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Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

maalvika.substack.com

131–140 of 221 posts

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm confused. I often say of every genAI I've seen of all types that it is totally lacking in taste and only has skill. And it drastically raises your skill floor immediately, perhaps all the way up to your taste, closing the gap. Maybe that actually is what you were saying? But I'm confused because you used the opposite words.

Closing the gap? I think we're inverting the gap: Many people now have access to a higher skill level than they've developed taste for (if they ever did), which makes them unable to judge their own slop.

Yeah this type of gap is going to become a huge problem the way things are going

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I usually see the opposite. Detractors from AI often refuse to learn how to use it or argue that it doesn't do everything perfectly so you shouldn't use it. Proponents say it's the process and learning that builds depth and you have to learn how to use it well before you can have a sensible opinion about it. The same disconnect was in place for every major piece of technology, from mechanical weaving, to mechanical c…

> Detractors from AI often refuse to learn how to use it or argue that it doesn't do everything perfectly so you shouldn't use it. But here is the problem - to effectively learn the tool, you must learn to use. Not learning how to effectively AI and then complaining that the results are bad is building a straw-men and then burning it. But what I am giving away when using LLM is not skills, it's the ability to learn t…

If you assume all AI detractors haven't tried it enough then you're the one building a straw man

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#135
> “There is a moment, just before creation begins, when the work exists in its most perfect form in your imagination.”

I think TS Eliot said this exact thing, but more poetically, in “The Hollow Men” (1925):

> “Between the conception and the creation, falls the Shadow”

Which remains one of my all time fave pieces of writing. So much said in so few words.

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But at heart the objections are about the fear of one's skills becoming economically obsolete. I won't deny that there is some of this in my AI hesitancy But honestly the bigger barrier for me is that I fear signing my name on subpar work that I would otherwise be embarrassed to claim as my own If I don't type it into the editor myself, I'm not putting my name on it. It is not my code and I'm not claiming either cr…

> If I don't type it into the editor myself, I'm not putting my name on it. It is not my code and I'm not claiming either credit nor responsibility for it This of course isn't just a moral concern, it's a legal one. I want ownership of my code, I don't want to find out later the AI just copied another project and now I've violated a license by not giving attribution. Very few open-source projects are in the public do…

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Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#137
post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s an odd take for a massively successful person. In the realm of producing hip-hop, his taste and skill are at the top of the industry. Sort of like saying Bill Belichick has a skill gap because he’s not a top NFL player. AFAIK he never played pro ball at all (and college wasn’t at a top D1 program). Bit, he’s undeniably one of the most successful coaches in the business.

As an aside, beleichick was a lacrosse player as a hobby/sport/passion, not an American football player. I’m very torn at the moment if he was an incredible coach or just rode the wave or Brady talent. I pay a lot of attention to football as a hobby (and a gambling outlet) so these next two seasons at UNC for ‘ol Bill will be really telling.

> I’m very torn at the moment if he was an incredible coach or just rode the wave or Brady talent.

Honestly, it’s hard to imagine they’d have been anywhere near that successful if the answer wasn't just "both."

You see plenty of examples of great coaches stuck with lousy rosters (Parcells with the Cowboys), and also great players on poorly run teams (Patricia-era Lions). Usually when a team only has one or the other, they continually flame out early in the playoffs.

> these next two seasons at UNC for ‘ol Bill will be really telling.

I wouldn’t read too much into that. He’s 73, the game’s evolved a lot, and coaching college is a whole different thing from the NFL. It’s incredibly rare for someone to excel at both — guys like Pete Carroll being the exception that prove the rule.

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#138
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh God So, what is the lesson here? Gotta let go of pride and risk it for the biscuit (ship something)?

And what's the lesson for parents? Can it be counter productive to praise your child a lot?

Don't just reward your child for being smart.

Reward them for listening, integrating, being nice towards others, relaxed, comfortable, flourishing, in their lane

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But at heart the objections are about the fear of one's skills becoming economically obsolete. I won't deny that there is some of this in my AI hesitancy But honestly the bigger barrier for me is that I fear signing my name on subpar work that I would otherwise be embarrassed to claim as my own If I don't type it into the editor myself, I'm not putting my name on it. It is not my code and I'm not claiming either cr…

> If I don't type it into the editor myself, I'm not putting my name on it. It is not my code and I'm not claiming either credit nor responsibility for it This of course isn't just a moral concern, it's a legal one. I want ownership of my code, I don't want to find out later the AI just copied another project and now I've violated a license by not giving attribution. Very few open-source projects are in the public do…

And, though I don't think it's nearly settled, in other areas courts seen to be leaning towards the output of generative AI not being copyrightable.

Re: Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

#140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is Rick Rubin pretty much. He has 100/100 in taste, but almost 0/100 in skill. He can't really play an instrument, but he knows exactly what works and what doesn't and can articulate it.

That’s an odd take for a massively successful person. In the realm of producing hip-hop, his taste and skill are at the top of the industry. Sort of like saying Bill Belichick has a skill gap because he’s not a top NFL player. AFAIK he never played pro ball at all (and college wasn’t at a top D1 program). Bit, he’s undeniably one of the most successful coaches in the business.

Rick Rubin said this in a popular interview himself, fwiw.
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