Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Is the world suffering from shallow knowledge?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 66 posts

Re: Ask HN: Is the world suffering from shallow knowledge?

#31

Post by throwawaylinux »

I think it's been like this for thousands of years. The forefront of human knowledge has not been advanced by everybody all doing their bit. It was by a vanishingly tiny number of super-intellects, plus a much bigger (but still small) group of experts and deep thinkers who help carry and refine and expand those ideas.

I would say most people don't have the capability to usefully contribute to the complicated problems of today. The good thing is that those who do are inclined to share it with the rest of us because they can't do that in isolation either, and are dependent on the blood and sweat of others too.

Re: Ask HN: Is the world suffering from shallow knowledge?

#32

Post by whimsicalism »

nbzso wrote: post #29

There is no stopping of "current" mode. Yet. When presenting my PD work for the young guns, I UX them to unconsciousness:) Scratching the surface of a given topic and focusing on comfortable for them communication is the key. I always let the door be open for the deeper questions without selling my "extra" knowledge or experience. They have to be the stars in the room, knowledgeable professionals have a critical way…

Generalizing about the younger generation, a tale as old as time.

You are so much smarter and wiser than all of them, good job.

Re: Ask HN: Is the world suffering from shallow knowledge?

#33

Post by spoonjim »

boredemployee wrote: post #24
woodruffw wrote: post #12

Statistically, the opposite is happening: human knowledge is becoming deeper . The arc of human knowledge throughout history bends towards specialization : never before in human history have so many people been educated in so many different subdomains, each different in methodology, discipline, and scope. This is evinced by rising numbers of postgraduate degrees, increasing diversity in academic specialization, etc.…

>> Statistically, the opposite is happening: human knowledge is becoming deeper. Do you have a source to point to? (honestly wondering) >> to converse intelligently about things outside one's area of expertise Just had this conversation the other day. 90% of my old college teachers (engineering) could talk about and explain in depth many many topics out of their field (philosophy, history, geography and what not). Th…

College professors are like the academically top 1% of CS graduates. Are you comparing apples to apples?

Re: Ask HN: Is the world suffering from shallow knowledge?

#34

Post by karpierz »

boredemployee wrote: post #24
woodruffw wrote: post #12

Statistically, the opposite is happening: human knowledge is becoming deeper . The arc of human knowledge throughout history bends towards specialization : never before in human history have so many people been educated in so many different subdomains, each different in methodology, discipline, and scope. This is evinced by rising numbers of postgraduate degrees, increasing diversity in academic specialization, etc.…

>> Statistically, the opposite is happening: human knowledge is becoming deeper. Do you have a source to point to? (honestly wondering) >> to converse intelligently about things outside one's area of expertise Just had this conversation the other day. 90% of my old college teachers (engineering) could talk about and explain in depth many many topics out of their field (philosophy, history, geography and what not). Th…

> 90% of my old college teachers (engineering) could talk about and explain in depth many many topics out of their field (philosophy, history, geography and what not).

How do you know they could explain it in depth?

I've heard a lot of people who think they know history/philosophy/economics (especially on HN), but what they really know is pop history/philosophy/economics.

Re: Ask HN: Is the world suffering from shallow knowledge?

#35

Post by paulpauper »

I couldn't help but notice that many young people don't want to spend months pulling their hair off to get a deeper understanding of what they do... they want to obtain value very quickly.

so how big of a sample size you're talking about. A lot of young people are producing cutting edge research in math, physics, computer science, coding etc.

Re: Ask HN: Is the world suffering from shallow knowledge?

#36

Post by bawolff »

I think the obvious answer is "no the world isn't"

Do you have any evidence that young people are significantly different than people of the past that is not ancedotal?

I would suggest you probably just have nostalgia for an imaginary past which never existed. You remember the impressive people of your youth and forget all the mediocre ones.

Re: Ask HN: Is the world suffering from shallow knowledge?

#37

Post by tayo42 »

panarky wrote: post #18
throwk8s wrote: post #4

People don't want to do their jobs, but that doesn't mean they're completely unmotivated. Many people with jobs they're indifferent to, also have hobbies they pursue relentlessly. If you want people to take a deeper interest in their jobs, give them more money. Way more money. Way, way more money. If you want people to pursue deeper understanding of their interests, give them more free time. To the extent that "shall…

> Way, way more money Yeah, it seems like we could solve a lot of social problems if we had a lot more nurses, school teachers, mental health pros, librarians and psychologists, and if they all had deep knowledge and high motivation. It would be worth paying triple their current salaries to attract more people with greater commitment and enthusiasm. We would all be richer, and could probably pay for the extra compens…

I wish I could go deep into something useful and interesting but the compensation is really an issue. I guess for now I'll continue to make sure ads appear in youre lists of text updates :(

Re: Ask HN: Is the world suffering from shallow knowledge?

#38

Post by woodruffw »

issa wrote: post #28
boredemployee wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Statistically, the opposite is happening: human knowledge is becoming deeper. Do you have a source to point to? (honestly wondering) >> to converse intelligently about things outside one's area of expertise Just had this conversation the other day. 90% of my old college teachers (engineering) could talk about and explain in depth many many topics out of their field (philosophy, history, geography and what not). Th…

I think it is important to remember not to value judge these sorts of widespread skills. Does it matter today that I can't shape a flint or ride a horse?

I think the error here is in judging the absence of specific skills, and not in judging the broad absence of non-specialized skills.

In other words: it's wrong (and ridiculous) to judge someone for not knowing how to shape a flint, but it's correct to note that we should all have some general set of skills that aren't tied directly to our academic backgrounds or professions.

Re: Ask HN: Is the world suffering from shallow knowledge?

#39

Post by ryukafalz »

issa wrote: post #28
boredemployee wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Statistically, the opposite is happening: human knowledge is becoming deeper. Do you have a source to point to? (honestly wondering) >> to converse intelligently about things outside one's area of expertise Just had this conversation the other day. 90% of my old college teachers (engineering) could talk about and explain in depth many many topics out of their field (philosophy, history, geography and what not). Th…

I think it is important to remember not to value judge these sorts of widespread skills. Does it matter today that I can't shape a flint or ride a horse?

I think there’s a huge difference between being able to do something and being able to intelligently converse about it. The former I would not expect of people for tasks outside their specialization, but the latter seems like a more reasonable ask - especially if the demographic is college professors.

Re: Ask HN: Is the world suffering from shallow knowledge?

#40

Post by scrollaway »

OP, you will likely be interested in this talk by Bert Hubert:

How Tech Loses Out over at Companies, Countries and Continents: On how companies lose deep knowledge and stop innovating

https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/how-tech-loses-out/

As a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQccNdwm8Tw

Post reply on HN