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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

#181

Post by pkrotich »

Mastery is often encouraged - even with tropes like “Jack of trades master of none” used to deliver insults to some of us - but saying used in full phrase is “a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” ~ Shakespeare

Most of us won’t be polymaths per se but we now live in a world where information and knowledge are in abundance in whatever field of interest and for the most part it’s almost “free”.

With abundance and accessibility (regardless of your class to some extend) can create anxiety and depression or even paralysis since prioritizing shifts entirely on you - mentally as opposed to life’s circumstances forcing you to a particular path because that’s or was the only option. I believe this is a major source of anxiety and even depression in the internet age.

My point is, unlike many commenters, I see your point and even share what you’re feeling to some extend. Most people assume it’s just a matter of priorities, killing FOMO and perhaps being content with life you have now or whatever life has handed you, but it’s not that simple. It’s much deeper.

Perhaps you’re dealing with Chronophobia [0] of some sort that need to be addressed. For me it manifested itself as fear of not having enough time to read all the books that interests me - even if I start reading 24/7 now! My wishlist is insanely long and growing, yet I’m hoarding books and magazines I bought years ago because I simply don’t have time! With help of an expert, I was able to trace my fear to growing up in third-word county in a village setting; curious about everything but with zero access to books / library or entertainment for that matter. I read everything I got my hands to kill time and quench my curiosity and now I have access to all books in the word but no time!

[0] - https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22579-chronop...

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

#182

Post by pfkurtz »

nudpiedo wrote: post #148
pfkurtz wrote: post #21

A lot of people here are going to talk negatives and prioritization and purpose, but I personally also want to be practically omniscient, and you should strive for it too. You need strategies if you want to know a lot. Certainly focused things like classes and intensive study are necessary from time to time (and especially early in life), but we can't do that our whole lives, nor do we want to. What we need is to dev…

Then the pages of the books will become dusty and humid, for sure deteriorated. Let alone the other beings living in the house will also somehow interact with the books in other ways than the romantic fantasy setup you proposed.

What the heck are you even talking about? I gotta say, Hacker News is probably one of the least welcoming communities on the internet.

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

#183

Post by pfkurtz »

Ken_At_EM wrote: post #142
droobles wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

What’s another good label for these types of knowledge so that we can avoid the cliche? Is it as simple as having information and experience? I have read everything on being a carpenter but I have never practiced, so therefore I am “book smart” when it comes to carpentry? I guess this doesn’t really cut it because when someone claims their “steet smart” as a way to combat feeling inferior to someone else they have cr…

There's an obvious example in programming: one might read a lot about machine learning, without becoming a practitioner. Without actually doing some work, one's opinions about building AIs wouldn't be worth much.

What breaks down is thinking this dichotomy captures the state of play wrt knowing lots of things. One of course has to practice knowledge, if that knowledge involves practicable skills, if one wants mastery.

If one wants to know history, or philosophy, or... many of the actual large bodies of knowledge that exist... one needs to get comfortable very regularly opening books. That doesn't mean it's all that's required!

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

#184

Post by fezfight »

rmetzler wrote: post #93
fezfight wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I enjoyed messing around with that. I'm very old and your app helped reinforce that. I have a stupid question that is likely due to my age. Please feel free to ignore me. Why is this called an app and not a webpage? Is it just modern parlance or is there some functional difference?

It’s a website, because it has a URL, you use a browser to access it and it’s written in html, css and JavaScript. It’s an app, because it’s interactive. App means application, program, etc. but it doesn’t necessarily needs to be downloaded.

I guess JavaScript blurred the lines a bit, eh. Thanks for your reply.

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

#185

Post by fezfight »

davchana wrote: post #92
fezfight wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I enjoyed messing around with that. I'm very old and your app helped reinforce that. I have a stupid question that is likely due to my age. Please feel free to ignore me. Why is this called an app and not a webpage? Is it just modern parlance or is there some functional difference?

I have not opened the link above poster shared, but in my mind, a webpage is linear, like a page, where I read, and get info. It does not change state significantly if it even offers any interaction with user. There might be a new oage loading, or images load dynamically, but it does not get or ask information from user, process it & then spit out some data about it. An app usually displays something on a page, but m…

Thank you for your helpful reply.

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

#186

Post by P5fRxh5kUvp2th »

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…

Or maybe the OP is just curious... not everything "different" needs to have a fix.

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

#187

Post by koheripbal »

Centigonal wrote: post #29

Four Thousand Weeks is a good book that touches on this. It begins with the premise that most people have infinite desires, and all people have finite time, and it's unlikely you will accomplish even 1% of all of your dreams in your finite life. It then talks about how that's okay, because what we choose to spend our time and attention on is what makes us unique and interesting, and explores some ways to prioritize t…

At the same time, if we lived longer, our achievements can grow non-linearly as we compound skills and insight.

We don't talk seriously about increasing human longevity, primarily because science has been frustrated by the effort and it's a bit taboo because the assumption people have is that longevity will be reserved for the rich.

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

#188

Post by scastillo »

Usually this means you may probably get distracted easily. So you are good at maths and physics, but then there is this new concept on software engineering and what you do? maybe you switch and forgot for a while about the last topic you where becoming an expert.

There is one thing you are doing constantly and that is: Learning. You are becoming one of the best at learning a new topic quickly.

So is not really as in susans blog post that we are never going to have a single destiny... our destiny is to be the best at learning new topics in record time. This is certainly useful at a research team and new knowledge areas can really laverage someone like that. It's like the category theory expert who can found relations between mathematical objects.

My mindset towards this comes from an stoic maybe buddhist kind of perspective mainly influenced by Thich Nhan Nhat: So you want to be an expert in many things but there is no time for that? cool, embrace it, hug that feeling, accept it you don't need to suffer about it and maybe you already know this and you are looking for practical advice to get more done right?

So that is what I do, I embrace this fact, breath it out, and continue with the topic at hand.

Now getting back at the distractibility-factor... the real problem is when this starts making us not deliver important things here i'm with the person who commented about systems. Atomic Habits is a good book to make those systems and make it simpler for our biased existence to follow a predesigned path daily just as if you were your own parent and designed systems for the little you, the one that have to make decisions daily.

Honestly some psilocybin have helped me understanding this... and micro-doing it seems to add clarity and helps on the letting go.

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

#190

Post by joshka »

Expertise / knowledge doesn't really matter. It's gone when your lifetime ends.

Pick something else that remains. Impact.

Take a look at https://80000hours.org/ for some inspiration.

  You have 80,000 hours in your career.

  This makes it your best opportunity to have a positive impact on the world.

  If you’re fortunate enough to be able to use your career for good, but aren’t sure how, our in-depth guide can help you:

    Get new ideas for high-impact careers
    Compare your options in terms of impact
    Make a plan you feel confident in

  It’s based on 10 years of research alongside academics at Oxford. We’re a nonprofit, so everything we provide is free.
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