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“Most people who are talented or smart are scared of doing things” I have noticed this a lot in my career, I think it’s because these people self identify as s
by malux85 3y ago
“Most people who are talented or smart are scared of doing things”
I have noticed this a lot in my career, I think it’s because these people self identify as smart/talented and every time you attempt some task, there is the possibility of failure - and for the “smart” person, failing at a task takes a stab at the heart of their identity. Self cushioning in a cloud of rationales “well, I can’t do X but at least I’m smart” means that if “being smart” is ever questioned, the possibility of them failing terrifies them.
This causes a paralysis.
Its total nonsense of course - the path to any success is littered with failures - failures are prerequisites of success, and are not optional.
I was an A student in school but I wasn’t naturally an A, I had to work for it, and I watched myself pass all of the “natural As” who snickered at me, told me my ideas were impossible, and then tried to join in when I showed them they weren’t. This went on throughout my career and is even happening now, there are people MUCH smarter than me at work, but through sheer willpower, grit and never giving up I have already achieved what they were telling me was impossible a year ago. This includes people like heads of departments at top tier universities - I was told my one that my idea on catalysis prediction was crazy and wouldn’t work - this man was the head of a certain department at an A-Tier US university, working in catalysis for 20 years, 6 months later, I have achieved it. Just keep working, asking questions, and adjusting course every day. If you’re gritty enough you can do it.
I often wonder if this kind of “identity bounding” as well as “fear permutations” are the downward pressures on intellect in the Darwinian sense
- hooo 3y agoCan you share what you achieved? Your prose makes a lot of sense. I’m curious if it’s from experience or just sounds good.
- qup 3y agoI think the key difference is about adjusting course. The smart people make better adjustments. But you can make up for it by making more adjustments than they do. I've been lucky in that I've always loved experimenting, tinkering. The solution eventually presents itself.
- crooked-v 3y agoAs one of those 'naturally smart' types, part of the trouble there for me is that everything is easy right up until it isn't. I was well into college before I ever had to actually study or prepare or do second drafts on anything at all to succeed, and for obvious reasons I sucked at it and crashed and burned completely with several subjects before I got any kind of grip on things.
- wharvle 3y agoThe good news is that addressing this kind of thing is the hot topic in gifted education, and has been for some time. The “I suddenly got very dumb” story’s nigh-universality has been noticed, and they’re working on fixing it. The bad news is that you may have been too early for that. Well, and also that I’m not sure how effective efforts to address it have actually been.
- gonzo41 3y agoGrit is a trully underrated skill.
- akprasad 3y ago> for the “smart” person, failing at a task takes a stab at the heart of their identity. Self cushioning in a cloud of rationales “well, I can’t do X but at least I’m smart” means that if “being smart” is ever questioned, the possibility of them failing terrifies them. Yes, I see it much the same way. If you're curious, I wrote about a related theme a few years ago here [1]. > When the work is uncertain, she withers: uncertainty means the unknown, which means risk, which means failure, which means she's worthless. The thought of fumbling in the void terrifies her. [1]: https://arunkprasad.com/log/unlearning-perfectionism/ https://arunkprasad.com/log/unlearning-perfectionism/
- blooalien 3y agoMost people that I've taught (sometimes fairly advanced) computer skills to have been held back up to that point almost entirely by their own fears. First actions I've always taken is whatever I gotta do or say to get them past those fears so that the actual learning can begin. Once they're no longer scared of the subject matter at hand, they almost always have no troubles actually grasping the concepts (as long as they're explained in terms that make sense to them). Lotta folks are a lot smarter'n they give themselves credit for, even about things they think they can't understand, but their fears create a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.