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I can't say I've ever had a problem trying something so easy as a new soda. In fact, I've switched sodas a lot for various reasons including taste, often tryin

I can't say I've ever had a problem trying something so easy as a new soda. In fact, I've switched sodas a lot for various reasons including taste, often trying new ones when they come out. I thought this article would be about learning new skills like art or programming, which I actually do find hard to get into. For those, I know why it's so hard: I'm so good at the things I do daily that new things are quite painful to see how much I fail at them. I end up just going back to the stuff I'm good at instead.

duopixel 9y ago
What about things that you've never tried, and that you might not even know that you like? You've already climbed the difficulty curve of programming in X, so you don't want to put so much effort in getting to the same level with Y. You're putting in a lot of effort to reach the same spot. The author (as an economist, I suspect) equates new experience with consumption, but there is a huge range of new experience available if you do away with the frustration of trying to find something better than you currently do. Say, experimenting a range of sports (rock climbing, hiking, weight lifting, skateboarding) as act of knowledge rather than attaching to the results it gives. It seems rational that there is more benefit in new experience, good or bad than repeating pleasant experience. Going to a new travel destination will give you more memories and anecdotes than going to your favorite vacation spot. And yet we're all a little bit coward and tend to stay in our comfort zone.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- wccrawford 9y ago
  That's a good question. I find them especially taxing because I tend to be a thorough person, so I tend to look for tutorials and watch them first. If it's something that doesn't really lend itself to a technical explanation (art!) then it really just mystifies me and I have trouble even starting. For example, my wife and her sister went to one of those wine-and-painting things and produced what I think are actually pretty good paintings with no real practice beforehand. It horrifies me because I know I'll want it to be better than it is. (And my wife felt that way about hers, despite how I felt about hers.) So I haven't done it. I did, however, buy a book and art supplies and do 3 of the 50 projects before wandering off to something else. I really do intend to go back to it, but haven't.
DarkTree 9y ago
I agree with your last sentence. Furthering that point, I'm inspired to get into something because I've seen someone be really good at it. I would think most people who want to learn guitar do so not because they've never played a guitar, but because they've listened to someone like Jimi Hendrix and immediately want to perform like that.
- mikestew 9y ago
  The relatives of Jimi Hendrix have mentioned how l’il James would “spend hours playing scales”. People want to play like Jimi, but forget (or don’t know) how he went from James to Jimi. “He was talented”, thereby excusing themselves of the hard work it takes not to suck. Jimi might have been born with a little of it, but I’ll bet hard work made up the majority of his “talent”. Point is, of the things I’m good at, none of them was something I was just born doing well at. Some things come easier than others, but none come naturally. I’ve worked hard at everything I’m good at (even if it was so much fun it didn’t seem like work) , and I just assume the next thing I try will take just as much work. So don’t get frustrated, just assume if it’s worth learning then it will take effort. Otherwise everyone would do it. :-)
  - sincerely 9y ago
    I think i'm going to have to disagree. For every Jimi Hendrix, there are hundreds if not thousands of people who put in the work and end up as uncredited studio musicians or releasing albums on bandcamp that only get bought as ratio buffer for someone on a private tracker.
    - mikestew 9y ago
      No disagreement, as you’re looking at the business end, upon which talent and hard work often have little bearing. I think that people who buy a guitar want to play like Hendrix, not headline stadium tours. And that’s what I’m talking about: if you want get good on an instrument, you’re going to have to pick it up and do the grunt work. If you want to get good at the music business, as you imply, well that’s another discussion entirely.
randomdata 9y ago
I have noticed that loss aversion often takes over for me. If I have the choice of doing what I know I enjoy or trying something new, which may not provide me any enjoyment, then the option that I know I will enjoy wins. It is not that trying something new is hard, but feeling like I missed out on the thing I do enjoy is. Same reason I feel more comfortable keeping $100 in my pocket than giving up the $100 for a chance to recieve $1,000 in return. If you consider soda to be a special treat and are looking forward to the Coke to fulfill that special treat, I can completely understand why it would be difficult to reach for the off-brand version instead. Granted, if you're crusing a six-pack of soda every night, where you can throw an off-brand sample in the middle and can quickly fall back to old faithful if it falls short, I understand it less.
ahussain 9y ago
And second, I can often see how much energy it would take to get good at the new thing, and knowing that I won't be able to put in that energy, it's better to not start in the first place.
- chii 9y ago
  it's interesting that this mind set is so common. i see it in myself too. fear of failure, plus equating success with being as good or better than the equivalent level of your current profession, means that you never end up starting. i really want to change that : and perhaps it's hubris at its root that need fixing.

duopixel 9y ago

What about things that you've never tried, and that you might not even know that you like? You've already climbed the difficulty curve of programming in X, so you don't want to put so much effort in getting to the same level with Y. You're putting in a lot of effort to reach the same spot. The author (as an economist, I suspect) equates new experience with consumption, but there is a huge range of new experience available if you do away with the frustration of trying to find something better than you currently do. Say, experimenting a range of sports (rock climbing, hiking, weight lifting, skateboarding) as act of knowledge rather than attaching to the results it gives. It seems rational that there is more benefit in new experience, good or bad than repeating pleasant experience. Going to a new travel destination will give you more memories and anecdotes than going to your favorite vacation spot. And yet we're all a little bit coward and tend to stay in our comfort zone.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
wccrawford 9y ago
That's a good question. I find them especially taxing because I tend to be a thorough person, so I tend to look for tutorials and watch them first. If it's something that doesn't really lend itself to a technical explanation (art!) then it really just mystifies me and I have trouble even starting. For example, my wife and her sister went to one of those wine-and-painting things and produced what I think are actually pretty good paintings with no real practice beforehand. It horrifies me because I know I'll want it to be better than it is. (And my wife felt that way about hers, despite how I felt about hers.) So I haven't done it. I did, however, buy a book and art supplies and do 3 of the 50 projects before wandering off to something else. I really do intend to go back to it, but haven't.

DarkTree 9y ago

I agree with your last sentence. Furthering that point, I'm inspired to get into something because I've seen someone be really good at it. I would think most people who want to learn guitar do so not because they've never played a guitar, but because they've listened to someone like Jimi Hendrix and immediately want to perform like that.

mikestew 9y ago
The relatives of Jimi Hendrix have mentioned how l’il James would “spend hours playing scales”. People want to play like Jimi, but forget (or don’t know) how he went from James to Jimi. “He was talented”, thereby excusing themselves of the hard work it takes not to suck. Jimi might have been born with a little of it, but I’ll bet hard work made up the majority of his “talent”. Point is, of the things I’m good at, none of them was something I was just born doing well at. Some things come easier than others, but none come naturally. I’ve worked hard at everything I’m good at (even if it was so much fun it didn’t seem like work) , and I just assume the next thing I try will take just as much work. So don’t get frustrated, just assume if it’s worth learning then it will take effort. Otherwise everyone would do it. :-)
- sincerely 9y ago
  I think i'm going to have to disagree. For every Jimi Hendrix, there are hundreds if not thousands of people who put in the work and end up as uncredited studio musicians or releasing albums on bandcamp that only get bought as ratio buffer for someone on a private tracker.
  - mikestew 9y ago
    No disagreement, as you’re looking at the business end, upon which talent and hard work often have little bearing. I think that people who buy a guitar want to play like Hendrix, not headline stadium tours. And that’s what I’m talking about: if you want get good on an instrument, you’re going to have to pick it up and do the grunt work. If you want to get good at the music business, as you imply, well that’s another discussion entirely.

randomdata 9y ago

I have noticed that loss aversion often takes over for me. If I have the choice of doing what I know I enjoy or trying something new, which may not provide me any enjoyment, then the option that I know I will enjoy wins. It is not that trying something new is hard, but feeling like I missed out on the thing I do enjoy is. Same reason I feel more comfortable keeping $100 in my pocket than giving up the $100 for a chance to recieve $1,000 in return. If you consider soda to be a special treat and are looking forward to the Coke to fulfill that special treat, I can completely understand why it would be difficult to reach for the off-brand version instead. Granted, if you're crusing a six-pack of soda every night, where you can throw an off-brand sample in the middle and can quickly fall back to old faithful if it falls short, I understand it less.

ahussain 9y ago

And second, I can often see how much energy it would take to get good at the new thing, and knowing that I won't be able to put in that energy, it's better to not start in the first place.

chii 9y ago
it's interesting that this mind set is so common. i see it in myself too. fear of failure, plus equating success with being as good or better than the equivalent level of your current profession, means that you never end up starting. i really want to change that : and perhaps it's hubris at its root that need fixing.