4 ms·

Whatever you like doing, do it

74 points by cs702 14y ago

richardk 14y ago
Going into my final year at Edinburgh uni, studying Comp Sci. I've always felt that I'm not nearly as talented as the folks around me, however I've loved computers since I was 10, I'm still in love and I'm always writing programs. Ever since I realized I'm not the most talented at comp sci (mainly the mathematics) I've had problems with my self-esteem. As such, I find this article incredibly comforting. Thank you!
- klibertp 14y ago
  Just stop it. I mean - stop worrying about mathematics, this instant. If you want to develop software your hard work and passion will trump everything, be it natural talent, better memory or plain intelligence.
- amouat 14y ago
  I really wouldn't worry. The worst developers are the ones who simply have no interest in software and/or computing. The "smarter" developers can sometimes be a royal pita to work with. I worked at the University of Edinburgh for a while and I was definitely far from the smartest (it was full of physicists that had been to oxbridge), however I would still like to think I was thought of as a capable developer who got things done. I would say that it is important to make sure you are good at the process of development - document and test your code, try to be methodical about things. If you can do this, you should be an asset to any software project.
athesyn 14y ago
This only works out if you have an innate talent, or smart enough to optimize what you have in terms of your ability. I have nothing against comforting articles, but that we should recognize the intellectual/productive peaks in our lives is much more important.
pestaa 14y ago
A very inspirational letter; however, he got into the very elite selection of 25 artists, with any one of them being way more talented than 99.99% of the country. I would so describe him naturally talented regardless of the personal perspective he had of himself. I also see no other way he could got into Pixar (given of course his perseverance.) I agree passion and hard work leads to better results than wasted talent, but there is no substitute for affinity. Anyway, thank you Pete for the great movies and great advice.
peteforde 14y ago
I disagree with the Rand-ian outlook that some people should stick to working at McDonald's expressed by some other commenters. As humans living in the developed world, even the laziest person has enormous advantages. The real question is whether they are nurtured in an environment that tells a person that it's up to them if they are miserable, average or excellent humans. http://www.humblepied.com/jessica-hische/ http://www.humblepied.com/jessica-hische/ I really liked typographer Jessica Hische's outlook: "the thing that you do when you procrastinate is the thing that you should do for the rest of your life". I don't have room in my world for people that would deny someone the shot at being happy doing what they do.
- andyfleming 14y ago
  So I should read hacker news for the rest of my life?
  - personlurking 14y ago
    Although I'd guess you're saying that in jest, it seems what the OCP (original comment poster) is getting at is something that happens to resonate with me. Almost any chance I get, I'm reading articles, thinking about how one thing relates to another, trying to pick up a few more phrases in this language or that, etc. Therefore, I should have, or create, a job where I can share what I know or where I'm looked to for answers (since that's a symptom of my habit). Come to think of it, I wouldn't call what I do procrastination, since I'm rather quite addicted to learning and it really would be a dream job if all I was expected to do is keep learning all day, every day. The phrase in question reminds me of another that basically says something to the effect of "a person should be judged on what they do when no one is looking." Though, I'm not sure I'd like to know, among possible Redditors, what that is. edit: As for fingerprinter's response, there are some good points in there (like sometimes having to do what you like instead of what you love) though your argument in general seems dependent on if you have a family to take care of.
    - runawaybottle 14y ago
      I think you might be misleading yourself. Sitting around, reading articles is easy. Everyone does it when they procrastinate. In fact, when I procrastinate, I do the easiest stuff possible. Read an article, think about it, watch videos, write posts, play around in GarageBand/photoshop, look up unrelated programming projects and think about doing them, etc. Show me a person that writes a chapter for a novel when they procrastinate, or creates nearly finished pieces of art, and then I'll agree that person should reconsider what they are doing. Everything that happens while you procrastinate is more or less a much easier activity. Don't sell yourself short.
squonk 14y ago
First, this is a message to middle school kids. It is a solid message: Determine what you love to do and give it all you have. It is true that what you achieve in that pursuit will be mitigated by your actual talent for it, life circumstances, responsibilities and resources, not to mention luck. But even if you can't make a living at it or even get to it very often, doing what you love for its own sake will make your life more satisfying than not. True?

74 points by cs702 14y ago

Going into my final year at Edinburgh uni, studying Comp Sci. I've always felt that I'm not nearly as talented as the folks around me, however I've loved computers since I was 10, I'm still in love and I'm always writing programs. Ever since I realized I'm not the most talented at comp sci (mainly the mathematics) I've had problems with my self-esteem. As such, I find this article incredibly comforting. Thank you!

klibertp 14y ago
Just stop it. I mean - stop worrying about mathematics, this instant. If you want to develop software your hard work and passion will trump everything, be it natural talent, better memory or plain intelligence.
amouat 14y ago
I really wouldn't worry. The worst developers are the ones who simply have no interest in software and/or computing. The "smarter" developers can sometimes be a royal pita to work with. I worked at the University of Edinburgh for a while and I was definitely far from the smartest (it was full of physicists that had been to oxbridge), however I would still like to think I was thought of as a capable developer who got things done. I would say that it is important to make sure you are good at the process of development - document and test your code, try to be methodical about things. If you can do this, you should be an asset to any software project.

athesyn 14y ago

This only works out if you have an innate talent, or smart enough to optimize what you have in terms of your ability. I have nothing against comforting articles, but that we should recognize the intellectual/productive peaks in our lives is much more important.

pestaa 14y ago

A very inspirational letter; however, he got into the very elite selection of 25 artists, with any one of them being way more talented than 99.99% of the country. I would so describe him naturally talented regardless of the personal perspective he had of himself. I also see no other way he could got into Pixar (given of course his perseverance.) I agree passion and hard work leads to better results than wasted talent, but there is no substitute for affinity. Anyway, thank you Pete for the great movies and great advice.

peteforde 14y ago

I disagree with the Rand-ian outlook that some people should stick to working at McDonald's expressed by some other commenters. As humans living in the developed world, even the laziest person has enormous advantages. The real question is whether they are nurtured in an environment that tells a person that it's up to them if they are miserable, average or excellent humans. http://www.humblepied.com/jessica-hische/ http://www.humblepied.com/jessica-hische/ I really liked typographer Jessica Hische's outlook: "the thing that you do when you procrastinate is the thing that you should do for the rest of your life". I don't have room in my world for people that would deny someone the shot at being happy doing what they do.

andyfleming 14y ago
So I should read hacker news for the rest of my life?
- personlurking 14y ago
  Although I'd guess you're saying that in jest, it seems what the OCP (original comment poster) is getting at is something that happens to resonate with me. Almost any chance I get, I'm reading articles, thinking about how one thing relates to another, trying to pick up a few more phrases in this language or that, etc. Therefore, I should have, or create, a job where I can share what I know or where I'm looked to for answers (since that's a symptom of my habit). Come to think of it, I wouldn't call what I do procrastination, since I'm rather quite addicted to learning and it really would be a dream job if all I was expected to do is keep learning all day, every day. The phrase in question reminds me of another that basically says something to the effect of "a person should be judged on what they do when no one is looking." Though, I'm not sure I'd like to know, among possible Redditors, what that is. edit: As for fingerprinter's response, there are some good points in there (like sometimes having to do what you like instead of what you love) though your argument in general seems dependent on if you have a family to take care of.
  - runawaybottle 14y ago
    I think you might be misleading yourself. Sitting around, reading articles is easy. Everyone does it when they procrastinate. In fact, when I procrastinate, I do the easiest stuff possible. Read an article, think about it, watch videos, write posts, play around in GarageBand/photoshop, look up unrelated programming projects and think about doing them, etc. Show me a person that writes a chapter for a novel when they procrastinate, or creates nearly finished pieces of art, and then I'll agree that person should reconsider what they are doing. Everything that happens while you procrastinate is more or less a much easier activity. Don't sell yourself short.

squonk 14y ago

First, this is a message to middle school kids. It is a solid message: Determine what you love to do and give it all you have. It is true that what you achieve in that pursuit will be mitigated by your actual talent for it, life circumstances, responsibilities and resources, not to mention luck. But even if you can't make a living at it or even get to it very often, doing what you love for its own sake will make your life more satisfying than not. True?