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Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

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Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#131

Post by TeMPOraL »

AriaMinaei wrote: post #109
arez wrote: post #44

One aspect nobody mentioned so far is, why do I have to focus so much on my dreams and "work on the next rocket to mars"? Why isn't it okay anymore to just do my job, have friends and watch movies? Why does everyone has to be an entrepreneur and do a successful side-project? Why can't I just have a hobby that doesn't pay off at all, like playing an instrument alone in my room, without any pursue to ever play a concer…

I hope I don't come off harsh, as that is not my intention. > Why isn't it okay anymore to just do my job, have friends and watch movies? The reason you get to "just do your job, have friends, and watch movies," is because of the advances in science/technology/government/economics/art/etc that gave you and your ancestors enough surplus in productivity so you can afford spending some of your time watching movies. Thos…

Agreed. But the way I see it, the reason for all these sacrifices is so that other people can live a better, happier life.

On the one hand, I'm with 'icelancer here - there's not enough driven people in the society (that is, driven to do things, and not driven to gain status by incidentally doing some things). The more they are, the faster things can improve. On the other hand, everything seems to indicate that there will always be something to improve, so if everyone was driven like this, nobody would be left to enjoy the fruits of these sacrifices, making them ultimately pointless.

I don't know what the right balance is. I know I myself am not going to pressure anyone into seeking meaning outside their social circle and entertainment. From what I've observed, there seems to be a default balance - some people are happy with having a decent and a loving circle of friends (like OP), and some are unhappy with it (like myself). I see no good justification for forcing either kind to change, and I don't see either as better or worse than the other.

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#132

Post by grawprog »

arez wrote: post #71
TeMPOraL wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Selection bias. Nobody says you have to be like that. Just ignore the article and move on. For me, it resonates, because the perspective of "doing my job, having friends and watching movies" sounds depressingly empty to me. I want to work on the next rocket to Mars (yes, I really do want to work on space rockets - because I care about space rockets). I don't buy into the pressure you're seeing either. If your heart d…

it's not just this article. I feel the pressure in my every day life. I already have a job that fulfills me and where I give 100%, does that mean I will be the next CTO, no probably not, so I can't even claim to push my career that much. It's just that you read online about all these people that do open-source stuff, create their own website/business, build tools, do research etc. that you feel left out and the big p…

>it's not just this article. I feel the pressure in my every day life.

Why? It's your life. You're the only one living it. Live it how you want. It doesn't matter what other people do. If you're happy and fulfilled doing the things you do, that's awesome. Honestly, that's really the best most people can and should strive for in their lives. Some people just aren't contented or fulfilled doing those things, that's fine too.

Everyone lives their own life, it's cool to see what other people do and be inspired by it, but no one's really forcing you if you really don't want to. But if you feel pressure, maybe you're not as fulfilled as you think?

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#133

Post by csharpminor »

sscarduzio wrote: post #90
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #20

As someone that is "on the spectrum," I can report that focus can be pretty awesome. I generate vast amounts of code, in relatively short time, and am an insanely obsessive debugger. However, it don't come for free. If I get "roused" from my "fugue" (what I call "the zone"), I can be cranky. This has not always been helpful in my marriage. Also, I find that I can be "vocabularily challenged" for a few minutes after I…

I have been experiencing exactly this in the last 10 years without being aware it was a side effect of high focus. 10 years ago I was really bad at studying, then I had a peak of low self esteem, believing I was not intelligent. Ready to give up uni, my GF suggested I'd give myself only one more opportunity. So I started studying like it was the very last time I'd do it. Like, in an angry state, like I was demonstrat…

Personally speaking, coming up from deep focus tends to put me in an anxious state and sometimes gives me minor panic attacks.

If anyone reading this is in the same boat, I’d like to pass along some simple advice that a friend gave me: get up and go for a quick vigorous run around the block. I’ve found this to be a very effective way to reset.

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#134

Post by orangecat »

save_ferris wrote: post #121
icelancer wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not much of a fiction for a significant percentage of people reading Hacker News.

So what’s your point? That may be true, but it doesn’t change the fact that the median household income in 2018 was 32k.[0] There’s not a single county in the US where a minimum wage income covers the cost of a two-bedroom apartment.[1] Economically, we’re entering a new gilded age where legislative decisions increasingly favor the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. 0: https://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/netcomp.cgi?ye…

the median household income in 2018 was 32k.

Individual, not household. And that appears to cover all "wage earners", including cases like college students working part time. Median household income is $63k according to https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/us-median-hou...

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#135

Post by huntie »

save_ferris wrote: post #121
icelancer wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not much of a fiction for a significant percentage of people reading Hacker News.

So what’s your point? That may be true, but it doesn’t change the fact that the median household income in 2018 was 32k.[0] There’s not a single county in the US where a minimum wage income covers the cost of a two-bedroom apartment.[1] Economically, we’re entering a new gilded age where legislative decisions increasingly favor the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. 0: https://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/netcomp.cgi?ye…

>not a single county...

I'm going to call bullshit on that. Federal minimum wage is over $1000 per month at full time and I've seen 2br in my county for $550+utilities. I don't disagree with your general point but that report did a piss-poor job. I suspect they only looked in urban areas.

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#136

Post by TeMPOraL »

_ptgt wrote: post #112
sscarduzio wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been experiencing exactly this in the last 10 years without being aware it was a side effect of high focus. 10 years ago I was really bad at studying, then I had a peak of low self esteem, believing I was not intelligent. Ready to give up uni, my GF suggested I'd give myself only one more opportunity. So I started studying like it was the very last time I'd do it. Like, in an angry state, like I was demonstrat…

Does this resonate with anyone else? Is there any studies on this? I’ve had a similar experience over the past few years — a ton of work focus (at a FAANGM as an ML scientist/engineer) combined with limited social interaction and I’ve noticed my ability to have normal social interactions has declined greatly (“verbally inept” and “difficulty with empathy” pretty much hit it on the head). There’s potentially confoundi…

It resonates with me. I hit that once, at my 2nd year at university, as I was in a pretty bad emotional state which almost led me to drop off. Something clicked in my brain then, and I rebounded to extreme levels of drive and productivity (and a weird sense of humor). I nailed that year, went straight from "doesn't even attend classes" to the best student on the year. I earned a pretty good reputation with both my fellow students and faculty members alike. Unfortunately, the effect mostly went away the next year; I regressed to the mean, neither at my worst, nor at my best.

I'd really, really like to know how to enter that state again, and sustain it for longer.

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#137

Post by adventskalender »

arez wrote: post #44

One aspect nobody mentioned so far is, why do I have to focus so much on my dreams and "work on the next rocket to mars"? Why isn't it okay anymore to just do my job, have friends and watch movies? Why does everyone has to be an entrepreneur and do a successful side-project? Why can't I just have a hobby that doesn't pay off at all, like playing an instrument alone in my room, without any pursue to ever play a concer…

Maybe part of the problem is that jobs are not forever anymore. So it is a good idea to hedge one's bets and have side projects.

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#138

Post by TeMPOraL »

benologist wrote: post #86
edejong wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've noticed the same things! The same happens when I improvise piano. In addition, I cannot attach emotionally (empathy) to others for close to an hour.

I'm bilingual until I've been drowning in code all day, then I need a half-hour or my fluency is just gone and I struggle to understand my own family.

In my case, I have no problem parsing what my family is saying; it simply goes straight to /dev/null. I just can't engage with it.

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#139

Post by tdaltonc »

TheAlchemist wrote: post #65
gcp123 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm interested in this. How are you planning to execute your plan for 2020? Will power? or will you combine that with some kind of service or application to set some guide rails for yourself? Would love to hear the specifics!

No need for technology here. It's an addiction that many of us have. And I feel it got to a point it messes way too much with my brain. So yeah, only 'will power'.

Will power does not have a great track record in the "will power v addiction" war.

Re: Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)

#140

Post by rs23296008n1 »

arez wrote: post #44

One aspect nobody mentioned so far is, why do I have to focus so much on my dreams and "work on the next rocket to mars"? Why isn't it okay anymore to just do my job, have friends and watch movies? Why does everyone has to be an entrepreneur and do a successful side-project? Why can't I just have a hobby that doesn't pay off at all, like playing an instrument alone in my room, without any pursue to ever play a concer…

You mean you don't work in fast-food service biding your time while secretly doing cancer research, battery research and inventing a new poodle? What do you do, sleep, play sport, and have real relationships? Scandalous!

Personally I think a lot of the overachiever hype/nonsense is designed to just remind people how little they are. Its not to build them up. Its a different but same version of something used to sell products like cosmetics: make people feel insecure then sell them something.

(Now someone will argue I'm somehow against doing your best. Nice try)

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