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> At 7 it may seem excitingly ambitious to build huge things out of Lego, then at 14 to teach yourself calculus, till at 21 you're starting to explore unanswere

> At 7 it may seem excitingly ambitious to build huge things out of Lego, then at 14 to teach yourself calculus, till at 21 you're starting to explore unanswered questions in physics. Is this supposed to be relatable?

sph 2mo ago
Why not? - William James Sidis
rvba 2mo ago
For me it is
1123581321 2mo ago
It used to be relatable, for nerds (like me.) Now the second two are 45 minute chat sessions in the eyes of most, I suppose.
deleted 2mo ago
[deleted]
dev_dan_2 2mo ago
Either A) he used a rhetorical device, or B) he tried to be relatable and failed (for you, assuming you represent the typical intended audience) or C) he tried to be relatable and succeeded, but you are not part of the intended audience he aimed the piece at. Which is 100%, absolutely, perfectly fine; there is nothing wrong in being in that "very ambitious" group of people Paul Graham is likely refering too. I am not even sure if doing great work is great life advice for the target group, depends on how measures "success at life" or however one would call it. In any case; I think you will get the most out of the article if you do not pay the relatility too much thought: Even if C) would be true and you (or me or others) are indeed not part of the intended audience, I am sure there are still interesting thoughts in the essay on can think about and potentially apply to ones own life.
- sph 2mo ago
  there is more to 'ambition' than being a maths nerd at a young age. and there is more to great work than being a child prodigy, except for those that have peaked at 21.
  - dev_dan_2 2mo ago
    Sure thing! Who would think otherwise? Being part of the incredibly, exceptionally ambitious group that this essay seems to be targeted at can come in all shapes and forms, I would assume. I am even convinced about it. Music, arts, crafts, social activities, literature, organizing, activism, physics, whatever - it would be very strange to assume that one cannot be highly ambitious in any of those or other areas, I think... The only thing that matters for being included in that (small, by definition) group is being very ambitious, no statement was being made about which area that ambition should target (at least not by my me). In case you seem to think that PG thinks so: That might be you reading subtext where there is none, PG might have simply refered to the typical Stanford graduate that pitches him a startup idea, nothing more, nothing less.
TrackerFF 2mo ago
I don't think PG posts are aimed at us normies. I do read his blogposts when they are published, and for all these years I've always thought that they were aimed at ambitious students and professionals alike, but with a certain pedigree/background. When Ivy League educated VC billionaires tell people that they can do great things and change the world if they want, one assumption is that you already have to be pretty close to the in-group.

sph 2mo ago

Why not? - William James Sidis

rvba 2mo ago

For me it is

1123581321 2mo ago

It used to be relatable, for nerds (like me.) Now the second two are 45 minute chat sessions in the eyes of most, I suppose.

deleted 2mo ago

[deleted]

dev_dan_2 2mo ago

Either A) he used a rhetorical device, or B) he tried to be relatable and failed (for you, assuming you represent the typical intended audience) or C) he tried to be relatable and succeeded, but you are not part of the intended audience he aimed the piece at. Which is 100%, absolutely, perfectly fine; there is nothing wrong in being in that "very ambitious" group of people Paul Graham is likely refering too. I am not even sure if doing great work is great life advice for the target group, depends on how measures "success at life" or however one would call it. In any case; I think you will get the most out of the article if you do not pay the relatility too much thought: Even if C) would be true and you (or me or others) are indeed not part of the intended audience, I am sure there are still interesting thoughts in the essay on can think about and potentially apply to ones own life.

sph 2mo ago
there is more to 'ambition' than being a maths nerd at a young age. and there is more to great work than being a child prodigy, except for those that have peaked at 21.
- dev_dan_2 2mo ago
  Sure thing! Who would think otherwise? Being part of the incredibly, exceptionally ambitious group that this essay seems to be targeted at can come in all shapes and forms, I would assume. I am even convinced about it. Music, arts, crafts, social activities, literature, organizing, activism, physics, whatever - it would be very strange to assume that one cannot be highly ambitious in any of those or other areas, I think... The only thing that matters for being included in that (small, by definition) group is being very ambitious, no statement was being made about which area that ambition should target (at least not by my me). In case you seem to think that PG thinks so: That might be you reading subtext where there is none, PG might have simply refered to the typical Stanford graduate that pitches him a startup idea, nothing more, nothing less.

TrackerFF 2mo ago

I don't think PG posts are aimed at us normies. I do read his blogposts when they are published, and for all these years I've always thought that they were aimed at ambitious students and professionals alike, but with a certain pedigree/background. When Ivy League educated VC billionaires tell people that they can do great things and change the world if they want, one assumption is that you already have to be pretty close to the in-group.