And it also isn’t “dreadfull.” I am very skeptical of taking any advice from a person unable to use basic spell checking before publishing an article. I’m also skeptical of advice from someone who has only recently discovered a possible solution for his very personal problems and feels he should share it with the world. In the 12-step world there are people who only do the first and last steps. They’re called two-steppers. You can look up the steps yourselves, but essentially it translates to, “we admitted we were powerless, that our lives had become unmanageable, and having had a spiritual awakening, we told everyone else how to fix their lives.” There are a lot of steps in between being stuck and becoming unstuck. The author should just quietly repair his life and shelve his egotistical need for external validation.
Your skepticism is valid; advice should be considered carefully, especially when it’s based on personal experiences that might not be universally applicable. My letters are less about instructing others and more about sharing my reflections as I navigate through my own journey. It’s not about two-stepping around the hard work of self-improvement, but about the ongoing process of understanding and growth.
As for the need for validation, I see this platform more as a conversation with others who might relate or benefit from my experiences, rather than seeking applause.
Again, I appreciate your candor — it’s an important part of the dialogue.
> two-steppers ... “we admitted we were powerless, that our lives had become unmanageable, and having had a spiritual awakening, we told everyone else how to fix their lives.”
LOL, though it may be the starting point of all the self-help systems, which later evolve iteratively adding intermediate steps.
> I’m also skeptical of advice from someone who has only recently discovered a possible solution for his very personal problems and feels he should share it with the world.
Advice should never be just taken at face value. Even if it is a successful person giving it. Personally, any advice from Elon Musk is worth less, than any random link on HN.
> The author should just quietly repair his life and shelve his egotistical need for external validation.
This is just mean.
I one hundred percent guarantee that there are other people, with the same problem as the author. And his solution will be useful. Sharing is a net good.
TL;DR through a Dev World Prism: No, I completely disagree that only staff engineers should be allowed to have technical blogs.
