• @toynbee
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    713 months ago

    That sounds like the kind of thing that could easily, and perhaps should, be automated.

    • @[email protected]
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      443 months ago

      In which case, the job becomes transferring the bottled samples into sample tubes in trays so that the machine can process them, and usually adding a barcode to each sample tube. The sample tubes need to be kept immaculate as well - some of the things that we test water for, like pesticides, are only present in miniscule concentrations. Might not actually save a great deal of time, and you need to buy and maintain a very expensive automated sampler.

      When I used to work in the water industry, we were usually able to get PhD-qualified research chemists to do all this mind-numbing laboratory work. There’s a bit of a surplus of qualified chemists compared to the number of chemist jobs available, so you got absurdly over-qualified people applying for these roles.

      • @Frostbeard
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        3 months ago

        I specifically did not specialize in analytical chemistry because of this. It’s relatively easy to get a job, but it’s mind numbingly boring to do the same tests over and over and over.

        I did physical chemistry. No jobs but at least no one knows what the fuck you can do.

        (Incidentally I managed to get a job with energetic materials where my education is occasionally relevant)

    • @[email protected]
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      283 months ago

      I did automation work for a sewage treatment center that did regular water testing as part of treatment. Most of these kinds of jobs are automated for the most part. There’s always a human operator present to supervise and to do some small function that is still cheaper to have done manually instead of by machine.

      • @toynbee
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        143 months ago

        I am definitely in favor of human supervision of many automated tasks.

    • @[email protected]
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      43 months ago

      Thing is most of water testing can be automated. There are electronic meters that can measure most important water properties like pH, electrical resistivity, total dissolved solids, turbidity, etc, which only require calibration from time to time. I am not sure why OOP was hired for manually testing water.

    • @[email protected]
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      -453 months ago

      Why do that when you can provide jobs to the needy?

      Making people do work is inherently valuable even if it’s unnecessary, monotonous, pointless, soul crushing work, is it not?

        • @[email protected]
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          -123 months ago

          He was not wrong, reducing shovel size is a great way to even out productivity to include those who would be otherwise unemployed.

          • @spongebue
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            13 months ago

            That’s a false choice if I ever heard one. Surely reasonably-paced increases in productivity could spawn job creation in other areas? And while modern-day capitalism is not exactly encouraging this, maybe we can take advantage of less manpower needed to make society function by having less time working (with a similar quality of life) for all? If there were only so many employment hours available, there are ways of distributing that other than raising the unemployment rate or artificially lowering it.

        • @[email protected]
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          -363 months ago

          We can’t be feeding people who do no work. It is much better that they be put to it than have the task “solved” by some brainiac who would rob them of the fulfillment of employment.

          • @0laura
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            173 months ago

            I thought you were joking when I first read that

            • @[email protected]
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              -143 months ago

              I would not joke about this, these are the serious affairs of adult men and women, who could and should do their best to contribute to our civilization.

              Where would we be as a society if those who craft advertisements were instead free to to roam about doing as they please all day? I’ll be dead before we are a nation of aimless frolickers.

              • @[email protected]
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                53 months ago

                Aimless frolicking sounds like a great deal to me.

                Imagine how fit everyone would be if we could spend all day frolicking about instead of being at a desk 8+ hours a day.

                • @[email protected]
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                  33 months ago

                  Imagine all the science we could do if scientists didn’t have to worry about funding to stay alive.

                  • @[email protected]
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                    23 months ago

                    We would have a much better world to live in, and scientists wouldn’t be pressured to only study things that can be immediately monetized.

                    Have you ever heard of orphan diseases? They’re conditions that are so rare that it’s not profitable to research them and find cures/treatment because the population of people who need it is so small.

                    Some countries counter this by using government funding to research rare diseases but the progress is much slower since the funding is limited.

                • @[email protected]
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                  83 months ago

                  They are absolutely trolling. Check the examples they use in their comments: “advertisers” and another comment pointed to “Mobil game development” specifically as important and useful work.

                  Poes law at work with them, they’re pretty convincing that they are serious while still leaving little hints that they are messing around.

                  • @[email protected]
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                    53 months ago

                    Right? The “craft advertisements” was definitely the one that is for punctuation of their trolling but I’ll give it the downvotes they want.

          • @[email protected]
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            73 months ago

            We can’t be feeding people who do no work.

            But we could.

            who would rob them of the fulfillment of employment.

            A boring job isn’t fulfilling and mental underload leads to burnout.

            There’s exactly one reason to do work: getting living money. If you can make a living from your hobby or your job is otherwise fulfilling, that’s nice for you.

          • Angry_Autist (he/him)
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            03 months ago

            So what about the sick and the elderly? Do you want the kids working too?

      • @[email protected]
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        3 months ago

        You should get rid of your “work or die” mentality.

        We have plenty of resources. We don’t need it anymore.

        • Flax
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          13 months ago

          Aside you’d literally die if there is no work

        • @[email protected]
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          3 months ago

          Dear Tawk, I hope you’ll realize that we can not permit grown men to be like babes suckling their nation’s teet.

          They should rather be creative in their difficult situation, learn programming, contribute to the mobile gaming market. Make themselves useful.

          • @Aqarius
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            153 months ago

            Bait used to be believable.

            • @[email protected]
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              3 months ago

              Standards used to be higher because they had to be. I get to relax a little, shoot from the hip.

          • @Etterra
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            133 months ago

            Dude don’t be lying. Nobody who makes mobile games is being useful.

            • @[email protected]
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              -23 months ago

              I mean some mobile games are fun, just not all of them. If we removed the profit motive they could be a lot more fun probably.

              • @[email protected]
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                53 months ago

                No, there’s definitely a lot of professions that are completely pointless or even counterproductive.

                Receptionists, administrative assistants, door attendants, store greeters, lobbyists, corporate lawyers, telemarketers, public relations specialists, middle managers, literally every job in insurance. I could go on.