Flexibility

In a world of constant change and uncertainty, the metaphors of fluidity and rigidity offer powerful lenses for understanding systems, structures, and human behavior. This exploration goes beyond physical properties to reveal how these opposing approaches shape our response to challenges, determine system resilience, and ultimately influence our success in navigating life’s complexities. From physics to finance, from engineering to personal adaptation, the tension between flowing with change and resisting it defines our reality in profound ways.

I was reading Hacker News comments and someone was complaining about how they weren’t able to find a job in computers anymore due to ageism in tech. Reading this, something occurred to me which I thought was worth writing about, which is the idea of malleability. First of all, I agree that ageism in tech is a thing and it’s a problem for experienced people trying to find a new job. In a capitalist society you want to hire the cheapest employees who can “get the job done”, and experience is often grossly under weighted. My hypothesis for why it occurs has to do with the fact that some people perceive more experienced technologists as more expensive and less malleable.