Corporate World 101
One of the most exciting and interesting times of my life have started this summer, when I received a job (summer internship position) offer from a large consumer electronics company. With my Junior year behind me, I felt completely clueless of what the corporate world is like. Many questions terrified me and made me feel far from at ease. How would I fit in? What would I do? Which skill (out of my most random skill set) would I be able to apply and further develop? And in the most dreadfully whispering voice I can imagine: what if I fail to display my competence?
Confusion Dissipates
Two weeks went by, and while many if not most of my questions are left unanswered, I slowly started to put the pieces together in my head. I now realize that it's not very a simple system to understand, and for someone as clueless as I am (and probably the rest of the interns I work with), it takes time to adapt. Of course, the quicker the adaptation phase ends, the quicker I can start to understand which skills I can start developing.
Workflow Stabilizes
So far, I've gone through some technical training, did some random small projects, and even made some awkward mistakes. Thanks to all these, I have started to remember faces and names , get a general idea of where everything is, who everyone are, how to do or how not do something, what is appropriate and what is not, etc. To be honest, I didn't expect to be able to stuff so much of this stuff into my brain so quickly. I hope I don't fry the thing.
Culture
Due to an obvious and fairly valid internal reason, this company employs almost half of it's workers from a foreign race with way too many cultural differences. Up to half of the conversations I hear around myself every day are in another language of which I possess exactly zero percent of fluency. Most of the foreignly-themed interactions between these coworkers are happening right in front of me, and it makes me feel as if I am located in their country. It's a unique and fascinating experience. If this is not the best opportunity I will ever have to learn about their culture and language, then I don't know when is. It really makes me wonder if this is the third undecided language that I've always wanted to study (it could certainly help me better communicate with my coworkers, knowing how important communication is for a strong company).
Racism
Having about half of the employees from another specific race, as well as several minority workers, I had observed how an unpleasant dose of racism (and excessive foul language) is steadily oozing from the company's HR department's unavoidable loopholes and transforms into eerie tension between coworkers. If I am not subconsciously figuring out some sort of plan to fix this issue, then I truly feel bad for my wicked soul's final destination.
Fast Forward
I think that this journey have started splendidly, with many bumps and moments of accomplishment to come. As many of my questions are being answered, many more appear, but in a more organized way with a somewhat predictable outcome direction. I don't know if I'll end up being a good fit for the corporate world, but that's precisely why I am here right now -- to find out exactly just that. With nothing to lose and with everything to gain, I march on forward with the rest of us. Good luck and godspeed.
Friday, June 17, 2011
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Sunday, September 19, 2010
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On the Issue of Emotional Blackmail and How to Deal with It
Intro
It's fascinating how effortlessly some people can be tricked and manipulated. All it takes is the right set of words expressed with the right set of emotions and it all becomes even more believable than simple and logical truth can ever be.
While blackmailing/psychological manipulation/coercion is not one of the most serious indicators of an unhealthy personal relationship, when it pops up it's a very important piece of the mind puzzle when it comes to re-evaluating your decision of staying in it. No matter whether romantic, business or other type of relationship, all blackmailers follow a typical and predictable pattern and are therefore nothing to be afraid of. In fact, it can often be utilized for your own advantage, such as finding out how blackmailers work and to use the opportunity to practice your anti-blackmailer skills.
What blackmailing ultimately does is it reveals the true intentions and emotions of your blackmailer, which we will call Mr.B from now on; and when properly identified, it can be used to make sure that he does not succeed.
How Blackmailing Works
There is only one reason anyone would want to blackmail someone, and it is to get something that they really want. They see absolutely nothing but the potential prize ahead of them. It does not matter to them what kind of side effects it may cause, because their focus is set strictly on this main goal. This phenomenon is analogous to a fight-or-flight response which is very well studied in mammals. Fight-or-flight response is activated by a perceived threat, no matter whether it is real or imagined. The response is accompanied by a release of a massive amount of adrenaline, which by dilation of blood vessels allows rapid delivery of oxygen to the muscles, thus promoting almost superhuman ability to quickly attempt to eliminate the presence of danger. Similarly, Mr.B produces a psychological response to a threat that he strongly believe exists, and in turn attempts to eliminate the threat by any means necessary. In his case, it is to use this undoubtedly unethical but often very effective method of manipulation.
Unlike the fight-or-flight response, which lasts somewhere in the order of seconds, Mr.B may start to develop a plan at the slight indication of a possible threat, and will continue improving it in case of a failed attempt(s).
Mr.B most likely has a plan, or perhaps a set of plans, which he is ready to activate on demand. His intense sense of danger or concern allows him to express a broad range of emotions -- subsequently, without order, and almost instantaneously. This combination of a set plan with a right match of emotional reaction allows him to make any and all of his claims highly convincing, and even indistinguishable from a lie in case of a bluff.
How to Avoid Being Blackmailed
Your main job is to identify a Mr.B and take proper action. The one and only step is to show absolutely no emotion and give absolutely no response. This means that you have to remain calm and take everything he says or does for what it really is -- an attempt to crack you open and take control.
When activated, Mr.B operates in a constant feedback loop. First, he provides a highly processed output, which may be anything from a baseless demand to a carefully planned full-blown threat. Then, he simply waits for input, which is usually a response from the victim. Once he receives the desired input, he continues to the next stage of his plan by providing more output, and then again waiting for more input, and so on until he reaches his goal. Mr.B has probably played everything out in his head by now and knows all the possible responses you can give him, and already has his own counter-response for every one of yours. However, once again, your main objective is to give no response. No input is a highly disturbing kind of input for for him -- it gives him absolutely nothing to work with. He will rarely have a plan for a situation when he receives no input. The feedback loop will become more and more unstable with each iteration and will eventually exit. It is very important to keep providing no input, because even a little suggestion of input will only extend the maximum number of input-less iterations Mr.B is willing to execute before terminating the loop. For him, it would be like talking to a wall -- it will simply stare at him and make him feel stupid. He will eventually be depleted of his motivation and stop and perhaps proceed to seek another victim to release his frustration on.
It's fascinating how effortlessly some people can be tricked and manipulated. All it takes is the right set of words expressed with the right set of emotions and it all becomes even more believable than simple and logical truth can ever be.
While blackmailing/psychological manipulation/coercion is not one of the most serious indicators of an unhealthy personal relationship, when it pops up it's a very important piece of the mind puzzle when it comes to re-evaluating your decision of staying in it. No matter whether romantic, business or other type of relationship, all blackmailers follow a typical and predictable pattern and are therefore nothing to be afraid of. In fact, it can often be utilized for your own advantage, such as finding out how blackmailers work and to use the opportunity to practice your anti-blackmailer skills.
What blackmailing ultimately does is it reveals the true intentions and emotions of your blackmailer, which we will call Mr.B from now on; and when properly identified, it can be used to make sure that he does not succeed.
How Blackmailing Works
There is only one reason anyone would want to blackmail someone, and it is to get something that they really want. They see absolutely nothing but the potential prize ahead of them. It does not matter to them what kind of side effects it may cause, because their focus is set strictly on this main goal. This phenomenon is analogous to a fight-or-flight response which is very well studied in mammals. Fight-or-flight response is activated by a perceived threat, no matter whether it is real or imagined. The response is accompanied by a release of a massive amount of adrenaline, which by dilation of blood vessels allows rapid delivery of oxygen to the muscles, thus promoting almost superhuman ability to quickly attempt to eliminate the presence of danger. Similarly, Mr.B produces a psychological response to a threat that he strongly believe exists, and in turn attempts to eliminate the threat by any means necessary. In his case, it is to use this undoubtedly unethical but often very effective method of manipulation.
Unlike the fight-or-flight response, which lasts somewhere in the order of seconds, Mr.B may start to develop a plan at the slight indication of a possible threat, and will continue improving it in case of a failed attempt(s).
Mr.B most likely has a plan, or perhaps a set of plans, which he is ready to activate on demand. His intense sense of danger or concern allows him to express a broad range of emotions -- subsequently, without order, and almost instantaneously. This combination of a set plan with a right match of emotional reaction allows him to make any and all of his claims highly convincing, and even indistinguishable from a lie in case of a bluff.
How to Avoid Being Blackmailed
Your main job is to identify a Mr.B and take proper action. The one and only step is to show absolutely no emotion and give absolutely no response. This means that you have to remain calm and take everything he says or does for what it really is -- an attempt to crack you open and take control.
When activated, Mr.B operates in a constant feedback loop. First, he provides a highly processed output, which may be anything from a baseless demand to a carefully planned full-blown threat. Then, he simply waits for input, which is usually a response from the victim. Once he receives the desired input, he continues to the next stage of his plan by providing more output, and then again waiting for more input, and so on until he reaches his goal. Mr.B has probably played everything out in his head by now and knows all the possible responses you can give him, and already has his own counter-response for every one of yours. However, once again, your main objective is to give no response. No input is a highly disturbing kind of input for for him -- it gives him absolutely nothing to work with. He will rarely have a plan for a situation when he receives no input. The feedback loop will become more and more unstable with each iteration and will eventually exit. It is very important to keep providing no input, because even a little suggestion of input will only extend the maximum number of input-less iterations Mr.B is willing to execute before terminating the loop. For him, it would be like talking to a wall -- it will simply stare at him and make him feel stupid. He will eventually be depleted of his motivation and stop and perhaps proceed to seek another victim to release his frustration on.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
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Your end and your beginning.
It all starts when you give up your ego for the first time. Once it is absent you realize that an ego is something that should be freely controlled. You learn how to control your ego – you learn how to start to truly learn. You learn how to freely control your emotions – to block them or allow them to pass through. You achieve this by knowing yourself – everything you can.
To an outsider, you may seem to behave in strange and unusual ways, but remember that they are simply unaware of your enlightenment.
To an outsider, you may seem to behave in strange and unusual ways, but remember that they are simply unaware of your enlightenment.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
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Friday, December 11, 2009
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Let My Guard Down.
Did I make a mistake? What if I did? I'm only human, after all.
If so, then perhaps I should have questioned the simplicity of my case from the very beginning? Was I too naive, or was I just... foolish.
I believe I have learned my lesson. Oh, the randomness of life.
If so, then perhaps I should have questioned the simplicity of my case from the very beginning? Was I too naive, or was I just... foolish.
I believe I have learned my lesson. Oh, the randomness of life.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
0
Funs of Fail
Who would have thought that failing can be so much fun.
As one last fun thing for this summer, me and Andray decided to build a raft and go swimming with it to the nearby lake. The material list was not something one usually would expect for a normal raft, but this was not supposed to be one anyway: PVC pipes, rope, and trash bags. Without further due, I present you the final product:
No, it was not supposed to look like that. Instead, it was supposed to be a perfectly symmetrical octet truss structure. Once on in shallow water, we jumped on the slightly wobbly structure, and a moment later, two structure members just bent and snapped like a toothpick. "Oh sh-", and we started cracking up.
Why did it fail? We knew that the design had a major flaw, but decided to proceed with the testing anyway. The main problem was that we placed nothing on top to distribute the force to all/majority of members, such as a piece of plywood. And we did not account for the buckling forces in any of the structure members. My bet is that the pipe thickness was fine and the majority of the fail was to blame on the hollow top. But hey, at least we learned it the "epic fail" way.
The end result was a failure, yet, the overall project goal was not. We had fun, and that was the main idea. I was about to leave for college 100 miles away, and this might very well have been my last fun project for at least another year.
The process of building it was tedious and long. I'll spare you the details. The design was sketched on paper and the material list was drawn. Once we had all the materials, the PVC pipes were cut the same length, holes drilled in the ends, and small sections of rope were cut to be used as connections in each node.
A couple of backpacks full of pipes, ropes, food an water were carried to the location of assembly. The hike to our lake was about 30-40 minutes from where we parked. Once there, we rested for a bit and started assembling the structure.
After an hour or two, the raft was completed and seemed to be like perhaps it could support weight of two skinny grown men, despite the fact that it had a hollow top. But then again, it was uh.. a plastic structure made of thin pvc pipes connected by thin rope. Anyway, we already know exactly how this story ends.
We packed our stuff, waved goodbye to our failure which was now floating almost in the middle of the lake, and very exhausted but satisfied, headed home.
The End.
No, it was not supposed to look like that. Instead, it was supposed to be a perfectly symmetrical octet truss structure. Once on in shallow water, we jumped on the slightly wobbly structure, and a moment later, two structure members just bent and snapped like a toothpick. "Oh sh-", and we started cracking up.
Why did it fail? We knew that the design had a major flaw, but decided to proceed with the testing anyway. The main problem was that we placed nothing on top to distribute the force to all/majority of members, such as a piece of plywood. And we did not account for the buckling forces in any of the structure members. My bet is that the pipe thickness was fine and the majority of the fail was to blame on the hollow top. But hey, at least we learned it the "epic fail" way.
The end result was a failure, yet, the overall project goal was not. We had fun, and that was the main idea. I was about to leave for college 100 miles away, and this might very well have been my last fun project for at least another year.
The process of building it was tedious and long. I'll spare you the details. The design was sketched on paper and the material list was drawn. Once we had all the materials, the PVC pipes were cut the same length, holes drilled in the ends, and small sections of rope were cut to be used as connections in each node.
A couple of backpacks full of pipes, ropes, food an water were carried to the location of assembly. The hike to our lake was about 30-40 minutes from where we parked. Once there, we rested for a bit and started assembling the structure.
After an hour or two, the raft was completed and seemed to be like perhaps it could support weight of two skinny grown men, despite the fact that it had a hollow top. But then again, it was uh.. a plastic structure made of thin pvc pipes connected by thin rope. Anyway, we already know exactly how this story ends.
We packed our stuff, waved goodbye to our failure which was now floating almost in the middle of the lake, and very exhausted but satisfied, headed home.
The End.
Friday, November 13, 2009
0
It all starts here.
The past is past, the future is unknown, and life is now, as it is. Nothing fancy, just fun and maybe occasionally sorrow, but hopefully not.
The past - from this point - is not to be mentioned. Let us now define it to be just some tv static.
Let all hell break loose.
The past - from this point - is not to be mentioned. Let us now define it to be just some tv static.
Let all hell break loose.
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