I have a friend who works as a patent reviewer who also happens to be an amazing programmer. He built a suite of custom tools that lets him get a day's work done in an hour or two. I think he's been there for over a decade, and is perfectly happy to stay. Unlike FiletofFish, though, he's the kind of guy that is constantly exploring and expanding his skills, using that free time creatively solving problems no one else has even recognised yet. He's one of the smartest guy's I've ever known. He's not ambitious in the normal way, but he has created a situation for himself where he can pursue his creative passions, and still get the job done.

The smartest thing he's done is not share the tools with anyone else. If he did they'd expect him and everyone else to start doing 4-8x as much work in a day.

Oh, he's well aware of that. If they had wanted to hire him to develope a system for streamlining the chemical engineering related patent application and review process, and pay him accordingly, that would be one thing. He would also have deserved several years worth of his patent clerk salary to do so. I can't really fault him for choosing the path he has taken. If he ever quits, or significantly moves up the food chain, I hope he does use his tools and expertise to increase the overall efficiency of a terribly clumsy system.

BTW, consensus elsewhere is that this story is probably a hoax. But it's a nice idea anyway.

Considering the sole source is an anonymous Reddit user, yeah I'd say it reads pretty high on the bullshit meter.

A Reddit user that is so great at programming he could automate his job and then forget how to program.

Reminds me of stories Scott Adams would tell of workers in big companies who would get forgotten in the system--their bosses were fired and they never got reassigned and things like that. They get stuck sitting around all day wondering if they are supposed to be doing something and afraid somebody will notice they have no assigned responsibilities.

...and caressing his anomalous red stapler.

I guess some people would be content to spend their Universal Basic Income on beers and MMORPGs. I know I would, but at the same time I know that I'm capable of so much more. Perhaps some of us need the motivation of poverty.

The thing about UBI is that as long as you're spending the income, you're contributing back into society. It's not as if the average person is out there making world changing contributions under your standard capitalism. We are the tiny gears that keep the system moving through our combined consumption. UBI is to grease the gears and provide stability to the system.

The same is for spending welfare or other public assistance. It's that principle the wealthy hate to have brought up, that giving 1 million people $1 each does far more to stimulate the economy than giving 1 person $1 million.

And that's especially true when you give the 1% yet another tax cut.

Indubitably.

My office allows people to remote in to their work desktop from home. There was a guy who got fired 4 years ago cause he had outsourced his job to a guy from China. He gave the guy in China his remote login key fob thingy and a portion of the salary, and spent every day in the office putzing online in a repetitive routine. I can't remember what the report said he did in full, but it literally did say that he watched cat videos every day from 10-11am. Cat videos. Every day. Like clockwork.

proof or I'll say it's an urban legend. heard the same story a while back in france.

Busted! I actually got this story from a chain e-mail my grandmother sent me.

She probably hired a guy in China to send it to you.