Siddhant Somani

All things (software) engineering

[Work Chronicles @_workchronicles]

(comic) Temporary fix

[DHH @dhh]

You can’t outwork the whole world. There’s always going to be someone somewhere willing to work as hard as you. Someone just as hungry. Or hungrier.

Assuming you can work harder and longer than someone else is giving yourself too much credit for your effort and not enough for theirs. Putting in 1,001 hours to someone else’s 1,000 isn’t going to tip the scale in your favor.

What’s worse is when management holds up certain people as having a great “work ethic” because they’re always around, always available, always working. That’s a terrible example of a work ethic and a great example of someone who’s overworked.

A great work ethic isn’t about working whenever you’re called upon. It’s about doing what you say you’re going to do, putting in a fair day’s work, respecting the work, respecting the customer, respecting coworkers, not wasting time, not creating unnecessary work for other people, and not being a bottleneck. Work ethic is about being a fundamentally good person that others can count on and enjoy working with.

So how do people get ahead if it’s not about outworking everyone else?

People make it because they’re talented, they’re lucky, they’re in the right place at the right time, they know how to work with other people, they know how to sell an idea, they know what moves people, they can tell a story, they know which details matter and which don’t, they can see the big and small pictures in every situation, and they know how to do something with an opportunity. And for so many other reasons.

So get the outwork myth out of your head. Stop equating work ethic with excessive work hours. Neither is going to get you ahead or help you find calm.

[The Outwork Myth — It Doesn't Have To Be Crazy At Work, 2018]

[Siddhant Somani @somani]

@deedydas Great job + write-up @ni5arga!

As a software engineer from India, it makes me happy to see talented folks like you exploring and building on the side instead of just grinding the exam rat-race. Keep it up! 👏

[Siddhant Somani @somani]

Whenever I realize I'm fuzzy on a concept, I go on a walk with Grok voice (use your favorite model here). It's like having an expert at your beck and call.
The other day I was curious about app attestations. Had no idea what they were. Went for a 30-min walk, and by the end I had a solid mental model.
Hey Grok — I came across this thing at work called App Attestation. Why do we need it? … Sorry, can you repeat that? And explain it with an analogy this time. … What's a Secure Enclave? What does it mean that the key never leaves the hardware? Why do I need a secure hardware layer to generate a key pair in the first place? … Why is it so important that the key never leaves the hardware? … Why doesn't Android do it the same way? Surely they're capable enough (lol). …
Grok doesn't judge your grammar, or care if you ask the same question five different ways. You just keep poking at the topic until the What / Why / How clicks.
Next time you have to build something you've never heard of before (happens a lot at xAI), go on a walk with your favorite model. Other models work fine too, but Grok voice is the one I've actually used. What's important is to build understanding.
Get your steps in, feel smart by the end. 10/10 recommend :P

[Ben Dicken @BenjDicken]

Work with people more talented than yourself.

Personally, this is a big unlock for two reasons:

1. I learn so much from my colleagues every day.

2. Highly motivating to not suck. I don't want to let the team down.

[Siddhant Somani @somani]

Give it a shot!

[xAI @xai]

You can now use your @grok subscription inside @NousResearch Hermes Agent.

https://t.co/UYKGws8zzH

[xAI @xai]

An early beta of Grok Build, an agentic CLI for coding, building apps, and automating workflows is now available for SuperGrok Heavy subscribers.

Through this early beta, we will improve the model and product based on your feedback.

Try it at https://t.co/bpTHpjivWD

[Tyler Storm @tstorm]

We are taking another small step today towards making Grok truly useful.

For him to succeed he must exist in an environment where success is in the set of possible outcomes.

The team is working to provide him access to same tools, context, and signals that we have in our lives.

[Eric Jiang @veggie_eric]

One of the xAI API's most underrated features is our Voice API (which includes text-to-speech and voice agents).

We're giving all developers access to literally the same tech that powers experiences like Grok in Tesla.

https://t.co/ZyX78D2KMP

[Design @Design]

Fresh canvas.

[Siddhant Somani @somani]

@AnjneyMidha @CS153Systems @matiii @ElevenLabs I watched your first lecture yesterday, and I haven't seen someone genuinely tear up like that while teaching a class!
FWIW - that unintentional act earned you the appreciation of a random guy on the internet.
Just wanted to put this out there.

[Siddhant Somani @somani]

@clattner_llvm @LLVMFoundation Great job @malhar1995 !

[Grok @grok]

Bedtime with Grok Voice ✨

Let Grok create a magical story and spin it however your kids want.

"Make the bear a pirate!"

Try the "Kids Story Time" personality tonight in Grok Voice.

[Siddhant Somani @somani]

@rayhotate @sunderls @datvu_7 @yuki_arano @DeepanshuGautam Excellent work Ray! 👑

[Grok @grok]

When one brain isn't enough, switch to Grok 4.20.

Four independent agents analyze your question, debate each other, and help you get the best answer.

Available now to SuperGrok and Premium+ subscribers globally.

[Siddhant Somani @somani]

@NotionHQ Bigger than AGI.

[Siddhant Somani @somani]

@TobyPhln @xai @elonmusk You'll be missed Toby! Your custom memes even more so!

[Thorsten Ball @thorstenball]

me, 10 years ago: plz let me work on distributed systems!

now: oh god please keep it one process one machine for as long as you can

[Siddhant Somani @somani]

@zacjohnson @Citrini7 @grok what’s the best way to hedge one’s investment portfolio for such a scenario?

[Xiaobin Wu @xiaobinwu]

must be doing something good