3 ms·

Is it imposter syndrome? Or just being unwilling to come to terms with the fact that other people will inevitably be better than you?

deanmoriarty 7y ago
Fair point, I changed the wording. Thanks.
- natalyarostova 7y ago
  You should try to make peace with it. It’s no way to live always being upset someone is younger and smarter than you. Keep working hard, but do it for yourself.
  - topicseed 7y ago
    I am, myself, still struggling with how un-smart I am. Not stupid, but just so much to learn from people I meet (in real life, or online) yet so little spare time.
    - natalyarostova 7y ago
      Same here buddy. I’m 30 and self teaching myself 2nd/3rd year undergrad math courses that I never learned since I wasn’t smart enough to pass the prereqs. I suppose like you I’m also considered competent at my job, but it’s not lost on me that people younger than me mastered this material a decade ago and are publishing cutting edge research. That’s just how it goes. This past year I’ve had the misfortune of having an immediate family member suffer from a grave illness. It made me realize feeling bad about myself was just narcissism, and I need to continue to be my best but also spend less time feeling sorry for myself. Best of luck to you in 2020 :)
    - rramadass 7y ago
      Look at it this way. Your abilities/worth/knowledge/whatever are multidimensional and can be mapped on a "Radar Chart"(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar_chart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar_chart). They can also be classified as "Inherent" or "Incidental/Accidental". Thus there can be no single "smartness" index defining a person. Thus for example, i am "un-smart" on both Web Dev and Statistics/Probability axes. The former is Incidental and easily fixed in a couple of months of work but the later is Inherent and needs a lot more time for assimilation. Thus the same word "un-smart" actually conveys two different meanings in the two different axes and one should not conflate the two.

deanmoriarty 7y ago

Fair point, I changed the wording. Thanks.

natalyarostova 7y ago
You should try to make peace with it. It’s no way to live always being upset someone is younger and smarter than you. Keep working hard, but do it for yourself.
- topicseed 7y ago
  I am, myself, still struggling with how un-smart I am. Not stupid, but just so much to learn from people I meet (in real life, or online) yet so little spare time.
  - natalyarostova 7y ago
    Same here buddy. I’m 30 and self teaching myself 2nd/3rd year undergrad math courses that I never learned since I wasn’t smart enough to pass the prereqs. I suppose like you I’m also considered competent at my job, but it’s not lost on me that people younger than me mastered this material a decade ago and are publishing cutting edge research. That’s just how it goes. This past year I’ve had the misfortune of having an immediate family member suffer from a grave illness. It made me realize feeling bad about myself was just narcissism, and I need to continue to be my best but also spend less time feeling sorry for myself. Best of luck to you in 2020 :)
  - rramadass 7y ago
    Look at it this way. Your abilities/worth/knowledge/whatever are multidimensional and can be mapped on a "Radar Chart"(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar_chart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar_chart). They can also be classified as "Inherent" or "Incidental/Accidental". Thus there can be no single "smartness" index defining a person. Thus for example, i am "un-smart" on both Web Dev and Statistics/Probability axes. The former is Incidental and easily fixed in a couple of months of work but the later is Inherent and needs a lot more time for assimilation. Thus the same word "un-smart" actually conveys two different meanings in the two different axes and one should not conflate the two.