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My startup cofounder is my wife. Things are going splendidly. Generalizations are pretty useless in making decisions for your own life.
Thanks for the fantastically rare anecdotal example.
Getting settled in to a family need not diminish the capacity for ideas, but following the established social conventions of ordinary people will reduce the chances to pursue them. Settling down may also make geniuses less social and as a result they may not pick up as many new ideas from others and they will limit their chances to be recognized.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks for the fantastically rare anecdotal example.
My point is more about the implications of such exceptions. Don't make decisions in the abstract. You aren't some random variable. You know a great deal about yourself, and conditional probabilities affect the aggregate statistics that caused your stereotypes and perceptions.
The critical aspect here is that you do not entirely control the temperament of your partner. That is up to her and your luck. Best to not throw away this advice and make use of this knowledge while you can.
Of course, congratulations on your awesome luck.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
My point is more about the implications of such exceptions. Don't make decisions in the abstract. You aren't some random variable. You know a great deal about yourself, and conditional probabilities affect the aggregate statistics that caused your stereotypes and perceptions.
So you're saying that one should never heed general warnings but instead discover all potential risks through first-hand, irreversible, unprepared-for personal disaster? The critical aspect here is that you do not entirely control the temperament of your partner. That is up to her and your luck. Best to not throw away this advice and make use of this knowledge while you can. Of course, congratulations on your awesome…
For example, wingsuit diving is essentially suicidal. http://youtube.com/watch?v=JHlOvhlKPvs
But if you happen to be an extremely talented wingsuit diver, such broad declarations don't mean as much.
Certainly heed advice if you are in no way exception with respect to the matters that influence the issue.
Also, about temperament... I've probably thought about the long term implications of temperament and interaction about starting the business far more than average. So if you shouldn't have gotten married, you sure as hell shouldn't start a company together. If you made a good decision (which sadly isn't too common), you can probably work together really well. Goes back to the main point: context matters over generalizations.
I've always been the type that in order for me to learn something, I adopt a pet project. It brings context to the concepts. I can remember staying the night at my girlfriend's apartment (she's now my wife). We enjoyed each others company. But when she would fall asleep, I would hop on to her computer and begin working on my own projects. And she use to complain, in fact, get extremely angry that I was up "typing awa…
1) Einstein ended up getting divorced over his work. Is it worth it? 2) Sex is exhausting. Having it regularly is the real issue.
I guess to refute the theory, we need to monitor testosterone levels of creative males for all his life. And after their death and 50 years later to judge the correlation of their testosterone level with achievements.
So shall we wait to see Serge Brin and Larry Page's declined capabilities in running Google? :-)
Marriage doesn't only stop scientific genius. It also stops musical genius. A good example would be The Beatles. Consider them like a start-up. They had a phenomenally productive phase but it stopped after they got married. This could be because the number of decision makers grew and the number of relationships grew even more.
According to Wikipedia, John was married to Cynthia from 1962-68; then to Yoko. Ringo married in '65; George in '66.
I ask because you're more successful than most of us here, and I know of many people who claim that celibacy is crucial to doing anything great with your life, for whatever your definition of great is. Scientific evidence is hard to come by though, and even still, most people don't seem to accept it.
My startup cofounder is my wife. Things are going splendidly. Generalizations are pretty useless in making decisions for your own life.
When i was single, I was a slacker mostly interested in partying. I would work just enough for rent and pot.
After our first son arrived 5 years ago (unplanned), I realized I had to make up for lost time, and have been extremely productive ever since, finishing my engineering degree, finally getting a "real" job in the industry, and then leaving that for my startup.
However, my wife constantly says I dont give enough time to the family. If I gave as much time as she wished, I doubt I would be successful.
My startup cofounder is my wife. Things are going splendidly. Generalizations are pretty useless in making decisions for your own life.
I think that most couples aren't capable of running a business together, but I also think we're particularly pragmatic and don't let emotions get in the way of our goals.
I also have found myself becoming MORE creative now that we've been married. That might just be because I didn't move out from my parents' house until a few months before the wedding, but I can say that the broad generalization of marriage destroying creativity doesn't apply to me.