You can start a science twitter, tweet every thought, every interesting fact you have found and you'll build a following and get your insights vetted, confirmed or refuted by the crowd. A very powerful way to increase your knowledge and accuracy.
Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?
81–90 of 325 posts
Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
Very sad way of seeing the world and experiencing life imho. Sounds like some very traumatic past experiences that are the exception not the norm. things can definitely be much better
Sorry to burst your bubble but marriage regret is the norm past age 35. One of the canned responses to going your own way is always "who hurt you".
Most marriages that are first marriages for both partners end in death. Doesn't sound like there's a lot of regret there. People want to stay married. Otherwise they wouldn't.
Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?
#83My reply will be short, but hopefully insightful:
Congratulations, you're curious and have an intellectual appetite!
Some people do sports, some people collect stamps, some do RPG, some... and some are curious of academic disciplines (to phrase it poorly).
There's a quote I don't remember the (french) author (and since I don't trust the Internet for this) but I very much like:
"Since we're not given the opportunity to choose the world we live in, the least we could do is try to understand it"
In french: "Puisqu'il ne nous est pas donné de choisir le monde dans lequel nous vivons, la moindre des choses est d'essayer de le comprendre".
On a personal note, discovering philosophy, sociology, anthropology, history, among others, has changed my life.
Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sorry to burst your bubble but marriage regret is the norm past age 35. One of the canned responses to going your own way is always "who hurt you".
Most marriages that are first marriages for both partners end in death. Doesn't sound like there's a lot of regret there. People want to stay married. Otherwise they wouldn't.
I didn't get married til my early 60s. So far so good! I've seen so so many busted marriages "out there" that I did NOT rush it (obv).
Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?
#85Make a big list of the things you are great at and love doing, and then look for combinations that nobody else is combining. Bam. Super hero.
My super power? Expert level customer service with a deep technical understanding of my profession. Usually somebody is one or the other, but I happen to have both. It's a rare combination, and people who succeed at that combination (and market it properly) can do quite well. That's not to say I'm making FAANG wages (I'm not) or that I have a big savings (I don't) but I love what I do and I'm good at it, and I am able to make a great impact at the startup I work for. That's good enough for me.
Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?
#86Maybe you should become a policymaker :)
Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?
#87No post body was provided.
Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?
#88Read a couple of books by Barbara sher: Refuse to choose [0] She calls people like us "Scanners" and claims that our diversity of interests is not a weakness, but a strength. Then goes on techniques to make this skill work for us. [0] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594863032/
It's only a strength if you have a strong base and a way to tie things together. Being interested in a bunch of disparate fields is not in itself useful. In fact for most people it's probably completely useless, because you're going to suck at everything. Ex: OP wants to read "textbooks to learn basic concepts" and "swim in their ideas". That doesn't equal competence. However, if you have strong expertise in a partic…
Agree - otherwise it can just justify procrastinating.
Edit: Someone else said it better here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30928437
Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?
#89In the end, you can't do it all, and why would you? That would be extremely taxing. Most disciplines work with other disciplines, so pick a related cluster of disciplines. You'll get to work with them and experience some of their world, while having your own you can be competent in. In the end, it doesn't really matter, and consider that for many people in the world, they don't have a choice to begin with.
Re: Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?
#90> swim in their ideas
Speaking as an accomplished dilettante, I can tell you that the ability to have interesting conversations with anybody about anything is in fact a fairly OP soft skill.
If you're an extrovert, I would encourage you to move into a role where you get plenty of exposure to different people - you'll find that you have a natural edge.
The other major benefit of your approach is that you will build diverse mental models and paradigms for dealing with problems. Try to find your way into some sort of consultancy.