idiocratic

The economics of software are very different from physical goods. Margins on software (products) are orders of magnitude higher. Any cost shaving done at coding time is economically irrelevant in the long run, detrimental to quality/reputation and could almost be seen as a risk. Furthermore, assuming the bottleneck in this process has so far been coding is pure BS.

What has always worked for me is the exact opposite: no goal from the start, just try as many things that interest you as possible until you have one or two areas that work for you. Repeat when you’re burned out.

It is nice, but nobody except celebrities and super rich people can afford any of these apartments. It’s easy to create nice things for extremely rich people, the real challenge in Milan is to provide aesthetically pleasing and environmentally sustainable buildings and neighbourhoods for the 99%.

Or maybe thanks to this strong moderation, not despite it.

I disagree. They were such a great door into escapism and friendship for me, a standard guy from a small town in Italy with no metal friends at all until the internet came about. Forums in particular provided the opportunity of meeting people with very different backgrounds sharing similar music tastes, and it was also fun to argue about silly things like what is true and not true metal and getting banned by mods. I built amazing memories of road trips together, motorcycles, seeing bands and meeting each other somewhere basically every weekend. Not to say that what you experienced is not true, but it’s not the case for every forum out there for sure. Also, what made metalheads special was their status as a total outcasts of society, of course we were very much an insular culture. I miss the group spirit, the “family” side of all of this amazing subculture.

> I don't understand audacity of people who are trying to dictate to real estate owners what they can and can't do with their property

I don't understand this argument. If you live in the middle of a desert or if you own an entire building in the suburbs, sure, do what you want, that's what it's allowed in those places. But if you own a flat in the middle of a very densely populated city, with rules, where even buying a home is regulated and taxed because society wants that, then this argument doesn't hold. You literally can't do what you want with your property. In Europe at least we have regional building regulations, town taxes to pay for garbage we produce, natural disasters dictating how things are built, and we even have specific rules for each building where your flat is located in. For example in my flat I can't have BBQs on the balcony where other people might do their laundry, or I can't smoke in the elevator, etc, etc... basic rules and compromises for basic societal well-being. It's very far from being able to do whatever we want.

Great quote. It applies to pretty much any profession that isn't pure art. Knowing how it works in medical and research fields, it would be a great analogy for that too.

So many parallels with the Italian software industry. Plagued by low pay, clerical work and system integrators monopolising the entire industry for decades. I also see cloud computing and Silicon Valley glamour as the turning point for the industry.

While in some places Communism has definitely been responsible for atrocities, in many countries (especially Western Europe, Asia and South America) Communist parties have been on the frontline of liberation movements, indigenous rights, human rights, workers’ conditions, etc. That’s why for many Communism != atrocities.

Marginally, from a historic perspective.