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Why I feel like a fraud

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Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#41

Post by klbarry »

terra_t wrote: post #38

There is no "typical entrepreneur". If you look at wall street traders, Fortune 500 CEO's and other populations that have been through intense selection processes you'll find very homogeneous populations. If you look at entrepreneurs, you'll find confident people, anxious people, short people, tall people, thin people, fat people -- all kinds of people. That's because entrepreneurs select themselves rather than being…

Well, I think it's fair to say all entrepreneurs are persistent, but that's about it.

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#42

Post by epochwolf »

mcantor wrote: post #39

"First you get your Bachelor's degree, and you think you know everything." "Then, you get your Master's, and you realize you don't know anything." "Then you get your Doctorate, and you find out that nobody knows anything."

> Then you get your Doctorate, and you find out that nobody knows anything.

Took me about 3 months to figure out why the java class I was taking was so screwed up. The professor had never seen Object Oriented Programming (or Java) before. He was staying one chapter ahead of the class and picking assignments that required his domain expertise to complete.

As annoying as it was to find out, I still learned a useful bit of Java. Took me years (and learning ruby) to actually grok objects correctly.

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#43

Post by othello »

Actually the Impostor syndrome has another positive side: it prevents over-confidence and preserves a degree of humility.

Self-doubt can also make you a more likable person, especially if you are successful.

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#45

Post by tjpick »

epochwolf wrote: post #42
mcantor wrote: post #39

"First you get your Bachelor's degree, and you think you know everything." "Then, you get your Master's, and you realize you don't know anything." "Then you get your Doctorate, and you find out that nobody knows anything."

> Then you get your Doctorate, and you find out that nobody knows anything. Took me about 3 months to figure out why the java class I was taking was so screwed up. The professor had never seen Object Oriented Programming (or Java) before. He was staying one chapter ahead of the class and picking assignments that required his domain expertise to complete. As annoying as it was to find out, I still learned a useful bit…

Teachers are often just-in-time learners too.

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#46

Post by stuartk »

JangoSteve wrote: post #36

It's funny, even writing an essay about this very topic hasn't made the occasional feeling cease. Though, since then, I feel much better equipped to deal with it and get on with my day. http://jangosteve.com/post/380926251/no-one-knows-what-theyr...

Thanks for that post, excellent.

It's quite comforting, yet scary at the same time, to realise that the stuff you know you don't know is probably going to grow throughout your life, but that this is a good thing! Because it beats the hell out of not knowing what you don't know. Although I wonder if that would lead to a simpler life sometimes.

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#47

Post by cryptoz »

sushi wrote: post #26

I think a particular quote from Sh#t my dad says will resonate here. “That woman was sexy… Out of your league? Son. Let women figure out why they won’t screw you, don’t do it for them.” Let customers find out if your product is shitty. They won't buy it if it is.

Offtopic: why did you self-censor the first "shit" but not the second "shit"?

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#48

Post by [deleted] »

patio11 wrote: post #11
danilocampos wrote: post #7

Holy shit. I thought this was just me. I spend a lot of time churning on this. I'm a little shell-shocked at the revelation that others feel this way too. I wish I had something more compelling to contribute than catharsis, but... wow, thanks for (re-)submitting this.

Me too, for what it is worth. At least three times this year half my brain was screaming "They're going to find out any second now! . Flee, flee!" It all worked out.

[deleted]

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#49

Post by ricree »

cryptoz wrote: post #47
sushi wrote: post #26

I think a particular quote from Sh#t my dad says will resonate here. “That woman was sexy… Out of your league? Son. Let women figure out why they won’t screw you, don’t do it for them.” Let customers find out if your product is shitty. They won't buy it if it is.

Offtopic: why did you self-censor the first "shit" but not the second "shit"?

Assuming he's referring to the book version, he's just mirroring the book title's self censorship.

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#50

Post by elliottkember »

danilocampos wrote: post #25
patio11 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Me too, for what it is worth. At least three times this year half my brain was screaming "They're going to find out any second now! . Flee, flee!" It all worked out.

"They're going to find out any second now!" That's really it, isn't it? The whole thing just boils down to an odd, amorphous they capable of seeing straight through you if you happen to give them half a chance. I wish I could understand the source of this better.

I like this feeling. It makes you try harder, just in case someone comes looking.
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