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Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

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Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#121

Post by mylons »

jodrellblank wrote: post #90

If that idea of your lifetime not being enough is stressing you out, Dr David Burns' work on cognitive behavioural therapy might help. Saying you want to be an expert in many things because you are interested in many things could be papering over some deeper anxiety-driven motivations around 'not being good enough' or 'not being worthy of respect' or 'needing to prove yourself to someone' or 'not wanting to be a nobo…

what an excellent reply. i’ve been working through a lot of these things in therapy, and hadn’t thought of wanting to be an expert as a potential masking of the litany of feelings you mentioned. and thanks for the podcast recommendation

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#122

Post by droobles »

Ken_At_EM wrote: post #66
mattlondon wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you want to be "book smart" and only know a lot about what someone else thinks and tells you, or actually learn something yourself and gain the intuition and detailed understanding that you get from forming your own knowledge? You can read books till the cows come home, but don't expect to become an expert from reading alone. I can't imagine anyone on their deathbed wishing they'd spent more time reading on the to…

Every time I hear someone bring up the “book smart” versus “street smart” false dichotomy it often comes off as someone trying to justify their own inadequacies. I am not calling out the previous reply.

You are right of course, I experienced that growing up, but a good mix of both doesn't hurt!

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#123

Post by charliewallace »

komadori wrote: post #12

In that case, first become an expert in life-span extension!

Immortality isn't happening, but you can significantly increase your health-span, to give you more time to keep learning cool fascinating stuff. There are steps you can take now to delay aging, based on well-run clinical trials, including supplementation with metformin (the TAME trial). Other measures are looking hopeful but are still being researched, including use of rapamycin (PEARL trial). Here's a good resource: a podcast by Dr. Peter Attia, also good for nerding out on lots of interesting topics. https://peterattiamd.com/podcast/

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#124

Post by wespiser_2018 »

I try to work on what I find most interesting, and am capable of doing. Stuff like single photon path distance stuff and LIDAR is really cool, and no doubt I could spend the whole weekend reading about it, but that's not easily within reach given my background (could be wrong). However, there are topics that are closely related to my job skills, and if I push hard on them I should be able to move my career in that direction. I'm a backend engineer, so topics like compilers, distributed systems, or databases are what I'm most interested in. All really cool tech that have deep academic domains and rich histories and very technical implementations.

My general approach is to take tiny steps in the direction I want to go everyday, ie, use the power of habit. This has several advantages, but mostly it's just easier for me if studying is a habit. Right now, that means doing a LeetCode problem every day to stay sharp for job interviews, reading about databases, and starting a new project where I implement a database myself, probably in Rust, so I need to learn Rust as well.

I do generally agree that there isn't enough time to spend on what you want, and work takes up way too much time, but in my experience accepting your limitations and learning to live a balanced life with devotion to tech interests and hobbies has been essential to staying healthy. Put another way, I don't want a crazy job where I grind it out for 65+ hours a week and burn out in 11 months, burn out is very unhealthy for me. Instead, my philosophy is one of sustainable daily movement, setting myself up for working not 2 more years, but 20.

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#125

Post by Victerius »

sockaddr wrote: post #100
Victerius wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> his knowledge went deeper than you could explore with mere discussion. Another principle of mine: There are no oracles. There is no individual, past, present, or future, who cannot be surpassed. No one is a knowledge god. If I learned everything Justin knew, and that wouldn't be too difficult, I imagine, then I, too, could gain a level of knowledge that goes deeper than one could explore with mere discussion, accor…

> I imagine, then I, too, could gain a level of knowledge that goes deeper than one could explore with mere discussion, according to you. Yes, you could. Your point is?

My point is: Let's not put anyone on a pedestal because of their cerebral skills.

Great athletes, great artists, sure.

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#126

Post by charliewallace »

wccrawford wrote: post #47
luplex wrote: post #36

I think this is an unhealthy desire, as it's impossible to achieve. You should replace it with its source, like "I want to provide wisdom to my community", and then let that guide you in prioritizing your time

Yeah, my first thought what that it would be better to focus on what you want to do, rather than what you want to know.

Focusing on doing something is like having a goal, which is known to be good for mental health. It's OK if the goal changes from time to time. There's a really great book about how having a goal helped people survive the concentration camps in WW2, called "Man's search for meaning", highly recommended reading. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27s_Search_for_Meaning

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#127

Post by jmfldn »

jodrellblank wrote: post #90

If that idea of your lifetime not being enough is stressing you out, Dr David Burns' work on cognitive behavioural therapy might help. Saying you want to be an expert in many things because you are interested in many things could be papering over some deeper anxiety-driven motivations around 'not being good enough' or 'not being worthy of respect' or 'needing to prove yourself to someone' or 'not wanting to be a nobo…

This is a great and wise reply. I too suffer from what you're describing sometimes and I attribute it partly to these sorts of underlying emotional factors.

The real key for me now is feeling that I am enough just as I am. I still strive in my career and in a few hobbies, that's still important, but I try hard not to identify too much with them. I fail quite often but it's liberating. I try to frame my passions as things with intrinsic rewards and not things that bolster my ego.

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#128

Post by pitsnatch »

srvmshr wrote: post #108
pitsnatch wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"A few people I talked to in life, have this love for learning everything to the point they feel "afraid to die" before mastering something." Damn, that describes me pretty much. Though I just feel sad that I'll die because I can't learn everything that I'm curious about. I felt this much stronger in college. Now not so much. Just trying to survive now.

Trust me. You aren't alone. And there is nothing to feel bad about it. I have it to some degree (although a bit unidimensional - I just want to finish all my purchased math & engineering books). That brought me to the conversation with others in the first place. Keep the curiosity alive. Its a powerful, motivating force. Just don't get too anxious. One way I think about it, is that someone will pick up the torch - so…

That's very insightful.

"Keep the curiosity alive. Its a powerful, motivating force. Just don't get too anxious."

You're so right about that. I just realized I had much more zest for life when I was more curious. I should try to cultivate more curiosity.

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#129

Post by SergeAx »

mrrobot900 wrote: post #59

I see a lot of answers that revolve around the question of "how to make the most effective use of the limited time I have". A very rationalistic point of view (no surprise since it's HN). I'll give a different perspective: trust your gut feelings! In Emotional Intelligence, the author Daniel Goleman[1] writes > [Some of life's big decisions] cannot be made well through sheer rationality; they require gut feeling, and…

According to several sources, both scientific and esoteric, intuition (AKA gut feeling) is just underrealized experience. E.g. for intuition to work one have to get a lot experience. Which, in turn, requires time.

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#130

Post by closedloop129 »

pitsnatch wrote: post #97
closedloop129 wrote: post #88

Is your lifetime not enough or could the resources to become an expert be better? Looking at sports, it becomes obvious how much can be achieved with the right training. Unfortunately, right now, only the most promising talent in a field receives the best training. If we can automate that, it would be much easier to become an expert in many fields. So, if you don't want to decide, you could also improve the infrastru…

>Looking at sports, it becomes obvious how much can be achieved with the right training. Could you elaborate? I wasn't aware of this.

In general, times get better. Where does that come from if humans don't mutate that fast? It's also visible in gymnastics and similar sports where routines become more advanced.

There are other factors, like a bigger global population and drugs. But that's secondary for sports where participants show off complex movements.

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