4 ms·
"A good deal of willfulness must be inborn, because it's common to see families where one sibling has much more of it than another. Circumstances can alter it,
by sayemm 15y ago
"A good deal of willfulness must be inborn, because it's common to see families where one sibling has much more of it than another. Circumstances can alter it, but at the high end of the scale, nature seems to be more important than nurture. Bad circumstances can break the spirit of a strong-willed person, but I don't think there's much you can do to make a weak-willed person stronger-willed." - http://www.paulgraham.com/determination.html http://www.paulgraham.com/determination.html
- samtp 15y agoI would love to see citations for all of these very general claims about some of the fundamental debates in modern science (such as nature/nurture). Its great to quote pg (especially on this board), but hold off on taking his word as that of a prophet.
- sayemm 15y agoTouche, though I still wouldn't knock pg's insights, even if they're just general inferences. His track record at identifiying winners speaks for itself.
- robflynn 15y agoTotally off topic to the discussion, but I couldn't find any contact info for you. Are you still living in Columbia, SC? I am there as well.