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It's funny, a lot of my imposter syndrome comes from an anxiety about not having massive "deltas of novelty", as PG would call it. I guess all I can do now is

It's funny, a lot of my imposter syndrome comes from an anxiety about not having massive "deltas of novelty", as PG would call it. I guess all I can do now is hope that whoever is listening can see the value in incremental change :)

ismail 9y ago
Same here, you constantly wonder if what your thinking is truly unique. I believe the key is figuring out when your view is unique. What I have been doing is asking people questions on their view of a problem or something I am thinking about and looking at the deltas there. I have not thought about it with the term delta. Maybe looking for deltas would be another addition to the toolkit when searching for insights. I prefer to use the term contradictions. Sometimes that leads you to further insights.
- heavenlyblue 9y ago
  And you spend most of your life trying to prove how special you are, instead of productively producing things and playing with the world that is also shaping them? People tend to forget that ideas are worth nothing. It's not that hard to build a model of the world which would be parametrisable for any possible outcome. Then those parameters would be defined by your experience, which requires you to get out of your mind and earn on the outside.
  - ismail 9y ago
    It seems my comment was not precise enough. The result is the following assumptions being made: 1. The thinking/insight/ideas is in pursuit of proving my own special nature 2. The thinking/insights/ideas are purely theories and have no practical application Notice that the word "problem" was used. What is meant here an actual problem that I am trying to solve with actual practical implications. Let me clarify what I mean, using concrete examples: In product development/startups/business space: "My customers are telling me their problem is X, but what they are doing or how they are doing it is Contradictory. Why is this?" "Two customers have completely different and contradictory views on what feature/problem is important to them, why is this?" The actual purpose is to understand your customer better so you can cater for what they actually need. This part is confusing, can you clarify what you mean: "Then those parameters would be defined by your experience, which requires you to get out of your mind and earn on the outside"
- quuquuquu 9y ago
  Thanks for writing :) Right now I would say that I have some insights that I feel are really unique and interesting, at least to me, and maybe a few friends. However, they aren't monetizable to fans or marketable to employers. This has been fairly evident to me after a year of youtubing and twittering and twitching and etc. So, even though I enjoy it, I really start to question if my ideas are actually that great, or if the addressable market is just not very large. Good luck !!! :)
heavenlyblue 9y ago
Most probably your impostor syndrome comes from an anxiety. That's it. There's nothing more to it. It's unhealthy. Stop being anxious, go out in the world and see what your ideas are worth. - Capitalism would define their value on how much you'd earn from these ideas. - Writers would value them based on how many readers buy your books. - Developers would value them based on how many contributors your open-source projects has. - Or die and keep your diary and maybe in 50 years you will turn out to be the genius who saw the future. But still - none of that absolutely requires anyone to be anxious.
- zimpenfish 9y ago
  > Stop being anxious Oh thank god, now I'm cured! That's all I needed! /s
  - quuquuquu 9y ago
    Reminds me of Coach McGuirk from Home Movies when he has insomnia. "Oh, you mean all I need to do to fall asleep, is just close my eyes and go to sleep?!" In all seriousness, I mean, who doesn't have anxiety, right? If someone broke into your house, you'd start feeling anxious. I focus on building things, on going outside and being happy. And yet people still don't buy my product or offer me a job ^.^ If that doesn't make anyone start wondering what might be wrong, then I'd like to know more.
    - Danihan 9y ago
      >If someone broke into your house, you'd start feeling anxious. I'd start feeling murderous.
      - quuquuquu 9y ago
        In some jurisdictions, that will get you jailed, whether right or wrong :) Namely NYC and Boston, especially if you are using a gun.
        9y ago

ismail 9y ago

Same here, you constantly wonder if what your thinking is truly unique. I believe the key is figuring out when your view is unique. What I have been doing is asking people questions on their view of a problem or something I am thinking about and looking at the deltas there. I have not thought about it with the term delta. Maybe looking for deltas would be another addition to the toolkit when searching for insights. I prefer to use the term contradictions. Sometimes that leads you to further insights.

heavenlyblue 9y ago
And you spend most of your life trying to prove how special you are, instead of productively producing things and playing with the world that is also shaping them? People tend to forget that ideas are worth nothing. It's not that hard to build a model of the world which would be parametrisable for any possible outcome. Then those parameters would be defined by your experience, which requires you to get out of your mind and earn on the outside.
- ismail 9y ago
  It seems my comment was not precise enough. The result is the following assumptions being made: 1. The thinking/insight/ideas is in pursuit of proving my own special nature 2. The thinking/insights/ideas are purely theories and have no practical application Notice that the word "problem" was used. What is meant here an actual problem that I am trying to solve with actual practical implications. Let me clarify what I mean, using concrete examples: In product development/startups/business space: "My customers are telling me their problem is X, but what they are doing or how they are doing it is Contradictory. Why is this?" "Two customers have completely different and contradictory views on what feature/problem is important to them, why is this?" The actual purpose is to understand your customer better so you can cater for what they actually need. This part is confusing, can you clarify what you mean: "Then those parameters would be defined by your experience, which requires you to get out of your mind and earn on the outside"
quuquuquu 9y ago
Thanks for writing :) Right now I would say that I have some insights that I feel are really unique and interesting, at least to me, and maybe a few friends. However, they aren't monetizable to fans or marketable to employers. This has been fairly evident to me after a year of youtubing and twittering and twitching and etc. So, even though I enjoy it, I really start to question if my ideas are actually that great, or if the addressable market is just not very large. Good luck !!! :)

heavenlyblue 9y ago

Most probably your impostor syndrome comes from an anxiety. That's it. There's nothing more to it. It's unhealthy. Stop being anxious, go out in the world and see what your ideas are worth. - Capitalism would define their value on how much you'd earn from these ideas. - Writers would value them based on how many readers buy your books. - Developers would value them based on how many contributors your open-source projects has. - Or die and keep your diary and maybe in 50 years you will turn out to be the genius who saw the future. But still - none of that absolutely requires anyone to be anxious.

zimpenfish 9y ago
> Stop being anxious Oh thank god, now I'm cured! That's all I needed! /s
- quuquuquu 9y ago
  Reminds me of Coach McGuirk from Home Movies when he has insomnia. "Oh, you mean all I need to do to fall asleep, is just close my eyes and go to sleep?!" In all seriousness, I mean, who doesn't have anxiety, right? If someone broke into your house, you'd start feeling anxious. I focus on building things, on going outside and being happy. And yet people still don't buy my product or offer me a job ^.^ If that doesn't make anyone start wondering what might be wrong, then I'd like to know more.
  - Danihan 9y ago
    >If someone broke into your house, you'd start feeling anxious. I'd start feeling murderous.
    - quuquuquu 9y ago
      In some jurisdictions, that will get you jailed, whether right or wrong :) Namely NYC and Boston, especially if you are using a gun.
      - 9y ago