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Most advice is pretty bad
31–40 of 90 posts
Re: Most advice is pretty bad
#32Advice is free like kittens. Really affecting the outcome of someone elses circumstances costs money and time and very few are willing to do that. Especially when the someone is outside our family or tribe.
Re: Most advice is pretty bad
#33I think most advice is bad because the person giving the advice somehow also wants to sound like a hero or at least somebody you would want to look up to.
Unfortunately most of the times the reality to do the things for which the advice is sought is rather mundane and sometimes not even something a person would be proud off.
Like for example, if you want to be a very successful business the reality advice is to market more aggressively, lock people in your walled garden, save taxes, inflate prices, make a commission on other people's work, etc but the advice you give is make better products, innovate, make it user friendly, create brand loyalty, etc.
Re: Most advice is pretty bad
#34Our obsession with non-obvious advice stems from our base addiction to novelty. For good reason, pathways in our brain become myelinated and more efficient the more often we use them, to the point where we can process well-worn thoughts almost subconsciously. Thus, toys we've played with too long become boring. Advice we've heard too many times before seems blah. We're hardwired to notice more when we encounter thing…
This depends on whether the field is an arms race. In plenty of areas, common advice is quickly implemented by most competitive participants. See college admissions or even getting jobs after university. At one point founding a charity was considered evidence of leadership. By my graduating class for high school, half the class had a charity. The person I know who has been the best at admissions has founded 4. But no…
> Or consider unlimited vacation for developers. At one point that was a fairly novel perk. Now, everyone has that.
I would argue that nobody (or hardly anyone) has this. Otherwise you’d find most developer only working 6 months a year.
Re: Most advice is pretty bad
#35VC give pretty bad advice in general. Their advice is the the description of founders they want to invest in. Most of the founders they give money to, more or less follow the advice they give (not directly, but because they have been selected like that). But as all vc most of their companies fails, showing that the advice in fact doesn't work. Don't forget that if they really knew what to do to start a successful com…
“Don't forget that if they really knew what to do to start a successful company they wouldn't be investors but founders”
I can’t stand this philosophy, e.g. “those who can’t do teach” kind of stuff.
Perhaps VCs prefer their job to being a founder?
Not everyone who is _capable_ of being a founder _wants to_ be a founder. It’s exhausting work that takes all of your time.
Re: Most advice is pretty bad
#36Our obsession with non-obvious advice stems from our base addiction to novelty. For good reason, pathways in our brain become myelinated and more efficient the more often we use them, to the point where we can process well-worn thoughts almost subconsciously. Thus, toys we've played with too long become boring. Advice we've heard too many times before seems blah. We're hardwired to notice more when we encounter thing…
This depends on whether the field is an arms race. In plenty of areas, common advice is quickly implemented by most competitive participants. See college admissions or even getting jobs after university. At one point founding a charity was considered evidence of leadership. By my graduating class for high school, half the class had a charity. The person I know who has been the best at admissions has founded 4. But no…
> Or consider unlimited vacation for developers.
Is there any evidence that developers (or anyone else with "unlimited vacation") take more time than they did previously?
I've assumed that was more akin to "open offices" - selling a cost-cutting measure as something hip.
Re: Most advice is pretty bad
#37The best advice I heard was don't listen.
- Cousin Stizz
Re: Most advice is pretty bad
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
This depends on whether the field is an arms race. In plenty of areas, common advice is quickly implemented by most competitive participants. See college admissions or even getting jobs after university. At one point founding a charity was considered evidence of leadership. By my graduating class for high school, half the class had a charity. The person I know who has been the best at admissions has founded 4. But no…
> Or consider unlimited vacation for developers. At one point that was a fairly novel perk. Now, everyone has that. I would argue that nobody (or hardly anyone) has this. Otherwise you’d find most developer only working 6 months a year.
Fair, it is not truly unlimited, but for plenty of people (at least where I have worked) it has still ended up being 5-8 weeks a year.
In contrast to the more traditional employers who say that you can start with two weeks and after 3 years of loyal service with no real raises, you can have three.
Re: Most advice is pretty bad
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
This depends on whether the field is an arms race. In plenty of areas, common advice is quickly implemented by most competitive participants. See college admissions or even getting jobs after university. At one point founding a charity was considered evidence of leadership. By my graduating class for high school, half the class had a charity. The person I know who has been the best at admissions has founded 4. But no…
> Or consider unlimited vacation for developers. Is there any evidence that developers (or anyone else with "unlimited vacation") take more time than they did previously? I've assumed that was more akin to "open offices" - selling a cost-cutting measure as something hip.
I only have anecdotes from the two companies I have worked for with it, but developers taking 5-8 weeks off is not uncommon.
And whether or not you do take it, you can if you need/desire to do so.
It stands in contrast to more traditional companies that offer you two weeks to start and an extra week after three years of service without a raise.
Re: Most advice is pretty bad
#40This also applies to doctors. You would think they are intelligent, highly trained and experts in their field. But the you look at the statistics for medical mistakes and how many people die every year from drug complications and it brings some needed perspective.
I think the problem is people are biased, and play out roles. You show a carpenter a nail that sticks up and he will hammer it down. What else would you expect, this is what he was trained to do.
A doctor is trained to give you drugs or operate, the bias is towards taking medical action. If he doesn't do anything and you die, he might get fired, your family would have a clear case to sue and so on. Even if statistical doing nothing may be preferable. It's just probably hard to nothing in some cases.