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Exit the Cave

turtlespace.blog

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Re: Exit the Cave

#31

Post by ang_cire »

altcognito wrote: post #7
interroboink wrote: post #5

I like this article, but on some level I vehemently disagree with it? The summary is this: > A writer needs readers ... Any worthy pursuit needs a mat. > ... Better to be pinned in public with courage than to train > endlessly in private like a coward. And then I think of various shut-in artists that I admire. Take, for example, Henry Darger[1]. He clearly did not seek public recognition; he never showed his work to…

Yeah, I think the distinction is just the underlying purpose. If you are doing art for arts sake then just do your thing. (and there is nothing wrong with that) It may even be where you spend the majority of your time if you are lucky enough to do that. But if you are labouring under the belief that your art has human value to others, you must put it out in the world, and often the sooner the better!

By "human value", do you actually mean "monetary value"?

Many of the most famous artists were unknown or unappreciated in their time, and if they'd asked the people around them whether their art had value we'd likely not have half of the Louvre.

Re: Exit the Cave

#32

Post by toss1 »

jcalx wrote: post #13

Reminds me of a couple things: Nils van der Poel (Olympic speed skater record holder) and his How to Skate a 10k [0]: > It is not the one who suffers the most during preseason who prospers when the winter comes, but he who gets the most aerobically fit. and Tyler Cowen on Nervous Nellies [1]: > Yes. Because ultimately the nervous Nellies, they're not philosophically sophisticated, they're overindulging in their own n…

YUP.

>> you need to test the thing you're in there for. At some point, refusing to test an untested belief is just protecting a fantasy.

"One test is worth a thousand opinions"

Indeed, if the opinions are about yourself or your capabilities, not testing them soon is truly indulging in fantasy. (and nevermind how much you learn from the tests or competition itself)

Re: Exit the Cave

#33

Post by altcognito »

ang_cire wrote: post #31
altcognito wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I think the distinction is just the underlying purpose. If you are doing art for arts sake then just do your thing. (and there is nothing wrong with that) It may even be where you spend the majority of your time if you are lucky enough to do that. But if you are labouring under the belief that your art has human value to others, you must put it out in the world, and often the sooner the better!

By "human value", do you actually mean "monetary value"? Many of the most famous artists were unknown or unappreciated in their time, and if they'd asked the people around them whether their art had value we'd likely not have half of the Louvre.

Nope, not necessarily! That's a good example!

Re: Exit the Cave

#34

Post by quinnjh »

analog8374 wrote: post #30

You ever spend a decade working on something really great? I mean something truly brilliant and clever and next-level. And you bring it all the way to solid results. And it's real and beautiful. And nobody cares. I have. I think that's the dev parallel here.

What did you build? Can’t find on your profile/submissions

Re: Exit the Cave

#35

Post by [deleted] »

ang_cire wrote: post #28

> A writer needs readers. An entrepreneur needs customers. An athlete needs competition. A lover needs someone free to reject him. Any worthy pursuit needs a mat. Nah. I judge myself by how I progressed from yesterday, not by whether what I am or what I built is useful to others. Is keeping a diary pointless if you're not planning to make it a memoir? Is staying healthy pointless if you aren't using that health to co…

[deleted]

Re: Exit the Cave

#36

Post by sph »

samudrijan wrote: post #26
sph wrote: post #9

Tangent inspired by the first half of the article: wasting time on the Internet, in front of screens being akin to Plato's Cave is a useful framing device I wish I could internalize. Two or three decades ago getting acquainted with the nascent web felt like escaping the cave to a brand new world, just to now feel discovered we have been trapped into a worse one, and now wishing to escape back to the real world. You k…

Have you hit the end of the internet? I mostly have. This thread though is pretty decent.

Let's say that what I need today is found outside of the Internet, but my brain has been wired to find an escape from reality online, and it's become a very unhealthy coping mechanism.

Re: Exit the Cave

#37

Post by jondlm »

A couple weeks ago I went by myself for a hike through an old lava tunnel cave. I needed a flashlight because it was pitch black. I found a small nook in the wall about a mile in that I could wedge myself in to. I sat down, turned off my light, and let myself feel the enveloping darkness for a long time. I cried. The only sounds were of small droplets of cold water hitting the floor and my body. I let myself settle in to the sensation of being buried alone under the rock where liquid fire once reigned. I felt at peace. When I finally emerged from the cold tunnel a thrill ran through me as warm air gushed over my skin and the distant sun found me once again. I sat and fed the birds that visited me in the remote wilderness while I listened to the gentle whirl of wind in the trees.

Re: Exit the Cave

#38

Post by sph »

samudrijan wrote: post #25
multisport wrote: post #2

> Better to be pinned in public with courage than to train endlessly in private like a coward. Ship that product Funny, I didn't read this as career advice, but social advice. Like, get off the apps, get off the couch, go sit at a bar alone, ask someone to hang out.

We should strive for somewhat higher than sitting at the bar alone.

"80% of success is showing up"

Sitting at the bar alone might lead to a serendipitous meeting with someone that enriches your life. None of it can happen if you don't let the chaos of the world happen unto you.

Re: Exit the Cave

#39

Post by Gecko4072 »

ang_cire wrote: post #28

> A writer needs readers. An entrepreneur needs customers. An athlete needs competition. A lover needs someone free to reject him. Any worthy pursuit needs a mat. Nah. I judge myself by how I progressed from yesterday, not by whether what I am or what I built is useful to others. Is keeping a diary pointless if you're not planning to make it a memoir? Is staying healthy pointless if you aren't using that health to co…

Agree. A good reminder that people project their thoughts as fact in the writing, and our brains accept it faster than coming to our own conclusion.

Re: Exit the Cave

#40

Post by Ostatnigrosh »

LogicFailsMe wrote: post #11

The only thing worse than 100% inhabiting your own cave is trying to fit into someone else's. I had a conversation this weekend with someone in an emerging startup that I initially wanted to join but increasingly didn't as I realized I had gone from starring cast to somewhere between entourage and sub 1% equity NPC. And at that point, startups are horrible bets when you have any sort of sure thing IMO. But it was ins…

A small correction though. Because of AI I'd argue that execution is cheap while the best ideas are valuable.
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