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Self awareness, which is the 'real' topic of this post is a challenging thing. Growing up, I was naturally humble, and I knew I didn't know much and was amazed
by jariel 6y ago
Self awareness, which is the 'real' topic of this post is a challenging thing.
Growing up, I was naturally humble, and I knew I didn't know much and was amazed to find some confidence after ostensibly earning it to some degree.
What I found was a world of BS-ers so many people convincingly telling others they are the best, and having others believe that.
Then I found that many of these BS-ers believe their own drama - that's scary.
It's doubly scary when these people are in fact, talented, but they project it 10x further with their egos. (Think: Kanye West etc.)
I use the term 'I' here but I think this is at least a common path.
But something I struggle with is just how many regular people are like this? Is tech full of 22-year holds who think they are really that smart? It's one thing to try to change the world, fine, but another to think that you know better or are entitled to that. Or is it a generational issue?
I think we all have sparks of genius, and it takes a lot of hustle to communicate even basic ideas. We need to reinforce ourselves to keep it up. But on some level, we have to try to be objective as well. That's really, really hard, especially if you know something that others might not know, or at least feel that you do.
- sombremesa 6y ago> But on some level, we have to try to be objective as well. That's not untrue, but it's all about marketing now. Marketing really is all there is — some people call it 'growth hacking', but in the end it's what separates the wheat from the chaff. Having knowledge or skills is all well and good, but having perceived knowledge and skills is better for all extrinsic intents and purposes, so long as you've got enough to sustain the facade. Objectivity in self-assessment isn't a bad thing, but success nowadays is defined by what you can make others believe. Of course, there's the other kind of success - the kind Saitama in One Punch Man enjoys - getting good at something almost by accident, just because you love doing it. If you can make a living just doing what you love, who gives a damn whether other people know of you?
- username90 6y agoWhen you are an individual making games then it doesn't matter how much people perceive you to be a genius, people don't play games they find boring.
- jka 6y agoThe ability to sustain a facade thanks to marketing may be possible currently, in some circumstances; but that might not be true forever. It's also true that success doesn't require marketing; plenty of popular software and libraries, for example, have achieved their position not by advertising themselves, but by providing the correct solution for the task at hand.
- sombremesa 6y agoI should clarify that I meant success in the context of personal status. Even the authors of popular software and libraries usually remain obscure unless they choose to market themselves. For example, take the author of Flappy Bird who I can't even name offhand vs. Jonathan Stroud. The difference is in the marketing.
- jka 6y agoThanks for the clarification, that makes sense.