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Why I feel like a fraud

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Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#51

Post by silentbicycle »

danilocampos wrote: post #29
silentbicycle wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want to read about more people who feel this way, it's usually called "Imposter syndrome" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imposter_syndrome ). I feel this way from time to time, I assume it comes from being self-taught and not always knowing what my peers know. Meditating helps, as does having a supportive SO.

I, too, am self-taught. I spend a decent amount of time in terror, imagining a sea of unknown-unknowns just waiting to ruin my projects or make me look the fool.

Try to let it be a source of motivation, rather than insomnia. And don't worry, after a few years, all that extra work trying to keep up with imaginary peers really adds up.

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#52

Post by realitydose »

> I would explain how my tool cuts code review time in half, but was that actually true or had I just repeated the argument so many times that I stopped questioning it?

Am I missing something here? He says he feels like a fraud but if he's telling people something that he doesn't know to be true.. that's not 'imposter syndrome', it really is more like fraud.

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#53

Post by epochwolf »

tjpick wrote: post #45
epochwolf wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

I don't really have a problem with that in most cases. This case was a little special because I don't think the professor grasped OOP during my time in college. (Had him for a few of my classes)

Not grasping OOP makes using Java a tad difficult.

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#55

Post by cvg »

I often feel that I lack the delusion to build a premier company. I try to build a great product, but I can usually point out to other companies that do an element of what I do better. Perhaps no more SWOT analyses.

Such a weird balance that a startup founder must create.

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#56

Post by trafficlight »

allenp wrote: post #33
mgkimsal wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You forgot to add "killed". Probably the biggest, finalest "loser" moment anyone can face. :/ I wonder how well history would have judged him had he not been killed in office. Certainly some positive aspects, but we may have focused a bit more on his negatives (and he would have had more negatives in his life). BTW, find and read "Lincoln the Unknown" if you can get your hands on it. VERY good read (imo).

Thanks for that book suggestion I'll look for it. I don't have his death on here, that's true. The list is more about overcoming adversity than chronicling all his failures - though you may be right that he would be seen more negatively if he had lived. Perhaps the circumstances of his death helped create the legend around him - a lemons out of lemonade sort of thing (admittedly those are some damn sour lemons howeve…

I think America's collective view of JFK works the same. If he hadn't have died so young, what might we think of him now?

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#57

Post by mgkimsal »

allenp wrote: post #33
mgkimsal wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You forgot to add "killed". Probably the biggest, finalest "loser" moment anyone can face. :/ I wonder how well history would have judged him had he not been killed in office. Certainly some positive aspects, but we may have focused a bit more on his negatives (and he would have had more negatives in his life). BTW, find and read "Lincoln the Unknown" if you can get your hands on it. VERY good read (imo).

Thanks for that book suggestion I'll look for it. I don't have his death on here, that's true. The list is more about overcoming adversity than chronicling all his failures - though you may be right that he would be seen more negatively if he had lived. Perhaps the circumstances of his death helped create the legend around him - a lemons out of lemonade sort of thing (admittedly those are some damn sour lemons howeve…

It's out of print, but try to find a copy at a used bookstore if you can.

http://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Dale-Carnegie/dp/0899683207

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#58

Post by shuaib »

What scares me most is, when I find someone sharing the same feelings on these lines as me, and yet being far more productive then I am. This is when it gets really scary, and the little voice inside your head screams, "dude, you ARE a fraud".

But, at whatever level, we all have to fight it for the rest of our lives. :)

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#59

Post by ptn »

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.

3 times this year? It's 3 times a week for me.

Re: Why I feel like a fraud

#60

Post by apu »

silentbicycle wrote: post #22
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.

If you want to read about more people who feel this way, it's usually called "Imposter syndrome" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imposter_syndrome ). I feel this way from time to time, I assume it comes from being self-taught and not always knowing what my peers know. Meditating helps, as does having a supportive SO.

It's not just self-taught people. Many professors, who have gone through the full range of degrees from bachelor's to master's to phd's, also suffer from this. (And grad students, who are proto-professors.)
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