Ask HN: Does reading HN ever make you feel like shit? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Does reading HN ever make you feel like shit?

#151

Post by lobo-tuerto » Thu, Jul 22, 2010, 5:05 PM UTC

dkersten wrote: post #135

cwilson wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Judging by the rest of your comments on this site you're far too intelligent to be commenting here in the first place, so why keep at it? My hunch is that you find enjoyment in talking about how intelligent you are and making others feel less intelligent then you. That or you have something to prove as a result of being inadequate your entire life, but internally, you just know how brilliant you are and have to shout…

Judging by the rest of your comments on this site you're far too intelligent What comments are you talking about? The ones I see are either retarded, extremely arrogant (but not intelligent), or about average (relative to other comments on this site). From his previous comments, I would guess hes of average intelligence, for this site, but EXTREMELY arrogant. Not really a desirable combination, if you ask me.

He was being a little bit sarcastic about it. ;)

Re: Ask HN: Does reading HN ever make you feel like shit?

#152

Post by elg0nz » Thu, Jul 22, 2010, 5:11 PM UTC

There is this great article on Make Magazine called "Why Those Kids from Podunk Are Keeping You Down" And it says something in the lines, "So they made something cooler than yours, so what? It wasn't you anyways".

And I belive its true, most Successful guys are just "lucky" (paraphrasing Sarah Lacy's book "Once you are Lucky, twice you are good") so there is no point in comparing yourself to them, you should use them as inspiration and not exacly as role models.

For example, I really liked this Dustin Moskowitz (Facebook co-founder) answer when asked about the Social Network Movie:

"It is interesting to see my past rewritten in a way that emphasizes things that didn't matter [...] A lot of exciting things happened in 2004, but mostly we just worked a lot and stressed out about things"

http://www.quora.com/What-does-Dustin-Moskovitz-think-of-the...

So at my 27 years old, I may not be Mark Zuckerberg or even the more cooler and loved Matt Mullenweg, but I know that reading about them and how they think make me think different too; that somehow by entreprenurship there is a way to change this world and though it's really hard, I know that now I can't stop trying.

Re: Ask HN: Does reading HN ever make you feel like shit?

#153

Post by znull » Thu, Jul 22, 2010, 5:25 PM UTC

spudlyo wrote: post #133

Alex3917 wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If it makes you feel any better, my biggest worry about this site is the opposite: that the median awesomeness is decreasing as the number of users increases." I'd rather trade ten smart people for one person who ships.

Amen. I know a guy who is an extremely talented programmer, but for a number of reasons currently has a very poor work ethic. While he is able to be considerably more productive than a number of his lesser clued co-workers, he isn't.

And why do you think that is? I've seen too many situations where the reward for being more productive than lesser-clued co-workers was a greater share of grief and stress.

Re: Ask HN: Does reading HN ever make you feel like shit?

#154

Post by jamesjyu » Thu, Jul 22, 2010, 6:05 PM UTC

I don't know the slightest thing about any other language besides Javascript, PHP, Java (from school), and MySQL.

It sounds like you need to get uncomfortable more often: explore new things outside your realm and expertise. Human beings tend to get stuck in ruts and do the same routines they are comfortable with.

We need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

I suggest diving into a language or framework you've never used and just stumble around for a while. I find that this is when I learn the most, and many times, colliding my existing knowledge base with something totally foreign sparks new and original ideas I may not have had before.

Also, don't compare yourself with everyone else (easier said than done). We are all knowledge workers here. Everyone is on their own quest. It is not a zero sum game with other hacker news members.

Always improve yourself with respect to yourself, not other people.

Re: Ask HN: Does reading HN ever make you feel like shit?

#155

Post by Tycho » Thu, Jul 22, 2010, 6:05 PM UTC

Sometimes I feel all these people are so much more hardworking than me, which is a sad thought, but also a healthy 'kick your own ass' type thought. As regards people having talents and achievements that I may never be able to match, that in itself does't bug me because a) as a consumer I'll probably benefit from their innovations, and b) if you're anything like me you secretly think that you are pretty f*cking smart and if they can do it, just proves you can, broadly speaking. ;)

Re: Ask HN: Does reading HN ever make you feel like shit?

#156

Post by toefur » Thu, Jul 22, 2010, 6:15 PM UTC

Work ethic leads to better performance than IQ in college students: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=789312

Example of what can happen when the workload exceeds one's raw intelligence and exposes the limitations of work ethic: http://lwn.net/Articles/393694/

And another HN post provides evidence that working harder will contribute to your happiness: http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2010/07/were-happier...

The simple fact is you are plugging yourself into where some very bright people are communing (namely, HN) and that shows that you recognize value. You seem to also be able to assess yourself. That is good. At least you know where you are starting from. Focus on the positive. What you set your mind on tends to be what you get more of in your life. Don't worry about how smart everyone else is. Results are the only things that matter at the end of the day. So set your mind on what you want (a goal) and work harder than you did the previous day/week/month/year to get there. Constantly be learning (by coming here, you will.) Learn how to learn better, faster, easier. Learn how to work faster, cheaper, more productively. "Hack" your mind/heart and apply your life to the expression of your mind/heart and you will see more results. (Notice the absence of moral guidance there. I don't want to start a flame war only indicate a system and a pattern.)

Enough self-help guidance. I wish you well.

Re: Ask HN: Does reading HN ever make you feel like shit?

#157

Post by DanielRibeiro » Thu, Jul 22, 2010, 6:16 PM UTC

neilk wrote: post #9

pg wrote: post #3

You have to consider the number of users. HN now gets 60k unique visitors on weekdays. That's a decent sized stadium full of people. Of course they seem overwhelming collectively, but most individuals are only experts in a few areas. If it makes you feel any better, my biggest worry about this site is the opposite: that the median awesomeness is decreasing as the number of users increases. If you want to feel less ov…

> If you want to feel less overwhelmed, try reading the comments starting at the bottom of the page instead of the top This should be a preference. Ego-boosting sort.

I'd also suggest reading The Pragmatic Programmer (http://www.pragprog.com/the-pragmatic-programmer, written by @pragdave) and the The Passionate Programmer (http://pragprog.com/titles/cfcar2/the-passionate-programmer).

People who are passionate about what they do have a tendency to stand out (pg makes a similar argument on Amateur section of http://www.paulgraham.com/opensource.html).

If you are passionate enough about software development aspects, most HN articles will not feel overwhelming, as you will be constantly improving on your craft. But then you will know how much more there is to learn. Just don't feel overwhelmed then.

Re: Ask HN: Does reading HN ever make you feel like shit?

#158

Post by pinneycolton » Thu, Jul 22, 2010, 6:31 PM UTC

pg wrote: post #3

You have to consider the number of users. HN now gets 60k unique visitors on weekdays. That's a decent sized stadium full of people. Of course they seem overwhelming collectively, but most individuals are only experts in a few areas. If it makes you feel any better, my biggest worry about this site is the opposite: that the median awesomeness is decreasing as the number of users increases. If you want to feel less ov…

You should also remember that a lot of the time, you're reading about efforts that take teams of extremely bright individuals to make successful. Sure, there's the occasional lone gunman out there, but two brains are almost always better than one.

In fact, in my own experience, I have found it is very difficult for one person (me) to be amazing at all the different things needed to make an idea successful. I'm pretty amazing, but not superman! ;)

Re: Ask HN: Does reading HN ever make you feel like shit?

#159

Post by misterbwong » Thu, Jul 22, 2010, 6:33 PM UTC

lionhearted wrote: post #48

Good! This is a good thing! You're feeling sick to your stomach that you're not living up to your potential - good that you come here to post this. Most people fight this feeling down with distraction, intoxication, or otherwise tuning out. You're doing something about it. This is fantastic. If you want, email me a reasonably short email and tell me what your goals and projects are, I'll recommend you some reading an…

lionhearted: out of curiosity, did OP prompt you to write your most recent blog entry?

Re: Ask HN: Does reading HN ever make you feel like shit?

#160

Post by hrabago » Thu, Jul 22, 2010, 6:39 PM UTC

neilk wrote: post #14

One of your problems is that you are judging yourself by your natural abilities. I think this a trap that a lot of smart people fall into, perhaps being used to being the kid who always gets the gold star. There are studies that show that children who are praised for being "smart" stop working hard, because that threatens their self-image. Children who are praised for working hard go on to greater successes. But back…

I believe I've read these points multiple times from multiple sources, but this one post puts them together rather effectively. I'll be printing this out and sticking this on my wall (as well as keeping this in my Notes app) so I can review it regularly. Thanks.