Pots of Gold • Hacker News Board

Re: Pots of Gold

#11

Post by germinalphrase » Tue, Dec 07, 2021, 2:05 AM UTC

mym1990 wrote: post #2

I get caught up in this kind of thinking a lot! To me, everywhere I look, there is so, so, so many cool things being created on a daily basis, if you have thought of an idea, it has most certainly already been tried. I sometimes think of people in previous centuries and how they had so much innovation ahead of them. But they also didn't know what was ahead of them, just as we don't know what is ahead of us. Then I th…

And yet - our public culture feels, in many ways, so trapped in discussions about the past rather than creating positive visions for the future. Even much of our popular science fiction appears trapped in pessimism or soulless, futurelessness.

Re: Pots of Gold

#12

Post by BigHatLogan » Tue, Dec 07, 2021, 2:25 AM UTC

An article that came in at the right time.

I have been feeling really down lately about how my life has turned out, which sounds a little ridiculous and self-indulgent given how much I earn in my day job. I'm really grateful for it, and grateful to remain employed, but I live in San Francisco and am a stone's throw from friends and former coworkers who are swimming in the ocean while I'm playing in the kiddie pool. In fact, just yesterday I found out that a former classmate of mine is the co-founder of a startup that recently raised between $10 and $20 million.

I know intellectually that I'm also in a fortunate position at a fairly sizable company; I know intellectually that he has a long road ahead of him and success isn't guaranteed (so my sizable company earnings might look better in the long run); I know intellectually all of these things and more, but I also have to admit that I still feel awful about it--jealous, for sure, and maybe even a little resentful.

Lately I've been thinking of a small idea to build, but then I think to myself that there's no point to doing so--scrounging together customers (if I can even manage to) only to build something for a handful of people, etc.--why bother?

I don't have an answer, but this article helps.

Re: Pots of Gold

#13

Post by imtringued » Tue, Dec 07, 2021, 2:13 PM UTC

xbpx wrote: post #4

This logic can also apply to hobby projects and interests. "There are amazing artists or software programmers building world class stuff, what can I add?" is a common enough refrain I've encountered here on HN. It's not just about the end results, it's about being the person or seeking the experiences you want to have. Maybe you want to be the person who builds companies. Go build one. Maybe you want to make 3d desig…

Or the usual "has already been done" comment on a Show HN. Add "written in Rust" and you are guaranteed to disturb a beehive.

It's a lot of fun to build something yourself. It's not very fun to spend days wading through an old opensource code base only to get told that your change won't be merged. The only people who go through that process are those that absolutely need the patch.

The thought of contributing to Freecad hasn't crossed my mind because of that.

Meanwhile some people swim against the stream and create something beautiful. Just take a look at Kicad vs Horizon EDA. The world is better off by having both.

Re: Pots of Gold

#14

Post by mym1990 » Tue, Dec 07, 2021, 3:39 PM UTC

germinalphrase wrote: post #11

mym1990 wrote: post #2

I get caught up in this kind of thinking a lot! To me, everywhere I look, there is so, so, so many cool things being created on a daily basis, if you have thought of an idea, it has most certainly already been tried. I sometimes think of people in previous centuries and how they had so much innovation ahead of them. But they also didn't know what was ahead of them, just as we don't know what is ahead of us. Then I th…

And yet - our public culture feels, in many ways, so trapped in discussions about the past rather than creating positive visions for the future. Even much of our popular science fiction appears trapped in pessimism or soulless, futurelessness.

I do think public discourse is often rooted in either people or events, which are a product of the past(even current events/living people). It does take special types of people to discuss and dissect ideas and think about the future.

In fiction writing I think happy-go-lucky stories don't evoke that much of a response. There needs to be conflict and resolution, or some kind of tension. On that note, I just watched the new Dune movie and would love to read through the series now!

Re: Pots of Gold

#15

Post by tedmiston » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 5:52 PM UTC

BigHatLogan wrote: post #12

An article that came in at the right time. I have been feeling really down lately about how my life has turned out, which sounds a little ridiculous and self-indulgent given how much I earn in my day job. I'm really grateful for it, and grateful to remain employed, but I live in San Francisco and am a stone's throw from friends and former coworkers who are swimming in the ocean while I'm playing in the kiddie pool. I…

I think part of the answer is to spend some of your hobby time building tiny little toys with no expectation that they will become companies.

https://blog.aaronkharris.com/why-build-toys