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68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

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Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#241

Post by glangdale »

jerf wrote: post #175
Etheryte wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is one piece of advice that sound true and insightful, but in my opinion doesn't really hold up to scrutiny. An example of what I mean is the saying "perfect is the enemy of good", which directly conflicts with the above. Since I'm from the north, outdoor gear is a good example of this — there is no hardshell jacket in the world that ticks every box in my checklist. I've been through the lineup of both known and…

I don't think you're contradicting the advice. The advice was basically to find one good enough, then search a bit more. You found something good enough, then spent a unbounded search time on more alternatives. This is precisely what the advice told you not to do. You did it and are not entirely satisfied with the outcome. This doesn't seem to contradict the advice.

The thing I dislike about all these maxims is exactly what happened here. You took this:

"Then, don't stop, keep searching until you find a better one."

and turned it into:

"then search a bit more."

There was no mention of "unbounded search time" in the original maxim, and the person that you're responding to is following the maxim exactly ("don't stop until you find a better one").

Don't get me wrong - I think your interpretation is reasonable and a better idea than the original. But everyone takes these maxims and adds layers of interpretation and good sense to such a degree that you may as well have just trusted in your good sense to begin with.

If the original maxim had been more actionable ("then spend no more than 20% of the time you originally spend searching to attempt to find a better one, stopping if you do so") it might be more helpful, but it loses that air of folksy wisdom that these maxims love to put on.

Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#242

Post by mbrameld »

ardit33 wrote: post #139
Autowired wrote: post #115

> Everyone is shy. Other people are waiting for you to introduce yourself to them, they are waiting for you to send them an email, they are waiting for you to ask them on a date. Go ahead. Maybe take this one with a grain of salt.

Yeah, the author is projecting here. Assuming others feel/think the same as he does or did at some point.

It doesn't say ALL other people are waiting for you to introduce yourself to them. I think the point is more that you miss 100% shots you don't take so don't let your fear of rejection prevent you from trying.

Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#243

Post by earthboundkid »

kseifried wrote: post #237
earthboundkid wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, if you look at your mortgage payments, very little is going to principal. On the flipside, when you rent, you get certain services—maintenance of property and major appliances—that you don't get as a home owner. When I started my mortgage I was surprised at how much money I started spending on home stuff that I never used to spend as a renter. Partly it's because you own it so you have higher standards, but part…

But you pay for those in the form of rent. As a homeowner you can also pay someone to do those things. There are a ton of property management companies that will handle a single house if you want to completely hand it off to someone. In general when renting you usually rent a LOT less than you end up buying which I think is where many people get the "renting is cheaper than buying" thought. It's not like your landlor…

It depends on the market. In most of the US, buying is cheaper all things considered, but that’s not always true. Would you rather buy or rent in Flint?

Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#244

Post by GuB-42 »

steveklabnik wrote: post #158
ibiza wrote: post #151

> Buying tools: Start by buying the absolute cheapest tools you can find. Upgrade... Strong "no" on this one. Always buy quality tools. These are priced at a premium, but unlike "inexpensive" tools will: • Do the job expected of them w/o creating a new problem • Be enjoyable to use • Last a long time (often, a lifetime)

You cut out the meat of the advice. The point is that you may not need the tools to last a lifetime; you buy a cheap set first, and then replace the ones you actually use with the quality ones, for the reasons you explain. This prevents you from spending excess money on tools you don't use.

Some people prefer to rent instead of buying cheap tools. And I understand them.

Cheap tools sometimes don't work even once. I had first experience.

- Hacksaw blades that wore out before cutting a tenth small metal part. The good one bought as a replacement made short work of it and was still good for may others.

- Egg beater went up in smoke making slightly thick dough. The good one barely slowed down. It is not the first power tool I had that went up it smoke after moderate use, but that one didn't even last a single use.

- Square that was more than one degree off.

- Sewing needle with a hole too small for threading anything thicker than a human hair.

- Screwdrivers and bits that simply don't fit. At least not without damage.

- Adjustable pliers that slipped every time, could only be used at their widest setting. With terrible grip of course.

All these were replaced with good quality tools, the first purchase was a complete waste.

To be honest many of the cheapoes I bought are very nice. My set of cheap wrenches perform flawlessly. Don't feel as good as the nice ones but they at least perform their primary function. The adjustable ones are crap though, rounded a few nuts before being replaced.

So my take is to use good judgment, the "absolute cheapest" is often a bad idea. The problem is that if you are experienced, you probably have the good stuff already, and if you are not, it is hard to make that judgment.

Personally, when it comes to cheap tools I had the most success when buying store brands from large chains. IKEA tools for instance are not even hobbyist grade in quality, but at least, they perform their basic function and are suitable for light duty work.

Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#245

Post by GuB-42 »

ValentineC wrote: post #77

Would anyone mind sharing their take on this? > • Trust me: There is no “them”.

For me, it just means that when you are just saying "them" (or "they", or "their") the group of people your are referring to doesn't exist, and you are on your own.

"they are going to fix my problem": no one is working on your problem

"I told them": the message went nowhere

"It is their job": if it is someone's job, that someone is you

Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#246

Post by splatzone »

CaptArmchair wrote: post #34
splatzone wrote: post #12

This page really is a goldmine. In the spirit of not being afraid to ask stupid questions, I don't understand a couple of them - anyone care to explain? > When you die you take absolutely nothing with you except your reputation. Is this saying that your reputation dies with you? I don't get this, surely people will remember how you acted when you were alive. I'm probably taking it too literally. > Don’t ever respond…

> When you die you take absolutely nothing with you except your reputation. The opposite. When you die, you don't take anything material with you. No money, no assets, nothing. Your own personal experience dies with you as well. The only thing that doesn't die is how people will remember you. It's also a hidden paradox. You might aim for widespread fame and acclaim, yet totally forget about the people closest to you…

Thank you for this explanation! I love that the internet makes it possible for complete strangers to illuminate me like this - wonderful

Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#249

Post by thomk »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #103
hyperpallium wrote: post #38

> When an object is lost, 95% of the time it is hiding within arm’s reach of where it was last seen. Search in all possible locations in that radius and you’ll find it. Yup, look closely in the place you expected it to be. Something may be on top of it, or it may have fallen off.

And pull an image of it into your mind. Then glance around. Your brain's mighty correlation/association engine may find it for you! It will seem to pop out of the clutter.

That's a good way to look for a person in a crowd too. Think of what, exactly they were wearing and look for that, not their face.

Re: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

#250

Post by thomk »

wenc wrote: post #156
globular-toast wrote: post #130

> Don’t be the smartest person in the room. Hangout with, and learn from, people smarter than yourself. Even better, find smart people who will disagree with you. I've often struggled with this one. It might sound arrogant, but I am 90% of the time the smartest person in the room. This is a frequent cause of unhappiness as I just feel I'm carrying others and I'm not able to learn anything myself. I've changed jobs ma…

Try moving to a different field, especially a high-value one where raw intelligence is less important than "street smarts"/intuition/flair. There are many fields where the smartest person in the room doesn't have a Ph.D. or impressive academic/technical credentials. I often try to reinvent myself every couple of years. Moving from technical fields that I'm comfortable with into less technical fields where I'm forced…

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