4 ms·

I didn't get it. Honest. Can anyone explain (in "Like I'm 5" fashion) what is the point of this post?

by eliben 14y ago

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
graeme 14y ago
The start is supposed to trigger emotions of discomfort, or empathy with Derek's discomfort. The point is, he became comfortable with all of those situations. They felt tough, but that's just something to overcome. Now he uses discomfort as a heuristic. If he's uncomfortable with something (for no obvious good reason), then he should do that thing, because it will make him a better person. The post probably could have been called "grow, grow, grow", if that helps. I'm personally about to start something that makes me uncomfortable, but I think it will be a good thing. It was nice to read this.
- sivers 14y ago
  Graeme just put it better than I did. Thanks Graeme! ☺
- aeturnum 14y ago
  For a more explicit relationship to HN, consider how similar this narrative is to the way that founders reflect on their startups. How they were confused and frightened about making so many choices that they didn't fully understand. This isn't about starting your own business, but it speaks to that aspect of entrepreneurship.
sivers 14y ago
Sorry I didn't think it'd go onto Hacker News. It's not really meant as an educational post with a lesson. Just my personal blog sharing a thought I was feeling this week. If it doesn't resonate, no need to force it. I like reading stories of my peers and heroes that are doing life-expanding things I'd never considered. Then I realized I'd never shared mine.
- pedalpete 14y ago
  I actually think this is a perfect post for HackerNews, part of the learning that we get here is getting out of our comfort zone, discovering new things, and always learning. Thankfully, not every post is like this, but every once in a while, it exposes us to more diversity, which is great.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- royalghost 14y ago
  I am the one who post this on HN. I got this through Twitter. I think it is a great post esp. when I am also the kind of person who likes to do new stuff, travel new place and keep pushing my boundary. Thanks for sharing your experience.
- ohashi 14y ago
  The diving one scared me a bit, I just finished my certification 2 days ago for open water (18m). It seemed odd to me that you were at 40m on your third dive when basic certification (PADI) required 4 dives. Not sure what it's supposed to take for 40m, but I remember it requiring some special steps (safety stop) if you go that deep. Would you mind sharing a bit more about that particular experience?
  - sivers 14y ago
    I got my basic PADI with only one real dive. (+ a few quick tests). Then I went straight for my advanced PADI, and this was my 2nd dive of my advanced class. It was just me and the instructor, and I think he was breaking the rules, unfortunately. I wasn't asking for it!
    - ohashi 14y ago
      I have no idea what the rules were when you did it, but it definitely sounds like a bit of rule bending if they were anything close to what they are today. Either way, I am sure it was a memorable experience!
gbog 14y ago
The point is that doing things unusual to you is making you more clever, more open-minded, more interesting. This is common sense. No need to expand too much on this, but there is a flipside on the experiences that Derek Sivers did not talk about. When you do unusual things, when you go deep enough into another culture, you will be changed. You must leave a part of your (cultural) luggage at the door. For instance, for any Westerner, going into China for some time will change you own vision of the world, and sometime not only in a superficial way. Your political beliefs will probably be shaken (in China left is right, and right is left, compared to France). Your values will be questioned (confort, friendship, professionalism are different). What is interesting is that there will still be some invariants. Even after many years in China, I am still French. My political beliefs have changed. My values have changed. What have not changed is probably what defines me the best.
- sivers 14y ago
  Yes! Thank you Guibog for an important point. I mentioned the quick and visible events, for the sake of story-telling, but the stuff you're talking about is deeper, more powerful, and harder to talk about.
bhousel 14y ago
OT, but you struck a nerve. If we really have to explain everything in "Like I'm 5" fashion, Hacker News is deader than disco. I can't believe some of the "I don't get it" comments that seem to pop up now on every single article.
- delluminatus 14y ago
  I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for clarification if you don't understand something.
- shurane 14y ago
  You know, there is a merit to balancing descriptions between technical and understandable to the uninformed. That doesn't mean every post has to explain what a monad is or the ideology behind NoSQL vs SQL, but you can't just assume everyone knows something, or even where to search for to figure it out. Dropping keywords and giving sources I think helps a lot towards this. Maybe to eliben, this is all second nature, so he's never understood the point of such a post? Or perhaps it's completely foreign to him... Meh, "Explain Like I'm 5 (eli5)" is a great idea, I think. Even better if you also give links to more professional explanations as well.

I didn't get it. Honest. Can anyone explain (in "Like I'm 5" fashion) what is the point of this post?

by eliben 14y ago

I didn't get it. Honest. Can anyone explain (in "Like I'm 5" fashion) what is the point of this post?

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

graeme 14y ago

The start is supposed to trigger emotions of discomfort, or empathy with Derek's discomfort. The point is, he became comfortable with all of those situations. They felt tough, but that's just something to overcome. Now he uses discomfort as a heuristic. If he's uncomfortable with something (for no obvious good reason), then he should do that thing, because it will make him a better person. The post probably could have been called "grow, grow, grow", if that helps. I'm personally about to start something that makes me uncomfortable, but I think it will be a good thing. It was nice to read this.

sivers 14y ago
Graeme just put it better than I did. Thanks Graeme! ☺
aeturnum 14y ago
For a more explicit relationship to HN, consider how similar this narrative is to the way that founders reflect on their startups. How they were confused and frightened about making so many choices that they didn't fully understand. This isn't about starting your own business, but it speaks to that aspect of entrepreneurship.

sivers 14y ago

Sorry I didn't think it'd go onto Hacker News. It's not really meant as an educational post with a lesson. Just my personal blog sharing a thought I was feeling this week. If it doesn't resonate, no need to force it. I like reading stories of my peers and heroes that are doing life-expanding things I'd never considered. Then I realized I'd never shared mine.

pedalpete 14y ago
I actually think this is a perfect post for HackerNews, part of the learning that we get here is getting out of our comfort zone, discovering new things, and always learning. Thankfully, not every post is like this, but every once in a while, it exposes us to more diversity, which is great.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
royalghost 14y ago
I am the one who post this on HN. I got this through Twitter. I think it is a great post esp. when I am also the kind of person who likes to do new stuff, travel new place and keep pushing my boundary. Thanks for sharing your experience.
ohashi 14y ago
The diving one scared me a bit, I just finished my certification 2 days ago for open water (18m). It seemed odd to me that you were at 40m on your third dive when basic certification (PADI) required 4 dives. Not sure what it's supposed to take for 40m, but I remember it requiring some special steps (safety stop) if you go that deep. Would you mind sharing a bit more about that particular experience?
- sivers 14y ago
  I got my basic PADI with only one real dive. (+ a few quick tests). Then I went straight for my advanced PADI, and this was my 2nd dive of my advanced class. It was just me and the instructor, and I think he was breaking the rules, unfortunately. I wasn't asking for it!
  - ohashi 14y ago
    I have no idea what the rules were when you did it, but it definitely sounds like a bit of rule bending if they were anything close to what they are today. Either way, I am sure it was a memorable experience!

gbog 14y ago

The point is that doing things unusual to you is making you more clever, more open-minded, more interesting. This is common sense. No need to expand too much on this, but there is a flipside on the experiences that Derek Sivers did not talk about. When you do unusual things, when you go deep enough into another culture, you will be changed. You must leave a part of your (cultural) luggage at the door. For instance, for any Westerner, going into China for some time will change you own vision of the world, and sometime not only in a superficial way. Your political beliefs will probably be shaken (in China left is right, and right is left, compared to France). Your values will be questioned (confort, friendship, professionalism are different). What is interesting is that there will still be some invariants. Even after many years in China, I am still French. My political beliefs have changed. My values have changed. What have not changed is probably what defines me the best.

sivers 14y ago
Yes! Thank you Guibog for an important point. I mentioned the quick and visible events, for the sake of story-telling, but the stuff you're talking about is deeper, more powerful, and harder to talk about.

bhousel 14y ago

OT, but you struck a nerve. If we really have to explain everything in "Like I'm 5" fashion, Hacker News is deader than disco. I can't believe some of the "I don't get it" comments that seem to pop up now on every single article.

delluminatus 14y ago
I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for clarification if you don't understand something.
shurane 14y ago
You know, there is a merit to balancing descriptions between technical and understandable to the uninformed. That doesn't mean every post has to explain what a monad is or the ideology behind NoSQL vs SQL, but you can't just assume everyone knows something, or even where to search for to figure it out. Dropping keywords and giving sources I think helps a lot towards this. Maybe to eliben, this is all second nature, so he's never understood the point of such a post? Or perhaps it's completely foreign to him... Meh, "Explain Like I'm 5 (eli5)" is a great idea, I think. Even better if you also give links to more professional explanations as well.