Bullshit Jobs
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory is a 2018 book by anthropologist David Graeber that argues the existence and societal harm of meaningless jobs. He contends that over half of societal work is pointless, which becomes psychologically destructive when paired with a work ethic that associates work with self-worth. Graeber describes five types of bullshit jobs, in which workers pretend their role isn't as pointless or harmful as they know it to be: flunkies, goons, duct tapers, box tickers, and taskmasters. He argues that the association of labor with virtuous suffering is recent in human history, and proposes universal basic income as a potential solution.
Stats for nerds
159recommend
628mentions
477people
2013–2026years
29% recommend63% neutral7% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Why do we need any job? Check "Bullshit Jobs" by David Graeber. Not saying being a mathematician is a bullshit-kinda job, but there have been so many made up positions way before this AI-era. In that sense AI isn't changing much.
- I think we're on the cusp of an intelligence explosion, but most jobs have no real purpose besides giving us sometime to do and a paycheck. Automating those jobs and making them 10x faster won't really help anyone. Read Bullshit Jobs by Graeber.
FWIW, why I'm rooting hard for AGI: -In the best case, AGI will lead to UBI, so unemployment for all becomes the default scenario. Sounds scary but unemployment is better than many soul-sucking occupations, e.g. cold-calling. -If AGI does result in a productivity boom due to automation, we're in for a deflationary spiral, so we don't need a huge amount of money for a decent standard of living.
It does lead to the question of how we'll find meaning in our lives, but I think we'll adapt in a few years.
- Yeah, there is a famous book on that called "Bullshit Jobs: A Theory" by David Graeber
- Please read the book "Bullshit Jobs"
Most SWEs are a mix of Duct tapers and Box tickers, and their managers are Taskmasters.
- First, you'll probably never know and this is one of those ouroboros questions that can drive you a little crazy if you let it. I urge you to not let it, because the only actual answer is that if you did work you were proud of and met the mother of your children, it quite literally doesn't matter. We should all be so lucky!
Second, very few things in life are so cut and dry. Legal cases are by nature simplified abstractions that attempt to render a three dimensional situation that unfolded over a long time in a few pages of a graphic novel.
Third, this sort of thing is so incredibly common. Often the only difference between fraud and IPO is whether it worked or not. That's not cynicism, just pragmatism.
If you ever read David Graeber's Bullshit Jobs - and you should - you'll quickly decide that the real fraud is late capitalism writ large.
- This comment is so patronizing because it's 2008 angst against the financial sector wrapped up in the assumption that the people participating in the financial sector aren't aware of that angst. We're deep in a hacker news comment thread, no one here should be beating the desk about productivity.
I would recommend you look into Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber, where he makes an argument that 50% of American jobs are not only not-productive, but actually harmful. Your argument isn't taken to its logical conclusion yet.
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