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> I had to learn what real work was before I could wholeheartedly desire to do it. That took a while, because even in college a lot of the work is pointless; th

> I had to learn what real work was before I could wholeheartedly desire to do it. That took a while, because even in college a lot of the work is pointless; there are entire departments that are pointless. In other words, "the work I want to do is real but the work you want to do is trivial and pointless." I really genuinely have enjoyed Paul Graham's writing over the years but moments like this seem arrogant and tend to spoil some of the enjoyment. I'd be genuinely curious to know what departments he finds pointless, and why, in the grand scheme of things, they have no "point" in comparison to computer science or whatever. While it's true that computer science can be used to enable, for example, much cheaper air travel, or important forms of cancer diagnosis, it's also true that a great many computer scientists work on less crucial problems like optimizing ad targeting or enabling scams. Similarly, while many English lit majors may end up contributing little most of us find valuable in that field, there are some who will become authors who genuinely help other humans find more meaning in life and feel less alone, and others who will shed new light on history and thiis contribute to the understanding of our present. I'm not saying fields can't be compared. Maybe the average engineer's college studies help society "more" (for some definition) than the average humanities major's studies do. Fine. What I'm saying is - it takes a lot of arrogance to cast aside entire college departments as worthless.

rakhodorkovsky 5y ago
Perhaps arrogance should be added to what it takes to be successful. I'm only half joking; I do think a certain kind of arrogance is conducive to success. Not the kind that screams insecurity and turns off your teammates, rather the kind that goes: "Perhaps I really am the first person who can do this." and then does it.
AnimalMuppet 5y ago
I think your reading is not just uncharitable, but wrong. > In other words, "the work I want to do is real but the work you want to do is trivial and pointless." No, "the work you want me to do is trivial and pointless". And the context is college, and even more so high school. It's not a news flash that the work they want you to do in school isn't "real". It's exercises designed to teach you, not actual work that needs done. > Similarly, while many English lit majors may end up contributing little most of us find valuable in that field, there are some who will become authors who genuinely help other humans find more meaning in life and feel less alone, and others who will shed new light on history and thiis contribute to the understanding of our present. Given that Wodehouse was one of PG's positive examples, this also seems to me to be missing the point of the essay.
- mapgrep 5y ago
  >No, "the work you want me to do is trivial and pointless". And the context is college, and even more so high school. You choose your college and you choose your major, and you choose to go to college in the first place, so I'm not clear what you are referring to here. What entire college department exists to somehow force people to study its subjects? If someone's university is assigning work they don't work to do, they can transfer elsewhere. (They tend not to, because the educational institutions for adults that are strictly focused on a single topic lack prestige. Even a relatively technical "good" school like MIT will try to round out the academic experience of its students.)

rakhodorkovsky 5y ago

Perhaps arrogance should be added to what it takes to be successful. I'm only half joking; I do think a certain kind of arrogance is conducive to success. Not the kind that screams insecurity and turns off your teammates, rather the kind that goes: "Perhaps I really am the first person who can do this." and then does it.

AnimalMuppet 5y ago

I think your reading is not just uncharitable, but wrong. > In other words, "the work I want to do is real but the work you want to do is trivial and pointless." No, "the work you want me to do is trivial and pointless". And the context is college, and even more so high school. It's not a news flash that the work they want you to do in school isn't "real". It's exercises designed to teach you, not actual work that needs done. > Similarly, while many English lit majors may end up contributing little most of us find valuable in that field, there are some who will become authors who genuinely help other humans find more meaning in life and feel less alone, and others who will shed new light on history and thiis contribute to the understanding of our present. Given that Wodehouse was one of PG's positive examples, this also seems to me to be missing the point of the essay.

mapgrep 5y ago
>No, "the work you want me to do is trivial and pointless". And the context is college, and even more so high school. You choose your college and you choose your major, and you choose to go to college in the first place, so I'm not clear what you are referring to here. What entire college department exists to somehow force people to study its subjects? If someone's university is assigning work they don't work to do, they can transfer elsewhere. (They tend not to, because the educational institutions for adults that are strictly focused on a single topic lack prestige. Even a relatively technical "good" school like MIT will try to round out the academic experience of its students.)