OT: ethics

[Ed Pawlowski]

Doubt you can find a $5 beer these days.

Last major league baseball game I went to was 30 years ago.

[-MIKE-]

They're doing the same thing in the younger leagues, Doug. Certainly not all of them, but I noticed the trend when I used to umpire.

[Doug Miller]

Might be a regional thing... haven't observed that around here. 'Course, it's been a few years, too...

[Ed Pawlowski]

I don't agree with that last statement and I'd never work for a company as strict as you mention.

Where I work, we have real humans for employees, we treat them with respect, and we know that no one can work all day without a break, mentally and physically. Employees are rewarded for their good deeds and hard work too. What you describe sounds like a concentration camp.

[HeyBub]

No, it's not mental stimulation that keeps them on the go - it's pathological insecurity. To validate their own self-worth it's important that their existence be recognized by as many as possible.

They see rock stars and celebrities idolized and conclude that the more people who love you, the more your 'worth' is validated. Only one in a hundred thousand doesn't feel this way. In fact, a whole story was written to illustrate the concept: "The Emperor Has No Clothes."

Here's an example from real life:

[ring-ring] "Hello..." "Is this Dr Feynman?" "(wearily) Yes." "Dr Richard P. Feynman?" "Yes." "Dr Feynman, my name is Joe Blow. I'm the United States charge d'affairs to the Court of King Gustav V of Sweden. It is my distinct pleasure to inform you that you have been awarded the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics!" "Do you know what-the-hell time it is in California?" "(?) Er, no...." "It is three o'clock in the goddamn morning. Call back after nine!" [click] "???"

I believe that if a country had a hundred people who didn't give a shit about whether they were worshipped, that country would rule the planet.

[keithw86]

Absolutely.

Treat people like adults and you'll have adults working for you instead of children working for themselves.

His attitude suggests that he enjoys the atmosphere, too.

[J. Clarke]

Uh, how does listening to music "validate their own self-worth" or result in their existence being recognized?

This may be true, but I wasn't aware that "iworship" was a feature of the ipod.

[HeyBub]

You think Apple Acolytes DON'T comprise a religious movement?

[J. Clarke]

But that's _them_ worshiping their ipods, not their ipods worshiping _them_.