I’m a very slow thinker (2016) • Hacker News Board

Re: I’m a very slow thinker (2016)

#131

Post by castlecrasher2 » Mon, Aug 06, 2018, 10:16 AM UTC

some_account wrote: post #107

usgroup wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve wondered recently if speed and intelligence have anything to do with each other at all. It does in IQ tests but Darwin by his account would have been average at best. Further, the argument goes that there exists a g factor, and performance in a test that is sufficiently complex will be predictive of performance at anything else sufficiently complex ... Yet if we allow time to vary this seems to be so obviously f…

I think most people with high iq are awful to work with since they obviously lose interest trying to explain things to less intelligent people. This makes people feel bad around them, and they avoid asking them things. I have seen nice people with high iq but I think it's more common that they are not great around people.

How high an IQ are you talking here? I have a moderately high IQ (~130) and being able to explain complex topics to family and friends in a simple enough way that they understand it is one of the things I enjoy most, probably because having a basic summary then the meaty material is how I best learn complex topics.

I don't think humility, empathy, and high IQ are mutually exclusive, though given some of my experiences with smart people I can see why you might think that way.

Re: I’m a very slow thinker (2016)

#132

Post by andai » Mon, Aug 06, 2018, 10:16 AM UTC

growlist wrote: post #126

usgroup wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve wondered recently if speed and intelligence have anything to do with each other at all. It does in IQ tests but Darwin by his account would have been average at best. Further, the argument goes that there exists a g factor, and performance in a test that is sufficiently complex will be predictive of performance at anything else sufficiently complex ... Yet if we allow time to vary this seems to be so obviously f…

I've often thought about this - I suffered at school because the subject matter quickly seemed to arrive at one or more foundational concepts to not be explored further, whereas my brain would constantly ask, 'but why?'. The relentless pace didn't suit me at all. Nevertheless I learnt to override this in time and now have a BSc and MSc.

Did you begin a parallel learning project for actually understanding the material?

Re: I’m a very slow thinker (2016)

#133

Post by amorphous » Mon, Aug 06, 2018, 10:22 AM UTC

I'm not convinced that slow thinking is related to the ability to respond quickly in a conversation, or that people that come up with seemingly deep thoughts in a discussion are fast thinkers.

At the beginning of my career, I have often admired how some of my (freelance consulting) colleagues handle discussions with clients, how they seem to have profound answers to any doubt or question. Over the years I came to realise that most of the questions that come up in such situations are similar and repeating. The difference between those colleagues and me is experience and that they have been in similar situations many more times before.

Sure, some have more talent and social abilities, but I believe it all comes down to practice and has much less to do with pure "thinking strengths or quickness".

Re: I’m a very slow thinker (2016)

#134

Post by westoncb » Mon, Aug 06, 2018, 10:42 AM UTC

techstrategist wrote: post #63

We slow thinkers are among good company, including Charles Darwin: "I have no great quickness of apprehension or wit which is so remarkable in some clever men, for instance, Huxley. I am therefore a poor critic: a paper or book, when first read, generally excites my admiration, and it is only after considerable reflection that I perceive the weak points. My power to follow a long and purely abstract train of thought…

Interesting. I've also considered myself on the slow end of the thinking-speed spectrum, and have the other memory traits too: not so good with precision/particulars (instead I depend on being able to go back to sources as necessary), and I basically can't memorize anything. I don't know even half the lyrics to a single song.

My personal take is that it's largely a matter of intellectual values. I think that if I considered memorization to be important when I was younger, I would have gotten better at it, for instance. Instead my values tend to be around understanding the reason something is one way or another. I remember a friend being very surprised when I gave a satisfactory definition of 'common law' (because I tend not to know 'random' things like that)—but the only reason I remembered it clearly is because I understood the role it served. That tends to be the only thing that makes things stick for me.

I think the slowness may in part be due to that too. There are a lot of things that folks will have remembered whole, but I just know how to reason my way back to the result from a smaller set of more fundamental things I've learned.

Re: I’m a very slow thinker (2016)

#135

Post by codepie » Mon, Aug 06, 2018, 10:45 AM UTC

abhishekjha wrote: post #87

krasin wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a slow thinker, but had been moderately successful in competitive programming during high school days. The trick is to code a lot outside of the competitions and know all these tricks, as well as to have common snippets of code in your fingertips. I still find that experience quite useful in my day-to-day programming.

I would like to know more about this. Is there a proper book(s)/source(s) that I should follow? I never came across segment trees in my Data Structures class and I have rarely found the need to code one up in my job yet the screening process involved coding a question using segment trees. How do people get to know about these?

>Is there a proper book(s)/source(s) that I should follow?

You may find these book useful:

Competitive Programming 3 by Felix Halim and Steven Halim.

Competitive Programmer’s Handbook (https://cses.fi/book/index.html)

>I have rarely found the need to code one up in my job

Depending on your job profile, these data structures may not be used at all. But programming puzzles have become the norm for interviews in the industry.

Re: I’m a very slow thinker (2016)

#136

Post by billysielu » Mon, Aug 06, 2018, 10:53 AM UTC

growlist wrote: post #126

usgroup wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve wondered recently if speed and intelligence have anything to do with each other at all. It does in IQ tests but Darwin by his account would have been average at best. Further, the argument goes that there exists a g factor, and performance in a test that is sufficiently complex will be predictive of performance at anything else sufficiently complex ... Yet if we allow time to vary this seems to be so obviously f…

I've often thought about this - I suffered at school because the subject matter quickly seemed to arrive at one or more foundational concepts to not be explored further, whereas my brain would constantly ask, 'but why?'. The relentless pace didn't suit me at all. Nevertheless I learnt to override this in time and now have a BSc and MSc.

I had that problem at school too. It felt like a denial of service attack.

Re: I’m a very slow thinker (2016)

#137

Post by jacobush » Mon, Aug 06, 2018, 10:56 AM UTC

kwhitefoot wrote: post #121

techstrategist wrote: post #63

We slow thinkers are among good company, including Charles Darwin: "I have no great quickness of apprehension or wit which is so remarkable in some clever men, for instance, Huxley. I am therefore a poor critic: a paper or book, when first read, generally excites my admiration, and it is only after considerable reflection that I perceive the weak points. My power to follow a long and purely abstract train of thought…

I wonder how many of us slow thinkers are of the same calibre as Darwin but never achieve anything because life doesn't afford them the leisure to doggedly pursue their thoughts. In my case I think I only share Darwin's disadvantages but perhaps there are others out there who could have the same impact as he did if only the circumstances were right.

Very probable I think. Just keep in mind, the same was true back in his day I think. Most people were tied up in the drudgery of getting food on the table, quite literally.

Re: I’m a very slow thinker (2016)

#138

Post by jacobush » Mon, Aug 06, 2018, 10:57 AM UTC

some_account wrote: post #107

usgroup wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve wondered recently if speed and intelligence have anything to do with each other at all. It does in IQ tests but Darwin by his account would have been average at best. Further, the argument goes that there exists a g factor, and performance in a test that is sufficiently complex will be predictive of performance at anything else sufficiently complex ... Yet if we allow time to vary this seems to be so obviously f…

I think most people with high iq are awful to work with since they obviously lose interest trying to explain things to less intelligent people. This makes people feel bad around them, and they avoid asking them things. I have seen nice people with high iq but I think it's more common that they are not great around people.

I also think some people with high iq learn to fake a lower iq and thus, go below the radar.

Re: I’m a very slow thinker (2016)

#139

Post by usgroup » Mon, Aug 06, 2018, 11:08 AM UTC

usgroup wrote: post #106

techstrategist wrote: post #63

We slow thinkers are among good company, including Charles Darwin: "I have no great quickness of apprehension or wit which is so remarkable in some clever men, for instance, Huxley. I am therefore a poor critic: a paper or book, when first read, generally excites my admiration, and it is only after considerable reflection that I perceive the weak points. My power to follow a long and purely abstract train of thought…

I’ve wondered recently if speed and intelligence have anything to do with each other at all. It does in IQ tests but Darwin by his account would have been average at best. Further, the argument goes that there exists a g factor, and performance in a test that is sufficiently complex will be predictive of performance at anything else sufficiently complex ... Yet if we allow time to vary this seems to be so obviously f…

I kind of think that an intelligence tests should moreso try to evaluate how “Turing complete” you are , rather than how quick the processor is at a narrow range ...

Kind of reminds me of the programming language shootout dilemma . X is better than Y because it does Fibonacci sequences quicker ... mostly has no real world utility

Re: I’m a very slow thinker (2016)

#140

Post by jacobush » Mon, Aug 06, 2018, 11:09 AM UTC

robryan wrote: post #44

malux85 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not a literal inquiry, it’s the verbal equivalent of a TCP handshake. It’s protocol negotiation, volume adjustment, and preparation for transmission.

It depends, as a conversation starter it is probably okay. As an entire conversation it is almost entirely pointless, basically 2 people acknowledging that the other still exists.

That's not a bad thing! Acknowledging each other on the social graph.