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He could also assume that he is above average and aim to be in the top 0.1%. Would it change how (1) the results he is seeking will be achieved and (2) the effe
by borroka 3y ago
He could also assume that he is above average and aim to be in the top 0.1%. Would it change how (1) the results he is seeking will be achieved and (2) the effect his story has on others? My answers are: for (1), no, and for (2), yes.
As for (1), there is the added nuance of not wanting to hurt their ego: "if I'm not successful, it's because I started from a below-average level." But there are few things I dislike more than this very human and very popular form of cowardice. And it also works, which makes my dislike moral and not utilitarian.
Recently, I was listening to an interview with Jon Jones (the very famous and very talented MMA athlete), in which he related that he used to do something crazy a few days after his fights, maybe spend a night out partying and drinking, so that he would have the excuse card (for himself, not for others) ready if he happened to lose his next fight. It worked for him—-he is probably the greatest MMA fighter of all time--but I still found his approach a bit cowardly, weak, defensive.
I spent many years practicing jiu jitsu and got my black belt a few years ago. Now, it is common for fresh and not-so-fresh black belts to say that when you are a black belt is when you realize you know nothing about jiu jitsu. Like any social meme, it is hard to distinguish "true thinking" from "going with the flow"--everybody says that, why should I do otherwise--but I certainly know a lot more about jiu jitsu than I did when I was a white, blue, purple, and brown belt. This is not to say that there is much to learn and that I may be below average among practitioners 10 years younger than me and above average among those 20 years older. But why not be honest with ourselves and others, without thinking about ego bruises or the sympathy we may receive?
- cevn 3y agoTo your point about being a black belt, I find that more mastery of an ability makes you aware of how much you still have to learn. Like at first you assume you are 30% of the way there as a beginner but at the high levels you find that almost everyone at your level has something new to teach you and there is infinite potential for growth.
- borroka 3y agoYou are right, but the "I know nothing" after years of practicing whatever skill you are trying to develop sounds much more like feigned humility than a frank and frankly attractive assessment of someone's abilities. I have a Ph.D. in physics, and I might consider myself below average among physics Ph.D.s coming out of Harvard or Berkeley, but am I "below average" in physics without further qualifications? It would be silly to say that, wouldn't it? Like the mathematical genius saying, "I am not that talented, I can't even cook, my spouse has to tell me five times a day where I left the keys (haha), I simply loved math more than others, but anyone, with the right tenacity and guidance, could accomplish what I was fortunate enough to achieve". Come on, those are not serious people. It is likely that my expertise gives me a more nuanced understanding of the complexities of the field, of how much there is to learn, than the understanding that a talented high school student should have of it -- I agree with you on that -- but a sober assessment of one's abilities and position within a population has never been a mortal sin, quite the contrary. It is the stuff that serious people are made of.
- cevn 3y agoThat is definitely true. "I know nothing" is an extremely poor way of putting it, more like false modesty than an accurate assessment of skill.