71–80 of 811 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
My guess was that he needed a small box in order to fit it in his bag to take home?
Because when paying $1000+ for a computer the criterium is the box it comes in fits in your bag?
I sometime find myself deliberately avoiding looking stupid because it could possibly damage my career. And that's because the people who make decisions are not some divine being who see through you, they are just humans like the rest of us.
> Covid: I took this seriously relatively early on and bought a half mask respirator on 2020-01-26 and was using N95s I'd already had on hand for the week before (IMO, the case that covid was airborne and that air filtration would help was very strong based on the existing literature on SARS contact tracing, filtration of viruses from air filters, and viral load) I think this is remarkable, how common people with som…
> I think this is remarkable, how common people with some level of scientific literacy were able to get this correct much better than the whole medical establishment. I don't think it's remarkable at all. Common people with some level of scientific literacy took basically all kind of stances about masks. Some of them had to be right in the end. 'The medical establishment' otoh had to come to one single common recomme…
And they have to be able to communicate it in an effective way such that people believe it... AND can act on it. AND can act on it in a way that doesn't trigger panic or totally mess with supply chains needed to get proper equipment to front-line responders.
like Lawrence from azangru's quote above, the medical establishment needs to consider many more factors than 'common people' before making a public statement.
I guess the "stupid question" I'd ask of this article is: why don't you reveal your goals or thought process when challenged after asking a question that might be perceived as stupid? Take the Apple Store example: why not explain the reason why you were asking for a product by the size of its box when they responded by saying that size of the box does not map to size of the product? Being open about your goal would'v…
This post seems like some sort of humble-brag about not really being stupid, but being "willing to look stupid" to people who are actually stupid. To be honest, this entire post make him look stupid, but we all know now that he doesn't care what we think. I'm probably stupid for falling for another one of his clever schemes where he's just pretending to be stupid.
Exactly. E.g. this: "Although there are some downsides to people thinking that I'm stupid, e.g., failing interviews where the interviewer very clearly thought I was stupid" This isn't just looking stupid, this is being stupid. Why in Heaven's name wouldn't you at least adjust your behavior when you're in an interview? Acting stupid can be a convenient way to hold up your belief that you're smarter than the rest. Nobo…
The other half is ensuring that certain things get into the official judicial record.
Recently, I've been learning to sing better, with a focus on my higher register. One of the reasons most people cannot sing high notes well is that you inevitably have to go though a phase of singing high notes badly (and very loudly) first. Being a 'bad singer' (especially thanks to TV talent shows) is often seen as a paragon of looking like a dumb, shameful, naive idiot who overestimates their ability and lacks talent. This is despite the fact that every good singer was once a bad one.
I've noticed this same pattern in varying degrees of extremity across many sills I've picked up over the years. It is when you are in the 'stupid' phase, regardless of what is is you are learning, you're unlikely to get any sympathy positive reinforcement from the world, before then hitting an inflection point where you get loads. Knowing that you need to push through this to succeed is golden.
In my experience, there is a slight nuance in the frame here. It isn't just that Mr. Luu is "willing to look stupid", it is that he has confidence that his decision making process will on average turn out better decisions than the go-to default strategy that most people employ ("copy the crowd"). Most people, if they rely on their own research and decision making, will do poorly. And even moderately clever people gen…