11 ms·

Well, that's simply unacceptable to me. A stable six-figure job is failure. If I'm fated to try and fail for the rest of my life to break into the 1 in 10,000,

by Jimmy 10y ago

Well, that's simply unacceptable to me. A stable six-figure job is failure. If I'm fated to try and fail for the rest of my life to break into the 1 in 10,000, then so be it.

exelius 10y ago
I think the idea is that the 1-in-10,000 in this context is that it's not something you can "break into"; you're either born gifted or you're not. It's really hard for our generation to accept that some people really are born "better" -- which is exactly why the article mentions the education system now focuses on bringing up lower performers rather than identifying and accelerating gifted students.
- Jimmy 10y ago
  I'm a strong believer in the idea that some people are born better, you don't have to convince me. The extent of my abilities is still unknown to me. I know what I want to achieve and I will continue trying to achieve it until I succeed or I am dead. To accept anything less is equivalent to death.
  - csallen 10y ago
    May I ask how old you are? And what you're trying to achieve?
    - Jimmy 10y ago
      I'm 24. My goal is to be one of the most influential video game designers of this century. I may not be considered the absolute greatest (rankings like that are very fickle anyway, and never universally agreed upon, even in the sciences). But I do want my works to be considered necessary for any future survey of the major works of this period.
      - criddell 10y ago
        > My goal is to be one of the most influential video game designers of this century. Shouldn't your goal be to make great games? Otherwise, aren't you striving for a goal defined by other people? For goals like yours, politics and personality can matter as much as the work itself. If you are enjoying the journey you are on, then go for it (and I hope you are spending as much time on your social network as you are on games). Otherwise, I'd urge you to consider the opportunity costs of a narrow, intense focus.
        Jimmy 10y ago
        >Shouldn't your goal to be to make great games? That was an implied sub-goal. The verification criteria I gave was merely to illustrate what the concrete results of my endeavors might look like. If I said flatly "I want to make great games," then someone might reasonably respond "how do you know you're succeeding?" >For goals like yours, politics and personality can matter as much as the work itself. This is quite true. But Paul Graham has a great quote which I think might be applicable here: "Everyone in the sciences secretly believes that mathematicians are smarter than they are... And so there is a great temptation to work on problems you can treat formally, rather than problems that are, say, important."
        criddell 10y ago
        > That was an implied sub-goal. Being influential and making something great aren't necessarily linked. In music, for example, lots of musicians I adore list Captain Beefheart as an influence. Captain Beefheart never really achieved much commercial success. I don't like his stuff at all. Anyway, I sincerely hope that your work towards making something great is enjoyable or at least doesn't consume all of your time. Life is short and there's more things worth experiencing than we have time for.
      - soared 10y ago
        Well... you talk about video games as if they are a high art. You might be in for more than one wake up call in the near future.
  - TheHideout 10y ago
    Aut Vincere Aut Mori, Ad Victoriam Aeternam - Conquer or Die, to Eternal Victory This is the kind of guy I want on my team.
eli_gottlieb 10y ago
Stop focusing on being special and actually dedicate yourself to something real.
- Jimmy 10y ago
  I have an extremely specific set of projects I want to implement.
rb808 10y ago
>A stable six-figure job is failure. If you look at the study, only a quarter of the gifted students made it to the 95% income percentile. Being a Genius doesn't make you rich or happy or give you a satisfaction. It makes it more likely you'll have a PhD & produce academic papers.
- srtjstjsj 10y ago
  A lot of them are earning low wages because they have PhD and are professors
- xyzzyz 10y ago
  To get to 95% income percentile, you need to earn at least $190k a year. I'd be very interested in seeing how many gifted students don't reach, say, 75% percentile, which is around $90k a year, and why.
  - kajjffkk 10y ago
    Smart people dont need to grind their life away to brag to their peers about their middle class income. Hopefully for all of us, theyre doing something more innovative for society, no matter how long it takes.

by Jimmy 10y ago

Well, that's simply unacceptable to me. A stable six-figure job is failure. If I'm fated to try and fail for the rest of my life to break into the 1 in 10,000, then so be it.

exelius 10y ago

I think the idea is that the 1-in-10,000 in this context is that it's not something you can "break into"; you're either born gifted or you're not. It's really hard for our generation to accept that some people really are born "better" -- which is exactly why the article mentions the education system now focuses on bringing up lower performers rather than identifying and accelerating gifted students.

Jimmy 10y ago
I'm a strong believer in the idea that some people are born better, you don't have to convince me. The extent of my abilities is still unknown to me. I know what I want to achieve and I will continue trying to achieve it until I succeed or I am dead. To accept anything less is equivalent to death.
- csallen 10y ago
  May I ask how old you are? And what you're trying to achieve?
  - Jimmy 10y ago
    I'm 24. My goal is to be one of the most influential video game designers of this century. I may not be considered the absolute greatest (rankings like that are very fickle anyway, and never universally agreed upon, even in the sciences). But I do want my works to be considered necessary for any future survey of the major works of this period.
    - criddell 10y ago
      > My goal is to be one of the most influential video game designers of this century. Shouldn't your goal be to make great games? Otherwise, aren't you striving for a goal defined by other people? For goals like yours, politics and personality can matter as much as the work itself. If you are enjoying the journey you are on, then go for it (and I hope you are spending as much time on your social network as you are on games). Otherwise, I'd urge you to consider the opportunity costs of a narrow, intense focus.
      - Jimmy 10y ago
        >Shouldn't your goal to be to make great games? That was an implied sub-goal. The verification criteria I gave was merely to illustrate what the concrete results of my endeavors might look like. If I said flatly "I want to make great games," then someone might reasonably respond "how do you know you're succeeding?" >For goals like yours, politics and personality can matter as much as the work itself. This is quite true. But Paul Graham has a great quote which I think might be applicable here: "Everyone in the sciences secretly believes that mathematicians are smarter than they are... And so there is a great temptation to work on problems you can treat formally, rather than problems that are, say, important."
        criddell 10y ago
        > That was an implied sub-goal. Being influential and making something great aren't necessarily linked. In music, for example, lots of musicians I adore list Captain Beefheart as an influence. Captain Beefheart never really achieved much commercial success. I don't like his stuff at all. Anyway, I sincerely hope that your work towards making something great is enjoyable or at least doesn't consume all of your time. Life is short and there's more things worth experiencing than we have time for.
    - soared 10y ago
      Well... you talk about video games as if they are a high art. You might be in for more than one wake up call in the near future.
- TheHideout 10y ago
  Aut Vincere Aut Mori, Ad Victoriam Aeternam - Conquer or Die, to Eternal Victory This is the kind of guy I want on my team.

eli_gottlieb 10y ago

Stop focusing on being special and actually dedicate yourself to something real.

Jimmy 10y ago
I have an extremely specific set of projects I want to implement.

rb808 10y ago

>A stable six-figure job is failure. If you look at the study, only a quarter of the gifted students made it to the 95% income percentile. Being a Genius doesn't make you rich or happy or give you a satisfaction. It makes it more likely you'll have a PhD & produce academic papers.

srtjstjsj 10y ago
A lot of them are earning low wages because they have PhD and are professors
xyzzyz 10y ago
To get to 95% income percentile, you need to earn at least $190k a year. I'd be very interested in seeing how many gifted students don't reach, say, 75% percentile, which is around $90k a year, and why.
- kajjffkk 10y ago
  Smart people dont need to grind their life away to brag to their peers about their middle class income. Hopefully for all of us, theyre doing something more innovative for society, no matter how long it takes.