[Andy_B]

This video makes me really glad I work with my mind, not my hands.

Yeesh!

[Captain Ahab]

(03-01-2013 11:41 AM)Andy_B Wrote:  

This video makes me really glad I work with my mind, not my hands.

Yeesh!

"If you want to get anywhere in life you better work harder than a Mexican."-Captain Ahab (the man not the character).

[MasoMenos]

That's one of the biggest things the manosphere has taught me. It's SO easy to be complacent and coast through life.

Imagine working like that? What Americans nowadays would do that? No one

[WestIndianArchie]

Not seeing the vid on the board, but it shows up in the rss feed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkVSWxuhIfg

Americans work more hours per year than the rest of the developed world, and arguably they have much less to show for it, as individual workers.

[Blaster]

I've seen Americans work that hard. Not crouched on the ground like that but the work was just as physical and dirty.

I've also seen Americans slack off, of course, with minimal consequence.

[aphelion]

There are benefits to having that soul-killing corporate job.

[kosko]

(03-01-2013 01:01 PM)WestIndianArchie Wrote:  

Not seeing the vid on the board, but it shows up in the rss feed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkVSWxuhIfg

Americans work more hours per year than the rest of the developed world, and arguably they have much less to show for it, as individual workers.

But the American workforce is also the most inefficient.

[Giovonny]

Americans are the hardest working people on the planet right? Does any nation work harder?

Thats a big reason why we are a world power. That, and our military.

We are just a little spoiled, we don't like grunt work, we import non-americans to that work.

[Lemmo]

Yeah, it seems perverse how some Americans put the poorest, most uneducated people, reduced to wallowing in the dirt, up on a pedestal. That is the last group anyone should idolize. At least look at the Germans or Japanese, who although less efficient than Americans are known for the quality of their work.

Just standard blue pill stuff. The reality is that Americans work the longest hours and have the highest productivity.

[Virtus]

(03-01-2013 01:01 PM)WestIndianArchie Wrote:  

Not seeing the vid on the board, but it shows up in the rss feed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkVSWxuhIfg

Americans work more hours per year than the rest of the developed world, and arguably they have much less to show for it, as individual workers.

Fuck That Noise

[nek]

There's a balance to be had between working hard and working smart. I think america and western nations are closest to that optimization point. Smart and lazy is no good. Neither is dumb and motivated.

[speakeasy]

(03-01-2013 04:14 PM)nek Wrote:  

There's a balance to be had between working hard and working smart. I think america and western nations are closest to that optimization point. Smart and lazy is no good. Neither is dumb and motivated.

^^^ This. I was about to make this point and you took the words right out my mouth. Hard work in and of itself assures nothing. It's only when hard work is paired with a high value skill that it becomes profitable and adds human capital to society.

[nek]

(03-01-2013 04:29 PM)speakeasy Wrote:  

(03-01-2013 04:14 PM)nek Wrote:  

There's a balance to be had between working hard and working smart. I think america and western nations are closest to that optimization point. Smart and lazy is no good. Neither is dumb and motivated.

^^^ This. I was about to make this point and you took the words right out my mouth. Hard work in and of itself assures nothing. It's only when hard work is paired with a high value skill that it becomes profitable and adds human capital to society.

There's a game lesson in this too. To be that real ace with women, you have to have that balance of intelligence and assertiveness/action oriented. Barreling in stupid is bad, so is paralysis-by-analysis. The former for obvious reasons is bad. The latter will cause you to wait for the ideal moment to strike, when in reality there is never an ideal moment. Sometimes you have to strike while the Iron is lukewarm.

[Aliblahba]

Is that the IRT building a bunker?

[kenny_powers]

(03-01-2013 04:40 PM)Aliblahba Wrote:  

Is that the IRT building a bunker?

Actually he is building a castle in hopes it will help attract a white girl!

[WestIndianArchie]

(03-01-2013 02:19 PM)kosko Wrote:  

(03-01-2013 01:01 PM)WestIndianArchie Wrote:  

Not seeing the vid on the board, but it shows up in the rss feed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkVSWxuhIfg

Americans work more hours per year than the rest of the developed world, and arguably they have much less to show for it, as individual workers.

But the American workforce is also the most inefficient.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cou...our_worked

Next strawman

WIA

[Faust]

There's a "Worst Job" thread that's like two or three threads down from here. That's just from people working on this forum, who are almost all American.

Most of the jobs listed in that thread are worse than what you see there.

[n0000]

I've done heavy manual labor in 120+ degree F heat. You are fighting the elements so much that it is difficult but you adjust to it within a couple of weeks. You just get into a rhythm and go with it. Most people are capable of this kind of thing but would under no circumstances voluntarily choose it. Manual labor is a really good thing, very character building. Every guy should work with their hands lifting heavy stuff for at least awhile.

[kosko]

(03-01-2013 04:45 PM)WestIndianArchie Wrote:  

(03-01-2013 02:19 PM)kosko Wrote:  

(03-01-2013 01:01 PM)WestIndianArchie Wrote:  

Not seeing the vid on the board, but it shows up in the rss feed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkVSWxuhIfg

Americans work more hours per year than the rest of the developed world, and arguably they have much less to show for it, as individual workers.

But the American workforce is also the most inefficient.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cou...our_worked

Next strawman

WIA

Please tell me how hours worked means anything?

In America I witness people move little things around, and staple papers and this is some how called "work", I see road workers all raking the same spots over, again this is called "Work". Sheets and invoices stay bogged down for days as a matter of "process", you go to a Bank and you have to speak and go through three people just to cash a cheque. As people twiddle their thumbs... all "putting in hours" doing nothing but farting and thinking of what they are eating on their lunch breaks. This isn't productivity its simply activity which does not equal anything in the grand scheme of it.

America confuses activity as productivity. The mere actions of going to work and putting in hours does not equal production, or production of real wealth/things.

Its the same hamster that makes people in the West think that going to the gym and walking on a treadmill while on your iPhone is a workout and then eating Subway after. The act of doing the motions does not mean anything if it is not truly productive.

I am not shaming America like I am sitting in some beacon of efficacy. Mind you we are even less efficient here in Canada but that is because are labour costs more, less energy efficient, and we work less hours.

Using GDP is misleading because GDP is flawed in itself to measure actual product and wealth. Its a empty metric where 'fat Bobby' at the cubicle farting it up and looking at Ebay on his phone is a positive gain to the economy.

In Luxembourg they sit at computers and manage extremely large amounts of computer Money. In America you get paid with computer money to sit at a desk and glue papers - this is not real stuff - but to their sake in Luxembourg it is not energy intensive, and it's extremely cheap to run their economy (which is key).

A better metric is seeing how much energy it takes to produce GDP. Energy use falls under a large umbrella that involves everything. People don't like to talk about energy because it points holes in the West's dominance because we are extremely wasteful in how are economies function and are run, and do not get nearly the bang for our buck as many other nations. But Energy is everything: from how long your stuck in traffic, how much your nation has to purchase oil, how much oil goes into building your office tower, how much it takes to get food in you to give you energy to work, etc.

Once you start looking at that America is in the same boat as Economic tigers such as Cameroon and the Czech Republic.

Truly efficient nations are able to get a lot of productivity out of minimal costs and energy use. These are true efficient monsters whom make lemonade out of rocks on the daily while we sit here in North America farting for pay cheques.

Nations like:

Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, China, Austria, France, Luxembourg, Ireland, UK.

are miles beyond more efficient in their productivity then America is. For the hours America puts in they should actually be producing more. That is the glaring thing people don't like to look at, because for how intensive the economy is its a mess that only achieves 40-60% of what it should.

And that's the thing there was a time when America was so far ahead in efficacy nobody else could fuck with it. Its extra hours put in were begin rewarded with actual things that had actual value. Its not the case any more as America is a bogged down Granny as much of the West. We don't want to make the investments to fix these issues though so the trend will only continue, and your work hours will only grow longer with less money in your pocket as a result.

[nek]

(03-01-2013 05:27 PM)kosko Wrote:  

(03-01-2013 04:45 PM)WestIndianArchie Wrote:  

(03-01-2013 02:19 PM)kosko Wrote:  

(03-01-2013 01:01 PM)WestIndianArchie Wrote:  

Not seeing the vid on the board, but it shows up in the rss feed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkVSWxuhIfg

Americans work more hours per year than the rest of the developed world, and arguably they have much less to show for it, as individual workers.

But the American workforce is also the most inefficient.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cou...our_worked

Next strawman

WIA

Please tell me how hours worked means anything?

In America I witness people move little things around, and staple papers and this is some how called "work", I see road workers all raking the same spots over, again this is called "Work". Sheets and invoices stay bogged down for days as a matter of "process", you go to a Bank and you have to speak and go through three people just to cash a cheque. As people twiddle their thumbs... all "putting in hours" doing nothing but farting and thinking of what they are eating on their lunch breaks. This isn't productivity its simply activity which does not equal anything in the grand scheme of it.

America confuses activity as productivity. The mere actions of going to work and putting in hours does not equal production, or production of real wealth/things.

Its the same hamster that makes people in the West think that going to the gym and walking on a treadmill while on your iPhone is a workout and then eating Subway after. The act of doing the motions does not mean anything if it is not truly productive.

I am not shaming America like I am sitting in some beacon of efficacy. Mind you we are even less efficient here in Canada but that is because are labour costs more, less energy efficient, and we work less hours.

Using GDP is misleading because GDP is flawed in itself to measure actual product and wealth. Its a empty metric where 'fat Bobby' at the cubicle farting it up and looking at Ebay on his phone is a positive gain to the economy.

In Luxembourg they sit at computers and manage extremely large amounts of computer Money. In America you get paid with computer money to sit at a desk and glue papers - this is not real stuff - but to their sake in Luxembourg it is not energy intensive, and it's extremely cheap to run their economy (which is key).

A better metric is seeing how much energy it takes to produce GDP. Energy use falls under a large umbrella that involves everything. People don't like to talk about energy because it points holes in the West's dominance because we are extremely wasteful in how are economies function and are run, and do not get nearly the bang for our buck as many other nations. But Energy is everything: from how long your stuck in traffic, how much your nation has to purchase oil, how much oil goes into building your office tower, how much it takes to get food in you to give you energy to work, etc.

Once you start looking at that America is in the same boat as Economic tigers such as Cameroon and the Czech Republic.

Truly efficient nations are able to get a lot of productivity out of minimal costs and energy use. These are true efficient monsters whom make lemonade out of rocks on the daily while we sit here in North America farting for pay cheques.

Nations like:

Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, China, Austria, France, Luxembourg, Ireland, UK, China.

are miles beyond more efficient in their productivity then America is. For the hours America puts in they should actually be producing more. That is the glaring thing people don't like to look at, because for how intensive the economy is its a mess that only achieves 40-60% of what it should.

And that's the thing there was a time when America was so far ahead in efficacy nobody else could fuck with it. Its extra hours put in were begin rewarded with actual things that had actual value. Its not the case any more as America is a bogged down Granny as much of the West. We don't want to make the investments to fix these issues though so the trend will only continue, and your work hours will only grow longer with less money in your pocket as a result.

This reminds me of a Georges St. Pierre quote:

"In the wild, it's not the strongest or the smartest that survives, but the most efficient". There's a game lesson in that too.

[Lemmo]

(03-01-2013 05:27 PM)kosko Wrote:  

Please tell me how hours worked means anything?

In America I witness people move little things around, and staple papers and this is some how called "work", I see road workers all raking the same spots over, again this is called "Work". Sheets and invoices stay bogged down for days as a matter of "process", you go to a Bank and you have to speak and go through three people just to cash a cheque. As people twiddle their thumbs... all "putting in hours" doing nothing but farting and thinking of what they are eating on their lunch breaks. This isn't productivity its simply activity which does not equal anything in the grand scheme of it.

America confuses activity as productivity. The mere actions of going to work and putting in hours does not equal production, or production of real wealth/things.

Its the same hamster that makes people in the West think that going to the gym and walking on a treadmill while on your iPhone is a workout and then eating Subway after. The act of doing the motions does not mean anything if it is not truly productive.

I am not shaming America like I am sitting in some beacon of efficacy. Mind you we are even less efficient here in Canada but that is because are labour costs more, less energy efficient, and we work less hours.

Using GDP is misleading because GDP is flawed in itself to measure actual product and wealth. Its a empty metric where 'fat Bobby' at the cubicle farting it up and looking at Ebay on his phone is a positive gain to the economy.

In Luxembourg they sit at computers and manage extremely large amounts of computer Money. In America you get paid with computer money to sit at a desk and glue papers - this is not real stuff - but to their sake in Luxembourg it is not energy intensive, and it's extremely cheap to run their economy (which is key).

A better metric is seeing how much energy it takes to produce GDP. Energy use falls under a large umbrella that involves everything. People don't like to talk about energy because it points holes in the West's dominance because we are extremely wasteful in how are economies function and are run, and do not get nearly the bang for our buck as many other nations. But Energy is everything: from how long your stuck in traffic, how much your nation has to purchase oil, how much oil goes into building your office tower, how much it takes to get food in you to give you energy to work, etc.

Once you start looking at that America is in the same boat as Economic tigers such as Cameroon and the Czech Republic.

Truly efficient nations are able to get a lot of productivity out of minimal costs and energy use. These are true efficient monsters whom make lemonade out of rocks on the daily while we sit here in North America farting for pay cheques.

Nations like:

Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, China, Austria, France, Luxembourg, Ireland, UK, China.

are miles beyond more efficient in their productivity then America is. For the hours America puts in they should actually be producing more. That is the glaring thing people don't like to look at, because for how intensive the economy is its a mess that only achieves 40-60% of what it should.

And that's the thing there was a time when America was so far ahead in efficacy nobody else could fuck with it. Its extra hours put in were begin rewarded with actual things that had actual value. Its not the case any more as America is a bogged down Granny as much of the West. We don't want to make the investments to fix these issues though so the trend will only continue, and your work hours will only grow longer with less money in your pocket as a result.

Your info is anecdotal and entirely contrary to reality. You are actually arguing that China - one of the poorest countries on earth - is more productive that the US? I guess the Chinese must only work 10 hours/weeks since they are so poor. If you have any interest in facts, read a book called the Power of Productivity. It has detailed productivity stats and shows that, aside from a few industries that the Japanese still dominate, Americans are the most productive workers in the world.

[kosko]

(03-01-2013 05:42 PM)Lemmo Wrote:  

(03-01-2013 05:27 PM)kosko Wrote:  

Please tell me how hours worked means anything?

In America I witness people move little things around, and staple papers and this is some how called "work", I see road workers all raking the same spots over, again this is called "Work". Sheets and invoices stay bogged down for days as a matter of "process", you go to a Bank and you have to speak and go through three people just to cash a cheque. As people twiddle their thumbs... all "putting in hours" doing nothing but farting and thinking of what they are eating on their lunch breaks. This isn't productivity its simply activity which does not equal anything in the grand scheme of it.

America confuses activity as productivity. The mere actions of going to work and putting in hours does not equal production, or production of real wealth/things.

Its the same hamster that makes people in the West think that going to the gym and walking on a treadmill while on your iPhone is a workout and then eating Subway after. The act of doing the motions does not mean anything if it is not truly productive.

I am not shaming America like I am sitting in some beacon of efficacy. Mind you we are even less efficient here in Canada but that is because are labour costs more, less energy efficient, and we work less hours.

Using GDP is misleading because GDP is flawed in itself to measure actual product and wealth. Its a empty metric where 'fat Bobby' at the cubicle farting it up and looking at Ebay on his phone is a positive gain to the economy.

In Luxembourg they sit at computers and manage extremely large amounts of computer Money. In America you get paid with computer money to sit at a desk and glue papers - this is not real stuff - but to their sake in Luxembourg it is not energy intensive, and it's extremely cheap to run their economy (which is key).

A better metric is seeing how much energy it takes to produce GDP. Energy use falls under a large umbrella that involves everything. People don't like to talk about energy because it points holes in the West's dominance because we are extremely wasteful in how are economies function and are run, and do not get nearly the bang for our buck as many other nations. But Energy is everything: from how long your stuck in traffic, how much your nation has to purchase oil, how much oil goes into building your office tower, how much it takes to get food in you to give you energy to work, etc.

Once you start looking at that America is in the same boat as Economic tigers such as Cameroon and the Czech Republic.

Truly efficient nations are able to get a lot of productivity out of minimal costs and energy use. These are true efficient monsters whom make lemonade out of rocks on the daily while we sit here in North America farting for pay cheques.

Nations like:

Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, China, Austria, France, Luxembourg, Ireland, UK, China.

are miles beyond more efficient in their productivity then America is. For the hours America puts in they should actually be producing more. That is the glaring thing people don't like to look at, because for how intensive the economy is its a mess that only achieves 40-60% of what it should.

And that's the thing there was a time when America was so far ahead in efficacy nobody else could fuck with it. Its extra hours put in were begin rewarded with actual things that had actual value. Its not the case any more as America is a bogged down Granny as much of the West. We don't want to make the investments to fix these issues though so the trend will only continue, and your work hours will only grow longer with less money in your pocket as a result.

Your info is anecdotal and entirely contrary to reality. You are actually arguing that China - one of the poorest countries on earth - is more productive that the US? I guess the Chinese must only work 10 hours/weeks since they are so poor. If you have any interest in facts, read a book called the Power of Productivity. It has detailed productivity stats and shows that, aside from a few industries that the Japanese still dominate, Americans are the most productive workers in the world.

The China stat was meant for Hong Kong not the mainland that is a error [fixed]. When adjusted it does show that China is worse off and on the ends of Russia as begin the least efficient.

I still do stand by my original stance though that America is far from efficient and simply in the middle of the pack far below its ideal output potential.

[Blaster]

I'm not sure I trust any gross generalization to paint an accurate picture of the productivity of US workers. There are so many factors to consider.

It's true that the sort of laborer work ethic seen by the bricklayer in the original video is probably scarcer. But I have seen it. It happens in young, highly-motivated men. Especially young blue-collar fathers, where their tasks are physical and clearly defined. They work even harder when an alpha male leader is present to motivate them (even if he's not officially a leader in the org chart).

I do think that these sort of men are becoming scarcer due in equal parts to the rise in single motherhood, breakdown of communities, emphasis on college and service professions and scarcity of jobs for laborers. But one must also consider technology and nature of work. Most any job in the US that is as simple and repetitive as bricklaying is going to be done with technology. And when jobs are not simple and repetitive, it's much more difficult to practice them well enough to put on the kind of performance you see in the video above.

And professional jobs... they are a whole different issue. I have thoughts on that too but this post is already too long.

[Huck Finn]

What a grind. This clip is from the series Human Planet, i recommend it.

[scotian]

(03-01-2013 02:19 PM)kosko Wrote:  

(03-01-2013 01:01 PM)WestIndianArchie Wrote:  

Not seeing the vid on the board, but it shows up in the rss feed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkVSWxuhIfg

Americans work more hours per year than the rest of the developed world, and arguably they have much less to show for it, as individual workers.

But the American workforce is also the most inefficient.

Aren't American more productive than Canadians? I seem to recall reading this before and its a major issue for Canadian businesses.