3 ms·
My favorite quote from Paul Graham: "People who've done great things tend to seem as if they were a race apart. And most biographies only exaggerate this illus
by wheels 17y ago
My favorite quote from Paul Graham:
"People who've done great things tend to seem as if they were a race apart. And most biographies only exaggerate this illusion, partly due to the worshipful attitude biographers inevitably sink into, and partly because, knowing how the story ends, they can't help streamlining the plot till it seems like the subject's life was a matter of destiny, the mere unfolding of some innate genius. In fact I suspect if you had the sixteen year old Shakespeare or Einstein in school with you, they'd seem impressive, but not totally unlike your other friends.
Which is an uncomfortable thought. If they were just like us, then they had to work very hard to do what they did. And that's one reason we like to believe in genius. It gives us an excuse for being lazy. If these guys were able to do what they did only because of some magic Shakespeareness or Einsteinness, then it's not our fault if we can't do something as good.
I'm not saying there's no such thing as genius. But if you're trying to choose between two theories and one gives you an excuse for being lazy, the other one is probably right."
http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html
- MaysonL 17y agoI was in calculus and physics classes many years ago with a future physics Nobel laureate, and I was better in both than he was :-). Of course, he kept at it and I dropped out.
- volodia 17y agoCool :) What is his name?
- MaysonL 17y agoJohn Mather.
- mahmud 17y agoLast night I saw Myth Busters and Jamie beat an olympic swimmer in swimming through syrup :-P it just bottles* the mind; how can you beat an olympic swimmer in swimming, regardless of medium?
- rjurney 17y agoThe hair. Jamie's man pelt reduced friction, just like a shark's scales. http://bit.ly/18f6ba http://bit.ly/18f6ba In syrup, this effect was amplified.
- l0stman 17y agoWhat do you mean by being better? Having better grades than him or being a better problem solver. Because most of the time, these kind of people follow their own agenda and don't really bother to be at the top of the class.
- jamesbritt 17y ago" Because most of the time, these kind of people follow their own agenda and don't really bother to be at the top of the class." That was always my explanation for my grades. :)
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]
- Confusion 17y agoWhich is an uncomfortable thought. If they were just like us, then they had to work very hard to do what they did. To quote one of my professors: "scientific greatness requires three things: some intelligence, hard work and some luck". If Einstein hadn't invented the theory of relativity, someone else would have. The relevant equations had already been around for years, waiting for a proper physical interpretation: the time was ripe for it. There probably were a number of authors as prolific and proficient as Shakespeare, that have nevertheless vanished in obscurity, because Shakespeare just happened to get and keep the attention. From not being succesful you can never conclude you have not been working hard enough: someone else may have gotten lucky.