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Ask HN: Where do the smartest people you know work?

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Re: Ask HN: Where do the smartest people you know work?

#41

Post by goalonetwo »

i_am_a_peasant wrote: post #32
goalonetwo wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After my last bunch of medical issues, I lost confidence in this field almost entirely. Doctors (or at least most of them) are not critical thinkers. They simply repeat the knowledge they have seen in textbooks or in other patients. As soon as what you have is out of the common path, you are on your own. I had to do my own research to figure out the cause of my symptoms and bring those to my doctors that agreed with…

It happens, I've seen a lot of doctors mess up. But they're still better equipped than you to discern medical fact from non fact during research. The sweet spot is a doctor that involves you in the decision making process, is transparent and intellectually honest. I've had doctors that admitted to me they didn't know what's wrong with me but gave me a list of probable options and a series of possible tests to undergo…

The pattern that seems to work is do your own research and bring the probable diagnostic to your doctor that can have a second look at them.

In my case, had I not do that my doctors (saw multiple) would never have diagnosed it. This was for a rare syndrome.

Re: Ask HN: Where do the smartest people you know work?

#42

Post by Havoc »

tomcam wrote: post #30
Havoc wrote: post #19

The notion that all the smart people work for 5 companies seems...not all that smart.

> all of the smartest people I know Is it your thought that the post and “I know” part translates to all smart people? Perhaps the original post was edited?

I could have alluded to it...but that just takes it in a "you live in a tiny bubble" direction which also isn't exactly flattering.

Re: Ask HN: Where do the smartest people you know work?

#43

Post by JohnFen »

erikaww wrote: post #37
drBonkers wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't the pay poor in the semiconductor industry?

the very smartest may not always seek the highest paying jobs. it is at least true in sweden that the highest earners are not necessarily the smartest: https://fortune.com/2023/02/17/smartest-not-paid-most-wages-... (i think this was on the front page recently)

This is my experience. Brilliant devs tend not to be primarily money-oriented. They are motivated by being able to do the things they're interested in doing.

Re: Ask HN: Where do the smartest people you know work?

#45

Post by JohnFen »

sharadov wrote: post #25

The smartest person I know who's in his 50's is now an alcoholic - made and lost a fortune. He's still worth an easy 20 million dollars, but is way too driven and edgy to just shut up and retire. I read a thin line separates genius from madness. His entire life has exemplified this. It's profoundly sad to see him - his genius is a curse.

I've only personally known two people who were unambiguously geniuses, and they were both deeply broken people. If that's the price of genius, then I'm very happy being a subgenius.

> a thin line separates genius from madness.

I suspect that genius is actually a form of insanity, personally. A functional form, but still...

Re: Ask HN: Where do the smartest people you know work?

#46

Post by muzani »

I think there's a bias to this question where someone thinks of a place they should be working and then names 5 people who work there. Or they pick a damn smart mentor who taught them 20 years ago or a celebrity who wrote a book and surprise, surprise they're still there. Heck, if I listed everyone with a PhD from Harvard, they'd be working in the same university.

So to be fair, I'll check the 5 people who I don't know what they're up to.

1. Petroleum engineer at a petroleum company.

2. Well engineer at a petroleum company.

3. Manager at a petroleum company.

4. Doctor in a well paid city.

5. Manager at the Ministry of Finance.

There's still a bias - all are from the same (expensive) university, so there's a bias towards scholarships or rich kids. All are mid 30s, Malaysian nationals who have lived for years outside their home country. I'm sure the results would be very different plus/minus a decade.

Seems like many in their 30s took a job, hated the job, did freelancing etc, ended up in the highest paying job they could find. One was a doctor who became a manager in a petroleum company.

Re: Ask HN: Where do the smartest people you know work?

#47

Post by poulsbohemian »

Smart is so relative and so overrated. I learned a long time ago that the person you think might be the dumbest sad sack around probably has some niche in this world where they are king. And similarly the guy with the off-the-charts IQ is probably a moron in some part of their life. You wanna talk about smart? Be the person who is empathetic enough to figure out other people's strengths and weaknesses and how to work with them. As far as where to work - you'll meet smart people and dumb people everywhere you go, so figure out what you like doing and go there. Big Co works for some, startups for others - it isn't just about smarts, but also personality and risk profile.

Re: Ask HN: Where do the smartest people you know work?

#48

Post by afjeafaj848 »

JohnFen wrote: post #43
erikaww wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the very smartest may not always seek the highest paying jobs. it is at least true in sweden that the highest earners are not necessarily the smartest: https://fortune.com/2023/02/17/smartest-not-paid-most-wages-... (i think this was on the front page recently)

This is my experience. Brilliant devs tend not to be primarily money-oriented. They are motivated by being able to do the things they're interested in doing.

Yeah if your job is extremely boring it can drag down your overall happiness despite more money

Gotta find a good balance

Re: Ask HN: Where do the smartest people you know work?

#49

Post by sharadov »

JohnFen wrote: post #45
sharadov wrote: post #25

The smartest person I know who's in his 50's is now an alcoholic - made and lost a fortune. He's still worth an easy 20 million dollars, but is way too driven and edgy to just shut up and retire. I read a thin line separates genius from madness. His entire life has exemplified this. It's profoundly sad to see him - his genius is a curse.

I've only personally known two people who were unambiguously geniuses, and they were both deeply broken people. If that's the price of genius, then I'm very happy being a subgenius. > a thin line separates genius from madness. I suspect that genius is actually a form of insanity, personally. A functional form, but still...

Exactly - that unrelenting focus, single-minded obsession. When it's creative and productive it leads to something beautiful. But the flip side is a horror show.
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