Make Your Damn Bed

Humans will always focus on the easiest path towards positive feedback (or avoiding negative feedback). We love a little treat. If we're not careful (and we forget the human element), we will get so focused on the reward that we will forget the reason why we started the reward program in the first place. Sometimes our emotional world's and subjective experiences are what make us MORE reliable, not less.The focus on getting a high score actually distorts what we're scoring. The problem is not measurement, but a fixation on it. This is why teachers teach to a test, or why cops create fake crime accusations to meet quotas, or why doctors reject patients who need the most care. Quality quickly falls to the wayside to quantity, which is often a bad thing. More examples: The cobra effect, the Hanoi rat problem, the broken dinosaur bone problem, tax refunds for carbon credits, "bug bounties" for programmers, rage bait being "engagement" on social media, banks selling loans to meet quotas, The McNamara Strategy", "No child left behind", are all examples of well intentioned incentive programs being distorted to meet metrics over spirit."When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure." - Goodhart’s LawThe sources:Jerry Z. Muller's The Tyranny of Metrics. https://danielmiessler.com/blog/how-to-create-bad-metrics-incentivize-wrong-behaviorsGrading is ineffective (Medium Post) (YouTube) Can Metrics Destroy Societies?Well's Fargo Scandal Other important stuff: Support the BDS movement.organize clothing swaps with your friends.Get free resources from Annas Archive.Join your local DSABecome a READING PARTNERRead Julie's Medium Blog.Support JULIE (and the show!)Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTune in on INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE or TIKTOK.Info on War Tax Resistance.Donate to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and the Sudan Relief FundThe opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Sometimes our emotional world's and subjective experiences are what make us MORE reliable, not less.The focus on getting a high score actually distorts what we're scoring. The problem is not measurement, but a fixation on it"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure." - Goodhart’s LawThis is why teachers teach to a test, or why cops create fake crime accusations to meet quotas, or why doctors reject patients who need the most care. The cobra effect, the Hanoi rat problem, the broken dinosaur bone problem, tax refunds for carbon credits, "bug bounties" for programmers, rage bait being "engagement" on social media, banks selling loans to meet quotas, The McNamara Strategy", "No child left behind", are all examples of well intentioned incentive programs being distorted to meet metrics over spirit. Quality quickly falls to the wayside to quantity, which is often a bad thing. The sources:Jerry Z. Muller's The Tyranny of Metrics. https://danielmiessler.com/blog/how-to-create-bad-metrics-incentivize-wrong-behaviorsGrading is ineffective (Medium Post) (YouTube) Can Metrics Destroy Societies?Well's Fargo Scandal Other important stuff: Support the BDS movement.organize clothing swaps with your friends.Get free resources from Annas Archive.Join your local DSABecome a READING PARTNERRead Julie's Medium Blog.Support JULIE (and the show!)Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTune in on INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE or TIKTOK.Info on War Tax Resistance.Donate to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and the Sudan Relief FundThe opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

The focus on getting a high score actually distorts what we're scoring. The problem is not measurement, but a fixation on it"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure." - Goodhart’s LawThe sources:Jerry Z. Muller's The Tyranny of Metrics. Grading is ineffective (Medium Post) (YouTube) Can Metrics Destroy Societies?Well's Fargo Scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_TaylorismMore Perfect Union's expose on spyware at work.Ronan Farrow's "Bossware" video Other important stuff: Support the BDS movement.organize clothing swaps with your friends.Get free resources from Annas Archive.Join your local DSABecome a READING PARTNERRead Julie's Medium Blog.Support JULIE (and the show!)Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTune in on INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE or TIKTOK.Info on War Tax Resistance.Donate to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and the Sudan Relief FundThe opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure." - Goodhart’s LawWe're not cogs in a machine. We are so much more than that. When we put all the emphasis on metrics (the way we measure shit) we lose sight of what we're trying to produce and instead we focus on scoring well.The sources:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_TaylorismMore Perfect Union's expose on spyware at work.Ronan Farrow's "Bossware" video https://slack.green/en/blog/what-is-bosswarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_monitoring_softwareOther important stuff: Support the BDS movement.organize clothing swaps with your friends.Get free resources from Annas Archive.Join your local DSABecome a READING PARTNERRead Julie's Medium Blog.Support JULIE (and the show!)Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTune in on INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE or TIKTOK.Info on War Tax Resistance.Donate to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and the Sudan Relief FundThe opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

According to Ronan Farrow, over 70% of employers use some form of digital monitoring. They rank you against your coworkers and flag you if they deem you as unproductive. They track your locations even when you’re off of work. They are constantly sharing your data with third parties. They analyze your voice and facial expressions to build a behavioral profile and flag you as “employable” based on your fucking voice. It flags if your mood changes. CVS, McDonald’s, Amazon, etc. all use this tech. But so do major hospitals and police departments. This data is being collected in malicious ways and in ways that would surprise you. They track your menstrual cycle. They track your voting habits. They track every single little thing. And they are never using it to give you a raise or offer you a more enjoyable job. They only use this data to blackmail you into more work, or to fire you completely because they flag you as incompatible with the company culture. So what do we do?Never cross streams. Keep personal devices separate from work devices. Never assume your company laptop isn’t watching the fuck out of you even when it’s off. Even if your phone is turned off, they’re tracking you. Use a VPN. Treat any company device as if the camera and microphone are always on. Never install a company app on your personal phone. Keep your own log of all of your accomplishments at work, even the small ones. And check your state laws. If your state requires your employer to disclose monitoring, see what your company reveals in the employee handbook. Talk to your union, if you’re in one. Your data is being used against you to keep you productive but this is a form of coercive control. You have to give up your privacy or you give up your ability to make a living. It’s our jobs to push back NOW, while we still can. Fight for transparency. Knowing is half the battle. The sources: More Perfect Union's expose on spyware at work. Ronan Farrow's "Bossware" video https://slack.green/en/blog/what-is-bosswarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_monitoring_softwareOther important stuff: Support the BDS movement.organize clothing swaps with your friends.Get free resources from Annas Archive.Join your local DSABecome a READING PARTNERRead Julie's Medium Blog.Support JULIE (and the show!)Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTune in on INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE or TIKTOK.Info on War Tax Resistance.Donate to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and the Sudan Relief FundThe opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

"Every product is a bait with which to seduce away the other’s very being, his money; every real and possible need is a weakness which will lead the fly to the glue-pot." - Karl Marx, Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844The Sources:Marx's writing: Human Requirements and Division of Labour Under the Rule of Private PropertyMarx's Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_MarxYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJV6Fl3E56c&t=322sOther important stuff: Support the BDS movement.organize clothing swaps with your friends.Get free resources from Annas Archive.Join your local DSABecome a READING PARTNERRead Julie's Medium Blog.Support JULIE (and the show!)Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTune in on INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE or TIKTOK.Info on War Tax Resistance.Donate to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and the Sudan Relief FundThe opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Today is a re-release of an old episode, I'll be back Monday with the follow up to the Karl Marx series. The inequality crisis is obscene and violent. You cannot be an ethical billionaire. It's time we stop supporting them, in any way we can.Support the BDS movement.organize clothing swaps with your friends.Get free resources from Annas Archive.Join your local DSABecome a READING PARTNERRead Julie's Medium Blog.Support JULIE (and the show!)Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTune in on INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE or TIKTOK.Info on War Tax Resistance.Donate to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and the Sudan Relief FundThe opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Today is a re-release of an old episode, I'll be back Monday with the follow up to the Karl Marx series. The inequality crisis is obscene and violent. You cannot be an ethical billionaire. It's time we stop supporting them, in any way we can. Support the BDS movement.organize clothing swaps with your friends.Get free resources from Annas Archive.Join your local DSABecome a READING PARTNERRead Julie's Medium Blog.Support JULIE (and the show!)Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTune in on INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE or TIKTOK.Info on War Tax Resistance.Donate to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and the Sudan Relief FundThe opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

"Every product is a bait with which to seduce away the other’s very being, his money; every real and possible need is a weakness which will lead the fly to the glue-pot." - Karl Marx, Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844"The need for money is therefore the true need produced by the economic system, and it is the only need which the latter produces. The quantity of money becomes to an ever greater degree its sole effective quality. Just as it reduces everything to its abstract form, so it reduces itself in the course of its own movement to quantitative being. Excess and intemperance come to be its true norm." - Karl Marx, Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844Machinery is used by capitalists, not to lighten human toil, but to extract more surplus-value, intensify the pace of work, lengthen the work day. The Sources:Marx's writing: Human Requirements and Division of Labour Under the Rule of Private PropertyMarx's Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_MarxYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJV6Fl3E56c&t=322sOther important stuff: Support the BDS movement.organize clothing swaps with your friends.Get free resources from Annas Archive.Join your local DSABecome a READING PARTNERRead Julie's Medium Blog.Support JULIE (and the show!)Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTune in on INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE or TIKTOK.Info on War Tax Resistance.Donate to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and the Sudan Relief FundThe opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.