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The whole premise of the article is false dilemma. It's asking why "smart people" haven't solved "their own problems" when by definition "their own problems" ar

by bobbyi 16y ago

The whole premise of the article is false dilemma. It's asking why "smart people" haven't solved "their own problems" when by definition "their own problems" are whatever problems they haven't solved.

Natsu 16y ago
While what you say is true of the article, I have noticed that mistakes seem easier to find when someone else is making them.
- jerf 16y ago
  Part of the reason for that isn't just your outsider perspective. Part of it is that you don't have any obligation to verify your diagnosis. A lot of "mistakes" you see people making probably aren't actually mistakes, a lot of things they are doing right are equally also not doing it right. Without getting into specifics, how many people would look at, say, a government following $YOUR_PREFERRED_ECONOMIC_SYSTEM and call it a long series of "mistakes"? But of course you know that $YPES is not a long series of mistakes, it's the way any right-thinking person knows it should be done. In fact they are making a mistake for preferring some other system over yours!.... or are they? It's very easy to inaccurately diagnose problems and prescribe solutions, but it doesn't mean much without validation.
rajesh301 16y ago
You definitely bring up a very good point. I should phrase it properly. Yes, their own problems are problems they haven't solved - when in fact, they could have solved them. If their "unsolved problems" were brought to them by someone else, they would have had a solution very quickly. That is precisely the reason to have mentors and personal advisors. My $.02
adammichaelc 16y ago
That's an interesting semantic exercise, but I think you're missing the point. I've observed the phenomenon that the author discusses. An example that I've observed, which doesn't quite fall in line with where the author went with it, but is interesting nonetheless, is when I get stuck solving a programming problem. When I'm showing others how to solve a problem of similar complexity, I seem to have more of my mind free to step through the pieces of the puzzle and can see solutions more clearly. It's like when I'm not using energy working on the problem and don't have any direct connection to it emotionally or otherwise, I can solve it more easily. Another example of something in the same ballpark is a couple years ago I had errors on my credit report so I went to clear them up. I had to jump through a series of hoops to make that happen, and the whole process seemed like a big headache. It also was difficult to get the motivation to do it initially, even though I knew I needed to and understood the basic steps required. Fast-forward to a few months ago, and I had a friend that needed to dispute items on her credit report. I didn't dread jumping in to solve the problem, and even offered to help her fix it right then. Even though it was the same problem, the same complexity, and a similar time commitment, I had zero emotional attachment to the problem, and so I quickly dissected it into a step a, step b, step c process and got it done.
klochner 16y ago
The author is begging the question, rather than creating a false dilemma. Begging the question: the premise assumes the conclusion, e.g., "that's illegal because it's against the law". False dilemma: you present two possible options as the only options, when in fact there are other alternatives, e.g., "either you're with me or against me"
- rajesh301 16y ago
  The article never states these are the only two options. I don't know why that conclusion is being drawn. But everyone has a right to their opinion so I can't stop people from making their own assumptions :)

by bobbyi 16y ago

Natsu 16y ago

While what you say is true of the article, I have noticed that mistakes seem easier to find when someone else is making them.

jerf 16y ago
Part of the reason for that isn't just your outsider perspective. Part of it is that you don't have any obligation to verify your diagnosis. A lot of "mistakes" you see people making probably aren't actually mistakes, a lot of things they are doing right are equally also not doing it right. Without getting into specifics, how many people would look at, say, a government following $YOUR_PREFERRED_ECONOMIC_SYSTEM and call it a long series of "mistakes"? But of course you know that $YPES is not a long series of mistakes, it's the way any right-thinking person knows it should be done. In fact they are making a mistake for preferring some other system over yours!.... or are they? It's very easy to inaccurately diagnose problems and prescribe solutions, but it doesn't mean much without validation.

rajesh301 16y ago

You definitely bring up a very good point. I should phrase it properly. Yes, their own problems are problems they haven't solved - when in fact, they could have solved them. If their "unsolved problems" were brought to them by someone else, they would have had a solution very quickly. That is precisely the reason to have mentors and personal advisors. My $.02

adammichaelc 16y ago

That's an interesting semantic exercise, but I think you're missing the point. I've observed the phenomenon that the author discusses. An example that I've observed, which doesn't quite fall in line with where the author went with it, but is interesting nonetheless, is when I get stuck solving a programming problem. When I'm showing others how to solve a problem of similar complexity, I seem to have more of my mind free to step through the pieces of the puzzle and can see solutions more clearly. It's like when I'm not using energy working on the problem and don't have any direct connection to it emotionally or otherwise, I can solve it more easily. Another example of something in the same ballpark is a couple years ago I had errors on my credit report so I went to clear them up. I had to jump through a series of hoops to make that happen, and the whole process seemed like a big headache. It also was difficult to get the motivation to do it initially, even though I knew I needed to and understood the basic steps required. Fast-forward to a few months ago, and I had a friend that needed to dispute items on her credit report. I didn't dread jumping in to solve the problem, and even offered to help her fix it right then. Even though it was the same problem, the same complexity, and a similar time commitment, I had zero emotional attachment to the problem, and so I quickly dissected it into a step a, step b, step c process and got it done.

klochner 16y ago

The author is begging the question, rather than creating a false dilemma. Begging the question: the premise assumes the conclusion, e.g., "that's illegal because it's against the law". False dilemma: you present two possible options as the only options, when in fact there are other alternatives, e.g., "either you're with me or against me"

rajesh301 16y ago
The article never states these are the only two options. I don't know why that conclusion is being drawn. But everyone has a right to their opinion so I can't stop people from making their own assumptions :)