141–150 of 208 posts
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I don't know what he means. why 'fast idiot'? All I come up with is you guys are lawyers?
They're programmers, the fast idiot is a computer.
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This, my friend, is the well-worn path to the rabbit hole.
But the real problem is giving a shit. Being a genius is nothing. Be kind to you.
This is probably the best lesson to learn in life. Love yourself. Forgive yourself. Put one foot in front of the other and keep moving.
My mother used to tell me that I was a genius but I ignored her because she was a little crazy (literally).
I think we should all try to find out what we are good at and try to improve that. The more I read HN the more I get humbled into knowing that I don't know or understand much in terms of the complex world we live in. I don't even approach genius, nope not even close.
I used to get depressed thinking about what I could have become. And as I approach retirement (4 years out) I have had many thoughts of regret for what could have been. But now I seem more comfortable in being me, in being what I had and have not accomplished and being okay with that.
For me the big accomplishment has been raising a family that is well adjusted and loving.
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We are all capable. Most of us just choose to drink our whiskey instead of leveling up to achieve something everyone will hear about.
The value of whiskey is pretty clear, the value of notability much less so.
Every time I read one of these articles about genius and madness, I become smug for a little while, then I get depressed because I realize that I haven't accomplished anything noteworthy, then I'm mildly reassured because occasionally my wife will spontaneously aver (contrary to all expectation) that I am a genius, then I get distracted and start chasing some ideas, then I get depressed again because, well, shit, I s…
I think having a wife who loves you and supports you is a noteworthy accomplishment.
Hear! Hear! Total agreement. been married almost 32 years. There were many difficult years in the first ten or so. Now it is love, support and understanding.
Every time I read one of these articles about genius and madness, I become smug for a little while, then I get depressed because I realize that I haven't accomplished anything noteworthy, then I'm mildly reassured because occasionally my wife will spontaneously aver (contrary to all expectation) that I am a genius, then I get distracted and start chasing some ideas, then I get depressed again because, well, shit, I s…
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Not tonight it seems, unfortunately. But after tonight, back to normal, stiff upper lip and all that. Right. Now then.
No worries, the reason you're upvoted to the top is because many of us see bits of ourselves in you. I'm also of the opinion that many of us are capable of genius-level accomplishments, but it requires a confluence of mental and physical well-being, life circumstances, and luck that doesn't always come easily. So, I am driven to do better and learn more day by day, but I also won't rebuke myself too harshly if I neve…
Love and forgive yourself. Accomplish what you can, strive for better. But at the end of the day what is is what is.
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I didn't say most progress, I said breakthroughs. Let's look back at some of the biggest breakthroughs in history. Newton was by all accounts a profoundly odd human being who was highly secretive and kept to himself. Faraday came from poverty and made his discoveries with no grounding in the math of the day. Einstein made his big breakthroughs as a patent clerk working on his own. Darwin was also an outsider who work…
I don't know if that is possible these days though. Ideas even from (relatively unknown) insiders are often termed "lacking in scope" and outright rejected. I can only think of one outsider having accomplished anything of value in math in the past 20 years (and even that guy wasn't really an outsider). Academia has turned into a social game that is painful, and where the rewards are terrible (unless you're in CS I su…
Now that is depressing.
As a public figure, it wasn't worth burning my reputation to type this out, but I think that speaks to the state of discourse around mental health today. The article is uses the word "psychopathology" which is a general term for the study of mental disorders. However I want to talk specifically about Psychopathy as a disorder, because I recently came to understand that I am a psychopath. My guess is that there are pr…
Why?
> It's tiring as hell to live this life.
So don't live it. In your opening sentence you say you must hide your identity and in your last sentence you say it is tiring to live like that. So don't hide behind the "mask of sanity" and then you don't need to be tired.
It won't be easy, but nothing worthwhile is.
As a public figure, it wasn't worth burning my reputation to type this out, but I think that speaks to the state of discourse around mental health today. The article is uses the word "psychopathology" which is a general term for the study of mental disorders. However I want to talk specifically about Psychopathy as a disorder, because I recently came to understand that I am a psychopath. My guess is that there are pr…
Your perspective resonates as very plausible.
Every time I read one of these articles about genius and madness, I become smug for a little while, then I get depressed because I realize that I haven't accomplished anything noteworthy, then I'm mildly reassured because occasionally my wife will spontaneously aver (contrary to all expectation) that I am a genius, then I get distracted and start chasing some ideas, then I get depressed again because, well, shit, I s…