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[Jado]

Edit: Read the article. Your interpretation of "life hacking" is not the main takeaway and focal point of this piece, nor of the thread. FFS.

Stay out if you're going to do a stupid drive-by post along the lines of "lol tumblr-like trash" or "this privilege shit again?!"

Article tagline: Personal Development gurus can get away with whatever they want, so why can’t you?

Article spoiler:

Spoiler

because you're not an entitled white man

https://medium.com/get-bullish/when-life-hacking-is-really-white-privilege-a5e5f4e9132f

The line at the post office was 18 people deep.

I looked around and noticed that no one among the patrons or the employees was a white man. At the Hanover Street post office, a half block off Wall Street, that was notable.

A white man walked in. He surveyed the line and confidently jetted past it, over to an employee pushing a wheeled bin across the floor. He put his hand on the employee’s back. He said, “Hey buddy … can you do me a favor? I just have this one thing.”

I also just have this one thing, I thought. And, this line is for people who have one or more things, douchebag. And, you have no right to ask a “favor” that dicks over 18 people uninvolved in granting the “favor.”

Fortunately, the mystified employee — who was not white — sent him to the back of the line.

...

James Altucher recently posted a short piece on Quora entitled, How to Break All the Rules and Get Everything You Want.

In this piece, Altucher — whose Wikipedia page contains the phrase “ran a fund of hedge funds” — recounts the tale of taking his daughter out for a fashion show and some ping-pong. When he is not on the list at the fashion show (a friend had promised to add him), he manipulates his way in. When the ping-pong venue is closed due to a private event, he manipulates his way in and plays ping-pong at someone else’s party.

He believes his fun evening provides a lesson for us all: “Don’t break the laws. Don’t kill people. Don’t steal. But most other rules can be bent.”

James Altucher thinks he has written an article about “getting everything you want.” He has actually written an article about white privilege. (And probably class privilege, and male privilege, and maybe some others.)

You know that fun game you play at Chinese restaurants, where you add “in bed” to everybody’s fortune? You will achieve great success this year … in bed.

I have a related suggestion for Altucher’s article. Just add “if you’re white” or “because I’m white” to each generalization or anecdote in the article. For instance:

“I find when you act confused but polite then people want to help if you’re white. There was a line behind me. I wasn’t fighting or angry. So there was no reason for anyone to get angry at me, because I’m white.”

Really, now? You peacefully barged your way into a fashion show in the same town in which Forest Whitaker peacefully attempted to buy yogurt with actual money. Guess who fared better?

There are many people in this country for whom it is exceedingly dangerous to assume that if you aren’t angry, there’s no reason for anyone to be angry at you.

Much more at the link. Please read; very insightful view of how many white Americans take the privilege shit for granted and act like life is great if you think positive (or something equally banal) and then pass that off as sagely advice that anyone can follow.

 

[The Technomancer]

Really, now? You peacefully barged your way into a fashion show in the same town in which Forest Whitaker peacefully attempted to buy yogurt with actual money. Guess who fared better?

Oof

 

[titiklabingapat]

There was a start up company trying to pass off hitch hiking as this new thing and even did experiments in Kansas City. They concluded hitch hiking is safe again.

Oh yeah, they used white people in the experiment.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

Also, really kind of boils that "white dude claims a new country so his daughter is a legit princess" bullshit.

Hate it. Hate that shit.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

I get the general idea but I'm not sure "life hacking" is what's going on here.

 

[Orbis Tabula]

I could swear we've had a thread on this guy before, but maybe I just remember the story from somewhere else. Regardless, he's an asshole.

 

[Aurongel]

What the hell does this have to do with "life hacking"?

 

[Stet]

James Altucher sounds like a piece.

 

[otapnam]

i was at a bar last sat and had to pee like crazy. 2 people ahead of me though. Ended up asking the guy in front for a line cut favor due to the circumstances. He let me go.

Spoiler

Im not white

 

[Foggy]

This seems like a strange thing to plant your flag on

 

[BronsonLee]

Like other people said, I have no idea what this has to do with life hacks

Jado why are you mad, you and Gedo are running New Japan!

 

[ActStriker]

I knew this seemed familiar; I read it last year.

The dude is still a douche tho

 

[Anton Sugar]

Old article but good one.

 

[Sub_Level]

When I think life hacks, I think

 

[Jado]

I get the general idea but I'm not sure "life hacking" is what's going on here.

Altucher's stuff falls under the realm of the expanded concept of lifehacking, inspirational stuff that applies generally to life rather than just a quicker/easier way to do a small task.

http://www.psmag.com/navigation/bus...tory-of-life-hacking-self-optimization-78748/

We live in the age of life-hacking. The concept, which denotes a kind of upbeat, engineer-like approach to maximizing one’s personal productivity, first entered the mainstream lexicon in the mid-2000s, via tech journalists, the blogosphere, and trendspotting articles with headlines like “Meet the Life Hackers.” Since then the term has become ubiquitous in popular culture—just part of the atmosphere, humming with buzzwords, of the Internet age.

Variations on a blog post called “50 Life Hacks to Simplify Your World” have become endlessly, recursively viral, turning up on Facebook feeds again and again like ghost ships. Lifehacker.com, one of the many horses in Gawker Media’s stable of workplace procrastination sites, furnishes office workers with an endless array of ideas on how to live fitter, happier, and more productively

From around the Internet:
8 Life Hacks for Increasing Inner Peace
6 Hacks To Make Your Sex Life Better
27 life hacks to beat shyness

 

[entremet]

Good article, but I wouldn't call these ''life hacks''

 

[David Incorporated Esq.]

When I think life hacks, I think

And that's why you'll never run a fund of hedge funds!

 

[The Albatross]

Don't really understand how this has anything to do with "life hacking." I only read the first anecdote, about being in the post office, and I was put off to the whole article. I've been at the post office probably 100 times in the last 10 years, and the asshattery that goes on in there -- from employees to customers -- knows no racial, ethnic, or economic bounds.

Altucher's stuff falls under the realm of the expanded concept of lifehacking, inspirational stuff that applies generally to life rather than just a quicker/easier way to do a small task.

http://www.psmag.com/navigation/bus...tory-of-life-hacking-self-optimization-78748/


From around the Internet:
8 Life Hacks for Increasing Inner Peace
6 Hacks To Make Your Sex Life Better
27 life hacks to beat shyness

I dunno, the kind of stuff described in this article is akin to saying that parking paralell to take up 3 horizontal parking spaces is a life hack, or using the tip jar at Starbucks to make change is a life hack, or saying that you're someone else for a dinner reservation is a life hack. These aren't life hacks in any customary sense of the phrase. These are just stories about people being douchebags, calling it a life hack, and then saying they're unique to one race or another.

 

[Valhelm]

There was a start up company trying to pass off hitch hiking as this new thing and even did experiments in Kansas City. They concluded hitch hiking is safe again.

Oh yeah, they used white people in the experiment.

This is a really dumb question, but is there reason to believe people of color would be targeted more often by hitch-hiker killers? I feel like the most "likely victims" would be young white women, given their status as the most desirable for potential abusers.

 

[SteveWinwood]

everyone devolves into a strange idiot in a post office

 

[The Technomancer]

This is a really dumb question, but is there reason to believe people of color would be targeted more often by hitch-hiker killers? I feel like the most "likely victims" would be young white women, given their status as the most desirable for potential abusers.

Well it might not just be killers. I'm willing to bet a black man hitchiking is less likely to be picked up in general

 

[The Lamonster]

Bringing race into this type of shit is kind of a stretch.

I read "life hacks" but it's really more like acting like a douche bag to get what you want.

 

[Omegasquash]

Bringing race into this type of shit is kind of a stretch.

I read "life hacks" but it's really more like acting like a douche bag to get what you want.

I think the point is that he wouldn't have gotten it nearly as much if he wasn't a white guy. If I'm reading it correctly.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

I'm...pretty sure I can get a few cuts in the post office line as well if I wanted.

Spoiler

I'm not white, btw.

the asshattery that goes on in there -- from employees to customers -- knows no racial, ethnic, or economic bounds.

Not according to these guys. Thankfully I don't pay 'em much attention.

Again, to mess around with a phrase from one of my favorite movies:

"Hold on. You have to slow down. You're losing it. You have to take a breath. Listen to yourself. You're connecting a [life hack] I had with a [life hack] you might have [not] had and some [race] hogwash. You want to find [racism] in the world, you will be able to find it everywhere. [Racism] from a mere street corner to your front door. [Racism while] riding on the elevator. When your mind becomes obsessed with anything, you will filter everything else out and find that thing everywhere."

 

[stufte]

"Being an asshole and steamrolling everyone to get what you want" is NOT a "lifehack".

It's just being an asshole.

 

[Valhelm]

Well it might not just be killers. I'm willing to bet a black man hitchiking is less likely to be picked up in general

Oh thanks. That's a good point, yeah.

 

[The Lamonster]

I think the point is that he wouldn't have gotten it nearly as much if he wasn't a white guy. If I'm reading it correctly.

That's just speculation, though.

As a short guy, I'm going to claim he got away with it because he's tall.

http://aufait.hubpages.com/hub/Does-Your-Height-Affect-Your-Success

 

[RedShift]

My friend has a "Life Hack" where when there's a queue to get on a train while people get off he gets on a first class carriage where there's little or no queue then just walks through to the normal carriage and gets first pick of the seats.

I've told him he's a knob.

 

[EatinOlives]

I get the general idea but I'm not sure "life hacking" is what's going on here.

Yeah, this is less "life hacking" and more "being an asshole".

 

[Kwixotik]

"Being an asshole and steamrolling everyone to get what you want" is NOT a "lifehack".

It's just being an asshole.

This. You're probably going to get away with being a giant asshole if you're white, but that's not exactly news.

 

[Tamanon]

Seems more like class than race. I can't imagine a poor white guy getting too far into a fashion show.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Altucher's stuff falls under the realm of the expanded concept of lifehacking, inspirational stuff that applies generally to life rather than just a quicker/easier way to do a small task.

The idea of "expanding the concept of lifehacking" is spurious. I feel like a pretentious twit just typing it out.

It's a commentary on a vague concept, so I'm not sure what the takeaway is supposed to be other than white people have an easier time getting away with being a jackass.

 

[NH Apache]

The first story in the article the dude failed. He was a dick for trying to get around the line.

Yes, he was white, but he still failed.

So, random story?

 

[Foggy]

"Being an asshole and steamrolling everyone to get what you want" is NOT a "lifehack".

It's just being an asshole.

That's the weird part about bringing white privilege into it.

"Listen, you can get away with steamrolling and pushing people around!"

"Acting like an asshole?"

"Yeah, you have this privilege that you don't even see because you're white!"

"But I don't want to be an asshole"

"............"

 

[remnant]

Bringing race into this type of shit is kind of a stretch.

I read "life hacks" but it's really more like acting like a douche bag to get what you want.

Yeah its a stretch but putting race into it does give you attention.

This thread wouldn't exist if it was "guy acts like jerk at post office." However add "white whatever" and await the controversy.

 

[Valhelm]

When I think life hacks, I think

There's a tiny bit of privilege with that, too. Life hacks like that are sometimes pushed aside as "ghetto" when done by poor Black people.

 

[GeekyDad]

Yeah, I don't think being a douche bag is race-exclusive. I've met my share of douche bags, and they've come in all colors, sizes, sexes -- hell, I've even met a few animals I thought were being douche bags; but they get a pass because I can't prove anything for sure.

In any case, though the guy was white, unless you're God, I can't imagine you knew what he was thinking. Did he come right out and say, "Hey, fella, I'm white, so give me VIP treatment?" People assume too much in this world. He was a douche bag from your perspective. I wouldn't read too much into it.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

When I think life hacks, I think

What hack am I looking at?

"Want an easier way to eat an entire bag of snack crackers?"

 

[Enduin]

Seems like more of an asshole/class privilege thing than a white privilege, though that plays into it since class is highly influence by race, but still. This is more about being an asshole than anything else. I find it to be rather disingenuous, unproductive and reductive to just label it white male privilege.

 

[KrellRell]

Terrible article. This dude was simply demonstrating basic psychological techniques. Ask for things, give reasons, be confident and assertive. He didn't force shit, all people have to do is say no.

 

[Foggy]

There's a tiny bit of privilege with that, too. Life hacks like that are sometimes pushed aside as "ghetto" when done by poor Black people.

Rural Kentucky/Ohio always struck me as the lifehack goldmine. Of course, you have to live in the middle of nowhere...

 

[Sub_Level]

What hack am I looking at?

"Want an easier way to eat an entire bag of snack crackers?"

Exactly! If you want to leave it on the table instead of having to put the chips in a bowl.

 

[The Technomancer]

Terrible article. This dude was simply demonstrating basic psychological techniques. Ask for things, give reasons, be confident and assertive. He didn't force shit, all people have to do is say no.

...the whole point is that he'd have a harder time doing that kind of shit as a black guy

 

[speculawyer]

There's a tiny bit of privilege with that, too. Life hacks like that are sometimes pushed aside as "ghetto" when done by poor Black people.

I love wrought iron hinge. Nice touch.

 

[NH Apache]

There's a tiny bit of privilege with that, too. Life hacks like that are sometimes pushed aside as "ghetto" when done by poor Black people.

I feel like there's a difference between life hacks and Macgyvering something that's broken.

 

[Thorakai]

Seems like more of an asshole/class privilege thing than a white privilege, though that plays into it since class is highly influence by race, but still. This is more about being an asshole than anything else. I find it to be rather disingenuous, unproductive and reductive to just label it white male privilege.

Terrible article. This dude was simply demonstrating basic psychological techniques. Ask for things, give reasons, be confident and assertive. He didn't force shit, all people have to do is say no.

The big point of the article is that a non-white person isn't going to get the same benefit of the doubt if they applied these same techniques to the situation.

 

[Cat Party]

I get the point of the article and I think it's probably true in many cases. There are other factors beyond skin color that play a huge part in this, but you can't ignore that it has an effect. All the times I saw my Dad bend the rules (in harmless ways, of course), I have to wonder if he'd have gotten away with as much were we not a white family.

 

[Kinyou]

"Being an asshole and steamrolling everyone to get what you want" is NOT a "lifehack".

It's just being an asshole.

Yeah, I thought life hacks were little tricks that make your life easier. Not something like skipping line. That's not a clever trick.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

...the whole point is that he'd have a harder time doing that kind of shit as a black guy

Except that's merely an assertion based on plausibility.

He did not actually prove that and even so, with millions of black guys he could pick the one dude who absolutely couldn't do it for a multitude of reasons (race being a casual indirect or even non-factor), and posit that as the standardized pattern to support their point.

 

[DoktorEvil]

"Being an asshole and steamrolling everyone to get what you want" is NOT a "lifehack".

It's just being an asshole.

True.

Being an asshole knows no race, sex, or orientation. We've all been one at some point.

Funny enough, I met James Altucher at a Quora meetup. Weird guy. Currently blogs about his life experiences from hedge funds and from selling a company he founded ages ago. Kind of self-depreciates himself all the time but at the same time, he's always trying to take something from you, like an introduction to a person or information on something you know about. Best way to describe him is a "user".