirt to wear tomorrow. I do use different brands with different cuts and styles. Mostly because I grab whatever is available at the store. I also only use name brands, because the last twice as long.

It's also a sort of camouflage. I blend in very easily. I like that.

> I choose to spend my time working on solutions to big problems, rather than working on what shirt to wear tomorrow.

It worries me that so many hackers use the delusion of "solving big problems" to justify their often self-destructive lifestyles.

Why is this self-destructive? Explain.

Laziness is first of the three great virtues of a programmer (http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?LazinessImpatienceHubris), so that's probably a successful example of social signalling.

I had a tough time growing up due to this "virtue". I was always looking for ways to simplify and automate. I even had my computer connected to my alarm clock. So that a basic program I had running on it would automatically wake me up depending on the time I shut it down (which meant I was going to sleep.) But I then had problems waking up before noon, so I connected that little hack to a stereo system with 15-inch speakers. The whole neighborhood could hear my alarm clock to off. It's actually quite funny now that I think about it. Imagine being able to hear a loud beep beep beep two streets over.

Personally, I wouldn't have thought to consider him lazy had he not mentioned it, but rather just someone completely disinterested in fashion. /2cents

Weird thing is that since being a nerd is in these days, peoe have complimented my style. If they only knew I lack it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com