
Tim Ferris comments on his move from Silicon Valley - anindha
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/7erct8/i_am_tim_ferriss_host_of_the_tim_ferriss_show_and/dq6va5f/
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insickness
> 5) Silicon Valley also has an insidious infection that is spreading -- a
> peculiar form of McCarthyism
> ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism))
> masquerading as liberal open-mindedness. I'm as socially liberal as you get,
> and I find it nauseating how many topics or dissenting opinions are simply
> out-of-bounds in Silicon Valley.

I experienced this first-hand last weekend. My friend throws dinner parties
where we discuss a different philosophical topic each time. The topic of last
dinner party was sexual harassment and sexual agency. One person stormed off
at the beginning because she got offended at the topic and ostensibly some
mild language my friend used in a hypothetical situation. He was later
crucified on social media.

When I was growing up, it was the right that constrained discussion while the
left pushed boundaries. Now more often the left constrains speech. Rather than
air positions in the marketplace of ideas, they would rather bully, shame and
act offended at things they disagree with.

~~~
leohutson
If you care about your audience, present your ideas sensitively. If you don't
care about your audience, then don't bother presenting any ideas because you
aren't going to convince anyone. The point of discussion isn't to score
points.

Perhaps the woman in your example was offended because she has been harrased
or assualted personally. The fact that you felt the need to minimize it by
saying the language was "mild" says a lot, who cares if it was mild? Go as
hard as you want, free speech is absolute, contextless, consequence free.
Anyone hurt by what you say is just trying to score political points by
pretending to be offended. My advice would be to listen to the women on this
topic before indulging them in your pure axiomatic philosophical opinions of
what they have experienced.

The whole idea of someone being "crucified" or "bullied" on social media is
cowardly coming from a supposed free speech proponent. Man up, own your
opinions.

A marketplace of ideas is fine, but no one is going to give you a fair shake
if you are intentionally tactless, and that is your failing not your
audiences.

~~~
nilkn
Perhaps we should just ask for clarification on what the person said at the
dinner table before engaging in this sort of speculation.

~~~
ralfn
Yes because we the internet mob need to judge the lives of others.

That is so healthy.

I don't believe you can both have an intellectually honest debate and judge at
the same time.

I hope they don't share the actual quotes because that wasn't the argument.
The argument was open debate is not possible anymore, because we get actively
judged and harassed for opinions because the flesh mob (you, me, everyone)
only allows for socially accepted top 40 opinions.

Freedom also means freedom from each other. Not just the state.

If you said something bad about a person you don't personally know in the last
month, then my judgement on you (yeah hypocrisy) is that you are a horrible
person and the world is better with you not consuming oxygen.

------
factsaresacred
For some reason I was expecting it to be fluff but it's actually a really
poignant, self-aware breakdown about the cons of SF and the quest to pursue
happiness.

This stands out:

> Even though Silicon Valley has the highest concentration of brilliant people
> I've found anywhere in the world, it also has the highest concentration of
> people who think they're brilliant. The former are often awesome, keenly
> self-aware, and even self-deprecating (let's call that 15% of the
> population), but the latter are often smug, self-satisfied, arrogant, and
> intolerable (let's call that 60% of the population).

Which is why it's funny that people think trolls are an online phenomenon.
They are simply a reflection of a real-world in which most people are
(subjectively perhaps) those you neither want to talk nor listen to.

The difference is that online, the filter of proximity and permission that
works so beautifully to delineate our offline relationships, is void.

------
siquick
_3) Silicon Valley is often a culture of cortisol, of rushing, and of fear of
missing out (FOMO). There is also a mono-conversation of tech that is near
impossible to avoid (much like entertainment is some parts of LA), where every
dinner has some discussion of rounds of funding, investing, and who is doing
what with Uber, Amazon, or someone else. This can be dodged, but it takes very
real and consistent effort. I don 't want to spend 20-30% of my daily mental
calories on avoiding the mono-conversation._

Sydney has this problem, except the conversation topics are real estate, what
high school you went to, and gym memberships.

~~~
torbjorn
Reminds me of when I meet new people in a "night out" type context and it
feels like everyone vying to work in different forms of status signaling into
the conversation.

~~~
rosege
Some cultures arent like this - I lived in the Netherlands for a while (and im
sure some Dutch HN readers could comment too) but if you meet someone and ask
them what they do straight away they are likely to answer you with "Why so you
can judge me by it?"

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micaksica
I'm not very fond of Tim's product, but I agree with him in his perspectives
on SF and the Bay Area in general. Too much of it feels toxic at this point,
and it has felt that way (to me) since about 2011 or so. It pushed me further
and further into a state of introversion. While I used to go out and talk to
people, I got tired of people wanting to talk "the mono-conversation" as he
called it. It's been great for professional development as I have a lot more
time to tinker with things, but it certainly hasn't helped me too much
socially. I don't really care about who's funding who, who paid for what, what
shit that founder just bought in Hayes Valley, or who's sleeping with
whomever. I just want to poke at things, find bugs, and make shit.

~~~
nathanvanfleet
He doesn't have a very unique opinion about it.

~~~
dasil003
He articulates it pretty well though.

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mattmaroon
He's so right about #5. See what's happened to Peter Thiel. People were
calling for him to be fired because he supported a major party nominee. That's
not a good sign for so many reasons.

~~~
ffumarola
Whereas I agree with you in principle, let's not normalize Trump by calling
him a "major party nominee" as if that abdicates us of our responsibility to
push back against dangerous political identities. We can point to many a
"major party nominee" in history that people supported who also shouldn't be
normalized...

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tonystubblebine
I left too, but apparently actually enjoy the cortisol rush. I moved to NYC
because I liked the ambition in SF but not the monoculture of having all that
ambition in one industry.

For people who are wondering about the mono-culture, the question to be asking
is "Does my job actually make a positive difference in the world?" Quite often
the pay makes you feel like it does, but the actual work is meaningless or
harmful to society.

Ignorance is bliss, so maybe don't ask yourself that question. But if you do
care, it is an extremely hard question to get to the bottom of. I bet the
founders of Twitter and Facebook really did think they had made the world a
better place, but now that's much less clear.

In any case, it warms my hear to imagine Tim and his dog in Austin--truly a
great American city. Love it there.

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rcpt
Do any of us actually _want_ to live in the Bay Area?

If you like cities then New York is bigger, denser, more diverse, less poop,
has a public transportation system that actually works, and yet somehow the
rent is cheaper. If nature or beaches are your kinda thing there's Oregon and
Hawaii not far away. Want urban sprawl and traffic? Los Angeles has San Menlo
Alto beat (but not by much).

But, for those of us in tech, the opportunities here are unlike anywhere in
the world. And, despite all the drawbacks of the Bay, there's just something
inspiring about being here with the leaders and top experts in our field.

~~~
tlrobinson
What if you want big city + nature nearby? I feel like SF is a pretty good
compromise.

You’ve got the ocean/bay right there, various forests and mountains within a
short drive, skiing and Yosemite a few hours away, etc.

~~~
cannonedhamster
Or Boston which has all the same things except it has seasons.

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ModernMech
> Golden Gate and tech are terrorist targets, and I don't like being close to
> the bullseye.

This has been on the top of my mind more than I would like lately, what with
the ramped up rhetoric coming out of the white house regarding North Korea --
to the point of considering actual plans for how to deal with such an event.
Does anyone here have any thoughts on how to assess the risk of this, or is it
just irrational?

~~~
untog
It's irrational, really. Not to say that the Golden Gate bridge won't ever get
attacked, it may well. But you're far more likely to get killed crossing the
road every day, and I doubt you apply the same level of calculation to working
out if every road is worth the risk of crossing.

Don't get me wrong, it's totally understandable. I hate to rely on "the
terrorists won!" as an argument, but terror is only effective when we allow
ourselves to be terrorised by it. If we/politicians/the media applied the same
amount of attention to road safety that we do to terrorism we'd all be in self
driving cars by now.

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clintonwoo
This is a very interesting read. I wish it was longer so I could keep reading
more on the topic. I really want to give Austin a visit.

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goseeastarwar
Tim Ferris talking about charlatans ruining Silicon Valley in search of fame
and fortune is extraordinarily ironic.

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fpisfun
The comment about the intolerable 60% is so true.

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thejacenxpress
> The people are also -- in general -- much friendlier.

This is the biggest factor for me as someone who grew up in Texas and is now
in Los Angeles

I feel like this happens in cities with a lot of transplants. Most people move
to big cities because they are (or think they are) the best at what they do.
That makes it difficult for me to know who to trust since I don't know off the
bat if someone is talking to me because they are genuinely nice or because
they want to see if I can be used to help them achieve their goals. It's a
vicious cycle because it causes me to put my guard up and in turn be less
friendly than I am with people I really know.

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4Winners
But I agree 100% with Tim. You couldn't pay me to live in SF or California
again. Liberal leftist gestapo run wild have destroyed the entire state. SF in
particular.

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bradknowles
Go away. Austin is full.

;)

~~~
anindha
Buy real estate before everyone moves there.

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anindha
He doesn't mention it but I am sure the reduction in state tax was an
incentive.

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catalunia
This dude is literally a scam artist.

~~~
DubiousPusher
Yeah, he's like the Dr. Phil of tech guru balogney peddlers.

~~~
kapauldo
He's the Billy bush of tech.

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4Winners
I lived in Austin for 2 years after being in Boston, NY, Hong Kong and LA.
Have to say I was bored out of my mind in Austin. The "music scene" is
typically a guy with a guitar hopping up on a stage somewhere at 11pm. The
outdoors = one lake in the middle of town and a very few hiking trails. NO
arts scene or galleries to speak of. The culture revolves mainly around
drinking. It's a city for obnoxious Millennials and all the people who got
sick of CA and and now bringing all that to Austin. Sorry, but many people I
know who lived in Austin for years have left for Utah, Idaho, Colorado - even
places like Nashville and Columbus. Hope Tim likes it more than I did!

