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I don't remember where I read this (possibly even on HN at some point), but this reminds me of an interesting idea that has stuck with me over time... Consider

I don't remember where I read this (possibly even on HN at some point), but this reminds me of an interesting idea that has stuck with me over time... Consider two broad but otherwise generally viewed as unrelated (however, not mutually exclusive) skillsets: A and B. Lots of people are great at A and lots of people are great at B, but the intersection of the two is generally small (perhaps "law" and "programming" could be reasonably argued as examples of A and B here). There are large numbers of people employed doing A, and similarly for B, often quite successfully in both cases. Now, there's some much smaller set of individuals who have a reasonable grasp of both skillsets A and B. Recall that they're not mutually exclusive (are any skillsets, really?), just not often seen together. It seems that this set of people would be uniquely positioned to potentially provide immense value over the perhaps small (but even more marginally serviced) field of needs where A and B intersect. The value here isn't in the individual's capability for A or B in isolation, but in what they can provide where A and B cross. I realise the above is a big generalization and perhaps hugely oversimplified, but it's interesting to think about the different, seemingly unrelated skillsets where there may be great potential from some cross-pollination of ideas to bear new fruit. I do think that "programming" in general, perhaps in some form not as it's conventionally understood today, is becoming somewhat of a new literacy, at least to the extent that there seem to be countless existing businesses or fields of inquiry that could benefit from programmers who are also experts in their traditional domains. However, one could also come up with lots of different examples for A and B above, which may not even include programming at all.

WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago
Yeah, this was Scott who creates comics (I forget the full name). His claim is that it's easier to be in the top 80% of two things rather than the top 90% of one thing.
- Zababa 6y ago
  It's from Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert. The term used is often "skill stack" or "talent stack".
- sudhirj 6y ago
  You mean better than 99% of the population in two things together, rather than better than 90% in one. As in it's easier to be a top 1% percent programmer-laywer because there are so few of them, than it is to be a 10% lawyer or a top 10% programmer.
  - nandhinianand 6y ago
    yep...that's what scott adams stand is..
Frost1x 6y ago
Basically summarizes the nugget of advice my advisor gave me in college: if you want to be incredibly valuable, bridge two or more often disjoint in-demand skillsets. It's served me well throughout my career so far. I'm definitely not the best software engineer nor am I the best at the other fields I bridge but I often not only see the connections those more skilled on both sides often miss and new opportunities, I have enough skill in both domains to bridge them and create at least a proof-of-concept. At some point the experts in both domains take over once I build the bridge and I actively work to help build something less like a wooden bridge and something with more concrete and steel, usually with more people involved... I think in software (and CS in general) this advice is especially valuable because software and computing is the glue that can connect and materialize ideas into something that seems tangible. It's also something that's often approachable by an individual and doesn't always require a mountain of capital to achieve.
langitbiru 6y ago
Techcrunch called it the dual PhD problem. One example is if you understand the traditional finance, you'll have an easier time when building a DeFi application on top of Ethereum. https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/19/the-dual-phd-problem-of-todays-startups/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/19/the-dual-phd-problem-of-to...
diab0lic 6y ago
Was it “Being the (Pareto) Best in the World”? [0] [0] https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/XvN2QQpKTuEzgkZHY/being-the-pareto-best-in-the-world https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/XvN2QQpKTuEzgkZHY/being-the-...

WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago

Yeah, this was Scott who creates comics (I forget the full name). His claim is that it's easier to be in the top 80% of two things rather than the top 90% of one thing.

Zababa 6y ago
It's from Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert. The term used is often "skill stack" or "talent stack".
sudhirj 6y ago
You mean better than 99% of the population in two things together, rather than better than 90% in one. As in it's easier to be a top 1% percent programmer-laywer because there are so few of them, than it is to be a 10% lawyer or a top 10% programmer.
- nandhinianand 6y ago
  yep...that's what scott adams stand is..

Frost1x 6y ago

Basically summarizes the nugget of advice my advisor gave me in college: if you want to be incredibly valuable, bridge two or more often disjoint in-demand skillsets. It's served me well throughout my career so far. I'm definitely not the best software engineer nor am I the best at the other fields I bridge but I often not only see the connections those more skilled on both sides often miss and new opportunities, I have enough skill in both domains to bridge them and create at least a proof-of-concept. At some point the experts in both domains take over once I build the bridge and I actively work to help build something less like a wooden bridge and something with more concrete and steel, usually with more people involved... I think in software (and CS in general) this advice is especially valuable because software and computing is the glue that can connect and materialize ideas into something that seems tangible. It's also something that's often approachable by an individual and doesn't always require a mountain of capital to achieve.

langitbiru 6y ago

Techcrunch called it the dual PhD problem. One example is if you understand the traditional finance, you'll have an easier time when building a DeFi application on top of Ethereum. https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/19/the-dual-phd-problem-of-todays-startups/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/19/the-dual-phd-problem-of-to...

diab0lic 6y ago

Was it “Being the (Pareto) Best in the World”? [0] [0] https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/XvN2QQpKTuEzgkZHY/being-the-pareto-best-in-the-world https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/XvN2QQpKTuEzgkZHY/being-the-...