pure_ambition

I did something similar - was a SWE for years, then became an EMT, loved it far more than any CS work I'd ever done in my life. Continued on and went to medical school. The path is long but I've never once questioned whether I made the right decision.

If you're thinking about it - try it! An EMT class is pretty easy, fun, and doesn't take long.

I never realized that I was the type of guy who doesn't enjoy desk work until I became an EMT.

I stand by this: Physicians in the US are some of the only people who are paid what they deserve, in terms of authentic human value delivered. And only in the US are they paid what they deserve. They deserve their semi-monopolistic trade union.

Admin bloat is a far larger problem, and so are the pharmaceutical companies which get to charge the government whatever they want to develop new drugs that often are only marginally effective.

Speaking from experience, the only people who can afford to live as nursing home staff (typically LPNs) are the poor. In my metro area, only the presence of a large low-income high-crime area allows for a low enough cost of living for its residents to survive on nursing home pay. I think these folks can make more working at McDonalds. The quality of care is garbage... Less than 10% of nursing homes in my area provide the care I'd want for my relatives.

Oddly enough, even homes that advertise RNs and a high number of staff still don't provide the care I'd want for me relatives. The only homes I've been to where the staff are genuinely great are nursing homes out in the boonies, in rural areas at least an hour outside of my city.

Nah I have it too

I think most people with an understanding of economics would agree that more supply is needed. The problem is, zoning laws are made by the cities themselves, which means they are ultimately made by the people who already live there. People who already live there don't want their neighborhoods bulldozed for luxury high rises, which is what happens when zoning is abolished.

Then, there is the problem of the suburbs. A lot of people suggest moving to the suburbs and embracing a longer commute as the solution. The problem is, suburbs also control their own zoning laws, just like cities, and surprise - they also don't want their neighborhoods bulldozed for luxury apartments.

So the problem is essentially a power issue - who holds the power? Without the political power to make zoning changes, little new housing will be built. I don't see a solution here. So it seems that the local people embrace rent control as the best possible solution among alternatives. Viewed from that perspective, it's not so bad after all. The city's residents will feel the impacts, and if it's not working out, they will eventually repeal the law. Big deal.

this person doesn't understand spectrums

Excellent quote. Thank you for sharing.

Yes! This book also got me to read Walden by Henry David Thoreau, which was also life changing.

I never fully understood what Pirsig meant by Quality though. I could not understand what it really was, but I didn’t need to. I got so much good out of the book. But if someone could explain better I’d love to hear.

Also consider that it is important to the people who have read them. Many people claim that reading Dostoevsky changed their lives, gave them much more purpose, and helped them define who they are and want to be.

Great literature helps you understand the world, and yourself. It helps peel back that onion.

Follow your inner voice. Sounds like it’s telling you to look seriously at grad school. Most people I find will tell you to not do it, but I say go for it. Don’t worry about the social risk; it’s just because you’re outside of the academic sphere right now.

True. I love Cal Newport but he’s a great example of this. Best thing is that if you read a lot of books you get a quick easy feel for whether a book will be in the first or second grouping. Just by reading the description or look through a few pages. Table of contents is usually the best way to tell.

A little presumptuous to say group narratives and commitment are stupid. These are components of shared understandings of reality, which is what allows society to function and people to communicate.

The problem with your analysis is that the OP should be read like a poem, not an essay. That's my take, at least.

> New England will probably be the last region to get decent renewable adoption. Solar panels don't work as well because they're far north and get a number of cloudy days...

Wrong. Most of Europe (especially Germany) is actually at a higher latitude than New England.