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I'm still amazed at how tech culture seems to think that avoiding your weaknesses altogether is unambiguously good. Maybe to some extent makes sense, but as a b

by s_Hogg 7y ago

I'm still amazed at how tech culture seems to think that avoiding your weaknesses altogether is unambiguously good. Maybe to some extent makes sense, but as a blanket rule surely it just develops learned helplessness in people? Note this is a general comment, the article itself didn't say that avoiding your weaknesses come what may is a good idea.

username90 7y ago
It isn't specific to tech, most people have things they decided it is ok to be bad at. Outside of tech it is very common to admit that you are bad at math or don't understand computers and so on in the hopes of getting someone else to solve the problem.
cosmie 7y ago
Avoidance as a compensation strategy for weaknesses isn't particular to just tech culture; it exists in pretty much every discipline. I've taken the opposite approach: from what I went to school for to how my career has developed, I've generally made choices that allow me to capitalize on my strengths while shoring up my weaknesses. And along the way I've recognized that such an approach in itself is a strength of mine, as not everyone that attempts to do so can be successful at it. It's also a meandering path to success. At least from a professional standpoint, it's far more straightforward to avoid your weaknesses and hone your strengths. And such specialization is embodied in the organizational structures of most businesses.
- XorNot 7y ago
  "Challenging yourself" is risky and no guarantee of self improvement though. You can spend a lot of time thinking something is hard, when really you're just in a bad environment.
  - cosmie 7y ago
    Precisely. This is part of what I meant by being able to take this route is a strength in itself. It takes a high degree of situational awareness and a significant amount of self-awareness to be able to suss out the differences between environmental factors and personal, and take deliberate action to maneuver yourself into an environment where you can be successful as-is yet still work to strengthen (or at least blunt) your weaknesses.
scarface74 7y ago
Another way of saying “avoiding your weaknesses” is “playing to your strengths”. I’m a horrible front end developer. I know the technology involved but I am not good at it and doubt that I will ever be good enough at it to command an above average salary. I’m very good at the backend from middleware down to infrastructure. Why would I focus on the front end? When I was a team lead, I contracted that out. This is true for many areas of my personal life. I pay people to do things that I am not good at it using the money I make from doing what I am good at it. The modern economy is all about specialization of labor.

by s_Hogg 7y ago

username90 7y ago

It isn't specific to tech, most people have things they decided it is ok to be bad at. Outside of tech it is very common to admit that you are bad at math or don't understand computers and so on in the hopes of getting someone else to solve the problem.

cosmie 7y ago

Avoidance as a compensation strategy for weaknesses isn't particular to just tech culture; it exists in pretty much every discipline. I've taken the opposite approach: from what I went to school for to how my career has developed, I've generally made choices that allow me to capitalize on my strengths while shoring up my weaknesses. And along the way I've recognized that such an approach in itself is a strength of mine, as not everyone that attempts to do so can be successful at it. It's also a meandering path to success. At least from a professional standpoint, it's far more straightforward to avoid your weaknesses and hone your strengths. And such specialization is embodied in the organizational structures of most businesses.

XorNot 7y ago
"Challenging yourself" is risky and no guarantee of self improvement though. You can spend a lot of time thinking something is hard, when really you're just in a bad environment.
- cosmie 7y ago
  Precisely. This is part of what I meant by being able to take this route is a strength in itself. It takes a high degree of situational awareness and a significant amount of self-awareness to be able to suss out the differences between environmental factors and personal, and take deliberate action to maneuver yourself into an environment where you can be successful as-is yet still work to strengthen (or at least blunt) your weaknesses.

scarface74 7y ago

Another way of saying “avoiding your weaknesses” is “playing to your strengths”. I’m a horrible front end developer. I know the technology involved but I am not good at it and doubt that I will ever be good enough at it to command an above average salary. I’m very good at the backend from middleware down to infrastructure. Why would I focus on the front end? When I was a team lead, I contracted that out. This is true for many areas of my personal life. I pay people to do things that I am not good at it using the money I make from doing what I am good at it. The modern economy is all about specialization of labor.