4 ms·

> No different than when a child enters high school The problem is that when you compete against the high school, you're competing against maybe ~100? people.

by kuu 4y ago

> No different than when a child enters high school The problem is that when you compete against the high school, you're competing against maybe ~100? people. With internet you're "competing" against thousands and sometimes millions of people, not just the best of your neighborhood but the whole world, with all the existing inequalities. Therefore, competition is superfluous, there is little chance for "you" to win.

dragontamer 4y ago
Going from "not the best" as a high schooler to "not the best" as an adult is... fine? Its no major difference. That's my point. I already accepted my middling skill level in Chess, Starcraft, Drama, Music (Trumpet/Piano), martial arts and sports. Even years of effort in these subjects puts you as simply mediocre, and the sooner you realize the amount of effort it takes to just be "fine" (let alone "good" or "the best") the better it is for your psyche. "Winning" isn't the point of... most of these hobbies? I wasn't really aiming to be a world-record holder in the 800-meter or 1600 meter by high school, I was already just aiming at something that satisfied myself (which was a ~6:30 mile time and a 2:20 800m time). Nothing crazy good, but something that made myself proud of my own efforts. Same same as an adult. My mile time isn't as good as when I was younger and healthier and more time to run. But other skills I got, like Tetris, 40L sprint in 1-minute, is acceptable to me. Sure, stronger players can so it in sub 20-seconds but I'm satisfied with 1-minute 40L sprint? ------- And you really don't have to work very hard to find an unexplored, useful profession. In particular, programming skills are a a fractal. You can probably become a "world expert" in Cobol in less time than I spent learning Tetris 40L sprints (and certainly less time to become a Cobol expert than to get a 6:30 mile run time). Assuming of course you're proficient in the base level / bachelor's level of Comp. Sci. There's only one subject you need to be world-class in, and that's your profession. Heck, arguably you don't even need to be world-class in your work. Plenty of money in just being a "fine" programmer.
- acuozzo 4y ago
  > Going from "not the best" as a high schooler to "not the best" as an adult is... fine? Its no major difference. No matter how hard I try to improve the way my eight year old thinks about things, he always approaches new experiences with thoughts like "maybe I'll be the first to…" or "maybe I'll invent a better…". I've seen this in my adult peers, but the wording is a bit different even though it's just as unhealthy e.g. "perhaps I'll start the next Facebook". The sentiment is expressed in the popular meme quote: "Born too late to explore the earth, but born too early to explore the stars". I reckon this was common in the recent past, but with the naïveté that comes with living without pervasive mass communication, those thoughts were more likely to be motivating than deflating.

by kuu 4y ago

dragontamer 4y ago

Going from "not the best" as a high schooler to "not the best" as an adult is... fine? Its no major difference. That's my point. I already accepted my middling skill level in Chess, Starcraft, Drama, Music (Trumpet/Piano), martial arts and sports. Even years of effort in these subjects puts you as simply mediocre, and the sooner you realize the amount of effort it takes to just be "fine" (let alone "good" or "the best") the better it is for your psyche. "Winning" isn't the point of... most of these hobbies? I wasn't really aiming to be a world-record holder in the 800-meter or 1600 meter by high school, I was already just aiming at something that satisfied myself (which was a ~6:30 mile time and a 2:20 800m time). Nothing crazy good, but something that made myself proud of my own efforts. Same same as an adult. My mile time isn't as good as when I was younger and healthier and more time to run. But other skills I got, like Tetris, 40L sprint in 1-minute, is acceptable to me. Sure, stronger players can so it in sub 20-seconds but I'm satisfied with 1-minute 40L sprint? ------- And you really don't have to work very hard to find an unexplored, useful profession. In particular, programming skills are a a fractal. You can probably become a "world expert" in Cobol in less time than I spent learning Tetris 40L sprints (and certainly less time to become a Cobol expert than to get a 6:30 mile run time). Assuming of course you're proficient in the base level / bachelor's level of Comp. Sci. There's only one subject you need to be world-class in, and that's your profession. Heck, arguably you don't even need to be world-class in your work. Plenty of money in just being a "fine" programmer.

acuozzo 4y ago
> Going from "not the best" as a high schooler to "not the best" as an adult is... fine? Its no major difference. No matter how hard I try to improve the way my eight year old thinks about things, he always approaches new experiences with thoughts like "maybe I'll be the first to…" or "maybe I'll invent a better…". I've seen this in my adult peers, but the wording is a bit different even though it's just as unhealthy e.g. "perhaps I'll start the next Facebook". The sentiment is expressed in the popular meme quote: "Born too late to explore the earth, but born too early to explore the stars". I reckon this was common in the recent past, but with the naïveté that comes with living without pervasive mass communication, those thoughts were more likely to be motivating than deflating.