4 ms·

Sounds like you'd benefit from giving it a try. I'm going to go out on a limb here; you're at that stage of your life where everything you haven't tried sounds

Sounds like you'd benefit from giving it a try. I'm going to go out on a limb here; you're at that stage of your life where everything you haven't tried sounds simple and you don't understand why other people struggle so much. I'm guessing this because on hearing that something is difficult your first suggestion is to.. simply design a class, and then suggest that the problem resides in the kinds of people approaching the problem. Its a sort of arrogance that I think will be familiar to many people. But it sort of assumes that other people are too stupid or incompetent to try <insert obvious easy solution>. You might do better by trying to figure out what went wrong with the 'obvious' solution, or what you are missing in your own understanding that makes the problem appear so much simpler. If you figure out novel solutions, great! That's real genius. I think mostly you'll find out how tough most problems are.

dharmab 5y ago
Thank you for writing up a clear headed response. I had started to write a response to the comment, but decided I didn't know a way to phrase it in a way that would be constructive and decided not to submit.
faanghacker 5y ago
I didn't say it was simple, I'm sure it's a complex problem. But maybe not disproportionately difficult to model if you can handle the complexity. That's why I gave the benefit of the doubt to the software engineers. IME Most people can't handle complexity in their own fields of work, whether it comes to tax accountants making mistakes on my tax return that I caught later; or real estate agents telling me my queen-sized bed won't fit in the apartment, when I already knew from analyzing the floorplan that it would, and I was correct when we measured the room; or international flight attendants overcharging me because they can't do currency conversions properly. I've worked in the software industry including FAANG and dealt with a wide range of people, some of whom I've had to explain basic problem solving concepts or do things for them that they should have done themselves. Believe me, I'm at the stage of my life where I've tried a lot of things, succeeded at some, and failed at others. I've lived in different cities in different countries. More importantly, having been exposed to a wide range of people, I am less inclined to overestimate most people's ability to do things. Is that arrogant? Maybe. But I started out assuming that everyone has some latent untapped talent/creativity/curiosity/potential and over the years I'm less inclined to give people so much benefit of the doubt.
- scrollaway 5y ago
  Ah, you’re one of those people. Sounds to me like the person you’re replying to had you perfectly figured out. If you’re lucky one day you’ll get to look back on this comment in regret. If not, you’ll keep living in ignorance.
  - faanghacker 5y ago
    Good thing I had the foresight not to "follow my passions" and work in big tech instead of game dev or academia, which is why I'm retired and don't need to worry about either regret or ignorance.
    - jcelerier 5y ago
      for someone without regrets your comments sound awfully bitter
      - faanghacker 5y ago
        It's called becoming a curmudgeon once you have dealt with enough bullshit in your life. I think much of the HN community can relate to that.

dharmab 5y ago

Thank you for writing up a clear headed response. I had started to write a response to the comment, but decided I didn't know a way to phrase it in a way that would be constructive and decided not to submit.

faanghacker 5y ago

I didn't say it was simple, I'm sure it's a complex problem. But maybe not disproportionately difficult to model if you can handle the complexity. That's why I gave the benefit of the doubt to the software engineers. IME Most people can't handle complexity in their own fields of work, whether it comes to tax accountants making mistakes on my tax return that I caught later; or real estate agents telling me my queen-sized bed won't fit in the apartment, when I already knew from analyzing the floorplan that it would, and I was correct when we measured the room; or international flight attendants overcharging me because they can't do currency conversions properly. I've worked in the software industry including FAANG and dealt with a wide range of people, some of whom I've had to explain basic problem solving concepts or do things for them that they should have done themselves. Believe me, I'm at the stage of my life where I've tried a lot of things, succeeded at some, and failed at others. I've lived in different cities in different countries. More importantly, having been exposed to a wide range of people, I am less inclined to overestimate most people's ability to do things. Is that arrogant? Maybe. But I started out assuming that everyone has some latent untapped talent/creativity/curiosity/potential and over the years I'm less inclined to give people so much benefit of the doubt.

scrollaway 5y ago
Ah, you’re one of those people. Sounds to me like the person you’re replying to had you perfectly figured out. If you’re lucky one day you’ll get to look back on this comment in regret. If not, you’ll keep living in ignorance.
- faanghacker 5y ago
  Good thing I had the foresight not to "follow my passions" and work in big tech instead of game dev or academia, which is why I'm retired and don't need to worry about either regret or ignorance.
  - jcelerier 5y ago
    for someone without regrets your comments sound awfully bitter
    - faanghacker 5y ago
      It's called becoming a curmudgeon once you have dealt with enough bullshit in your life. I think much of the HN community can relate to that.