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A very smart man, PG himself, once said [0]: > I actually worry a lot that as I get "popular" I'll be able to get away with saying stupider stuff than I would h
by jean_tta 4y ago
A very smart man, PG himself, once said [0]:
> I actually worry a lot that as I get "popular" I'll be able to get away with saying stupider stuff than I would have dared say before.
PG started writing essays about what he knows well (programming, start ups), then about things he knows a bit (painting) and then stuff like this, or his essays on economic policy. In any case, he predicted his own future quite well.
[0] quoted here https://idlewords.com/2005/04/dabblers_and_blowhards.htm https://idlewords.com/2005/04/dabblers_and_blowhards.htm from there http://lemonodor.com/archives/001091.html#c8508 http://lemonodor.com/archives/001091.html#c8508
- hef19898 4y agoPopularity and power seem to do that to people quite often, don't say? Which is said, especially in PG's case, because I like his older essays a lot. The now ones, well, not so much.
- bombcar 4y agoThere's a similar thing seen with authors - as they get more famous, apparently editors find it harder and harder to get them to rewrite their works, and later books can swell in size for no real advantage. As you get richer and more famous, it becomes harder and harder to find an editor/friend you will trust to tell you you're being stupid. You can use the internet at large (that's always full of people to tell you you're stupid) but it can be quite hard to filter.
- starkd 4y agoWell, at least he kept this one short!
- hef19898 4y agoTrue, others would have made a three hour podcast out of it. Potentially involving lobsters or something...
- nowherebeen 4y agoHis older essays are grounded in experience. These ones he is trying to be Socrates - it's embarrassing.