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Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

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Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#331

Post by anhonestopinion »

capocannoniere wrote: post #217

Paul Graham wrote an essay on this topic, aimed towards high-school students. His advice: stay upwind http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html > Instead of working back from a goal, work forward from promising situations. This is what most successful people actually do anyway. > Suppose you're a college freshman deciding whether to major in math or economics. Well, math will give you more options: you can go into almost any…

Go study math, never get a degree because you haven't studied enough (according to experts) or you weren't talented enough (according to reality), and find yourself in debt, older and with no degree. You'll totally not regret having listened to advices like this.

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#332

Post by wolco »

casper345 wrote: post #176
cproctor wrote: post #99

I got some good advice about a decade ago, which I've used for guidance and, on reflection, has served me well. You're not well-positioned to understand the core nature of problems, and which are most important, from the outside. Until you have this clarity, do what you can to become part of the core community driving the thinking in your field of choice. There's a strong case for the social importance of many proble…

> You're not well-positioned to understand the core nature of problems, and which are most important, from the outside Great point. What startups that are trying to infiltrate "old/traditional" industries like hospitals or healthcare are realizing. Need to shadow doctors to see their workflow, not just propose a solution based on your observation or reading articles about hospital shortcomings.

Following doctors will only provide you with better tools for doctors. You need to shadow the admin side and understand the painpoints they experience because ultimately they pay bill.

The way the system works in whatever country you live in has shortcomings. Finding ways to fix those issues higher up the chain will provide the most value.

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#333

Post by Consultant32452 »

I solved whatever problem was handed to me by the employer that paid the most while allowing me to live the lifestyle I wanted to live: free time, commute, etc.

When I was younger I cared more about cool projects, or things that might be recognizable by non-technical people. This was a mistake. The wisdom I'd like to pass on is unless you're curing cancer, as you grow older things like your family will be way more important. So for work, just avoid misery and spend your clock cycles making family stuff work best.

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#334

Post by yesenadam »

yesenadam wrote: post #285

I want to be careful with this decision, to avoid any future regrets Don't forget to consider that you may regret whatever you do - by human nature, the grass is proverbially always greener on the other side. People who have kids may wish they hadn't, but if they hadn't, they may have regretted that - in both cases thinking they'd made the wrong choice. Socrates and Kierkegaard, among others, discussed this as a basi…

Here's a Socrates reference:

"When his advice was asked whether to marry or not, he said, 'Whichever you do, you will regret it!' "

- Diogenes Laertius, Life of Socrates, from Lives of the Philosophers, ~200AD

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#336

Post by throwaway713 »

yesenadam wrote: post #285

I want to be careful with this decision, to avoid any future regrets Don't forget to consider that you may regret whatever you do - by human nature, the grass is proverbially always greener on the other side. People who have kids may wish they hadn't, but if they hadn't, they may have regretted that - in both cases thinking they'd made the wrong choice. Socrates and Kierkegaard, among others, discussed this as a basi…

> Hang yourself or do not hang yourself, you will regret it either way

How does one regret hanging himself?

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#337

Post by diminoten »

throwaway713 wrote: post #336
yesenadam wrote: post #285

I want to be careful with this decision, to avoid any future regrets Don't forget to consider that you may regret whatever you do - by human nature, the grass is proverbially always greener on the other side. People who have kids may wish they hadn't, but if they hadn't, they may have regretted that - in both cases thinking they'd made the wrong choice. Socrates and Kierkegaard, among others, discussed this as a basi…

> Hang yourself or do not hang yourself, you will regret it either way How does one regret hanging himself?

By failing to do so successfully, or by being saved before the damage is irreversible.

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#338

Post by diminoten »

selestify wrote: post #298
dragonsky67 wrote: post #273

Why do you feel the need to work on a "Big Problem"? Do you feel the need to leave a legacy, or do you really want to make things better by working on paridgm changing enabling technology? I think there is a problem with trying to target your attention on world changing technology, in that it is very rare for the world to be changed in a big way by direct effort towards change. I think this is related to both the dif…

> History is full of people who made big changes to the world. Those who made a positive contribution seem to mostly have emerged from obsecurity after spending years labouring at improving something small and succeeding in a remarkable way. Very interesting. Can you give a few specific examples of this for me to look into? How have you come to the conclusion that this is a trend?

28 words written, with the expectation of many many orders of magnitude more in response.

This is a social zip bomb, and it's not very nice. Don't spend other people's time like this, do some research yourself if this genuinely interests you.

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#339

Post by yesenadam »

throwaway713 wrote: post #336
yesenadam wrote: post #285

I want to be careful with this decision, to avoid any future regrets Don't forget to consider that you may regret whatever you do - by human nature, the grass is proverbially always greener on the other side. People who have kids may wish they hadn't, but if they hadn't, they may have regretted that - in both cases thinking they'd made the wrong choice. Socrates and Kierkegaard, among others, discussed this as a basi…

> Hang yourself or do not hang yourself, you will regret it either way How does one regret hanging himself?

I took it as a joke. It's a very silly and funny book, in parts.

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#340

Post by solveit »

kiliantics wrote: post #203
MrGLaDOS wrote: post #11

These fokes devoted quite some time into thinking about your problem: https://80000hours.org/ From their homepage: "You have 80,000 hours in your career. Make the right career choices, and you can help solve the world’s most pressing problems, as well as have a more rewarding, interesting life. We’re here to give you the information you need to find that fulfilling, high-impact career. Our advice is all free, tailore…

I've been following them for a few years and, while I think there are some good ideas, I find them ultimately too unwilling to part with the status quo. I think real change in our society will require more drastic efforts that don't follow normal college-educated career trajectories. This is something I care quite deeply about so it is the "problem I decided to solve", as OP puts it. I think what we do in professiona…

Grassroots activism is great, but I think it's pretty clear that a single person at an elite think tank is more impactful than a single grassroot.

Now, if you think you can pull a Nelson Mandela, go for the activist approach, but most people can't, and 80,000 hours is in the business of giving advice to maximize expected utility.

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