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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

#191

Post by reality_inspctr »

fezfight wrote: post #74
reality_inspctr wrote: post #62

I built an app to model this out. It forecasts your future down to the millisecond. It's super simple right now, but has a "time machine" function to see where you'll be in 5 / 10 / 30 years -- and whole life. i.e. You might spend 20,000 hours in the bathroom and 10,000 hours writing novels. What's valuable to me and the people who have used it is to compare how much time you'll spend on type 1 hedonistic fun vs. typ…

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?

Thanks for trying it out! Modern parlance, imo.

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

#192

Post by reality_inspctr »

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…

That defines this pretty well. It's interactive.

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

#194

Post by dqpb »

SoftTalker wrote: post #51

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. Ecclesiastes 9:10 Basically, do the best work you can at whatever it is you need to do. In the end none of it matters.

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things. Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.

- Tao Te Ching, Chapter One

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

#196

Post by mattlondon »

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…

"Well-versed" https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/well-ver...

I only used "book smart" as it is an Americanism and this site has a large American and/or people who learnt to speak en-US. I don't think anyone else would use that term.

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

#197

Post by mattlondon »

pfkurtz wrote: post #182
nudpiedo wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It is welcoming, but it may also challenge your ideas and beliefs.

For that I value it.

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

#198

Post by Incipient »

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 least for me it's not a matter of "ok" or "not ok". It's just deciding what's best to do! Either Jack of all trades (my current approach) or master of one.

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

#200

Post by treenode »

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…

Your response is spot on. Gave me the words to frame my thoughts around.
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