4 ms·

Beware “the unearned certainty of the autodidact — a weird sort of know-it-all position taken by someone who mistakes their own experience for universal truth,

Beware “the unearned certainty of the autodidact — a weird sort of know-it-all position taken by someone who mistakes their own experience for universal truth, especially when that experience is coupled with a personality that makes one certain of one’s own brilliance.“[0] But, many intellectually curious people are broadly read. I’ve had long formal academic training in the biosciences, but some early and very influential exposure to the relevance and merits of philosophy, theology, poetry, and literature have kept me open to and engaged in that side of the intellectual world too. I try to be up front about my relatively informal scope of knowledge, for good and ill. I have family members who like to talk and who have advanced degrees in a wide range of disciplines, too, so that exposure sort of rubs off. [0] http://mischeathen.com/?p=19198 http://mischeathen.com/?p=19198

Kye 5y ago
You know how sometimes people outside a domain can make the most interesting comments specifically because they don't know enough to dismiss what they're saying out of hand? I find people who map out what they don't know while strolling into unknown territory tend to be the most interesting. They forge ahead knowing they don't know everything and don't waste time defending points that don't hold up to expert scrutiny. It's a too-rare trait on HN, and I think the flip from OP's optimism to cynicism with more exposure leads a lot of people to dismiss the whole place.
- hprotagonist 5y ago
  There is a particular delight in being The Scholar From Another Field Who Wound Up At Your Nice Conference. I get to ask all the stupid questions without any embarrassment, and often that slant perspective provokes fruitful conversations. Just as long as you keep the physicist quotient low ;)
  - Kye 5y ago
    You never want a critical mass of physicists. I carry a screwdriver just in case.
    - hprotagonist 5y ago
      that just relocates the criticality point to wherever you lob the screwdriver. … have you considered keeping an eye out for the neighboring statistics conferences?
      - Kye 5y ago
        That was a joke about the Demon Core screwdriver: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_core#Second_incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_core#Second_incident I'm not a physicist, but I play one at TeV.

Kye 5y ago

You know how sometimes people outside a domain can make the most interesting comments specifically because they don't know enough to dismiss what they're saying out of hand? I find people who map out what they don't know while strolling into unknown territory tend to be the most interesting. They forge ahead knowing they don't know everything and don't waste time defending points that don't hold up to expert scrutiny. It's a too-rare trait on HN, and I think the flip from OP's optimism to cynicism with more exposure leads a lot of people to dismiss the whole place.

hprotagonist 5y ago
There is a particular delight in being The Scholar From Another Field Who Wound Up At Your Nice Conference. I get to ask all the stupid questions without any embarrassment, and often that slant perspective provokes fruitful conversations. Just as long as you keep the physicist quotient low ;)
- Kye 5y ago
  You never want a critical mass of physicists. I carry a screwdriver just in case.
  - hprotagonist 5y ago
    that just relocates the criticality point to wherever you lob the screwdriver. … have you considered keeping an eye out for the neighboring statistics conferences?
    - Kye 5y ago
      That was a joke about the Demon Core screwdriver: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_core#Second_incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_core#Second_incident I'm not a physicist, but I play one at TeV.