11–16 of 16 posts
True?
Going into my final year at Edinburgh uni, studying Comp Sci. I've always felt that I'm not nearly as talented as the folks around me, however I've loved computers since I was 10, I'm still in love and I'm always writing programs. Ever since I realized I'm not the most talented at comp sci (mainly the mathematics) I've had problems with my self-esteem. As such, I find this article incredibly comforting. Thank you!
I disagree with the Rand-ian outlook that some people should stick to working at McDonald's expressed by some other commenters. As humans living in the developed world, even the laziest person has enormous advantages. The real question is whether they are nurtured in an environment that tells a person that it's up to them if they are miserable, average or excellent humans. http://www.humblepied.com/jessica-hische/ I…
> I really liked typographer Jessica Hische's outlook: "the thing that you do when you procrastinate is the thing that you should do for the rest of your life". This is hideously shallow and shortsighted advise. The stories of people "making it" are always inspirational, though for every one of those, there are thousands of people toiling away in obscurity with nothing (material) to show for those efforts. If people…
I disagree with the Rand-ian outlook that some people should stick to working at McDonald's expressed by some other commenters. As humans living in the developed world, even the laziest person has enormous advantages. The real question is whether they are nurtured in an environment that tells a person that it's up to them if they are miserable, average or excellent humans. http://www.humblepied.com/jessica-hische/ I…
> I really liked typographer Jessica Hische's outlook: "the thing that you do when you procrastinate is the thing that you should do for the rest of your life". This is hideously shallow and shortsighted advise. The stories of people "making it" are always inspirational, though for every one of those, there are thousands of people toiling away in obscurity with nothing (material) to show for those efforts. If people…
Going into my final year at Edinburgh uni, studying Comp Sci. I've always felt that I'm not nearly as talented as the folks around me, however I've loved computers since I was 10, I'm still in love and I'm always writing programs. Ever since I realized I'm not the most talented at comp sci (mainly the mathematics) I've had problems with my self-esteem. As such, I find this article incredibly comforting. Thank you!
I worked at the University of Edinburgh for a while and I was definitely far from the smartest (it was full of physicists that had been to oxbridge), however I would still like to think I was thought of as a capable developer who got things done.
I would say that it is important to make sure you are good at the process of development - document and test your code, try to be methodical about things. If you can do this, you should be an asset to any software project.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
So I should read hacker news for the rest of my life?
Although I'd guess you're saying that in jest, it seems what the OCP (original comment poster) is getting at is something that happens to resonate with me. Almost any chance I get, I'm reading articles, thinking about how one thing relates to another, trying to pick up a few more phrases in this language or that, etc. Therefore, I should have, or create, a job where I can share what I know or where I'm looked to for…
Show me a person that writes a chapter for a novel when they procrastinate, or creates nearly finished pieces of art, and then I'll agree that person should reconsider what they are doing.
Everything that happens while you procrastinate is more or less a much easier activity. Don't sell yourself short.