Addy Osmani's Ode to AI: O'Reilly Books and Dubious Humblebrags
Software Engineering Tips from O'Reilly Books | Addy Osmani posted on the topic | LinkedIn
Verdict
'Outcomes > Output' is presented as a wisdom nugget, yet it’s about as enlightening as saying 'Breathing > Not Breathing.' It reeks of empty profundity. Then, there's the flex cloaked in gratitude—'A huge thank you to the team at O'Reilly'—which nods more to self-promotion than genuine humility. The performative humility axis is cranked up to 11 here. But the pièce de résistance has to be the wall-to-wall self-promo: three O'Reilly books packed with lessons that suspiciously resemble thinly-veiled advertisements for his speaking circuit. Each 'tip' is conveniently extracted from his latest tomes, linking back like breadcrumbs leading you to a commercial trap. Yet somehow, he’s managed to convince us all that buying them is a favor we owe him. Bravo!
The author thanks O'Reilly and others, but it feels more like a subtle flex than genuine humility.
The post leans heavily on the author's books to lend credibility without concrete external validation.
'Outcomes > Output' is framed as a profound insight but lacks actionable depth.
There’s consistency between the message of effective engineering and promoting his own work.
The entire post serves as a promotional vehicle for the author's books with multiple links and calls to action.
'AI is changing how we build' is a generic statement that doesn’t add much originality.