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Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

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Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#161

Post by exactly »

kurthr wrote: post #153
monk_e_boy wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem occurs when passion and expectations differ. An artist who expects a good, easy life, to be wealthy as a plumber etc. Utility is fine. Packing shelves is fine. Do you have time to follow your passion out of work? Can you make your passion pay enough? Most people I've met who gave up on their passion seemed to want praise, fame and/or notoriety rather than the 'art' or whatever they were producing.

Exactly, I know so many part-time artists/musicians... even a few part time scientists. If the passion/art is really important to you, you'll find a way (there's a homeless guy I know who paints and chalks). You may not get what you want, but maybe you'll still get what you need. Somewhere in here there's the Peter principle that people rise to their highest level of incompetence... it's true in art as well as engine…

Exactly.

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#162

Post by tomxor »

> I can't decide whether I should be working on what I want to work on (Energy, AI) or whether I should work on what I believe should be worked on (Healthcare).

It's my opinion that picking based on idealisms alone is bad for everyone, _unless_ you have the luxury of choice! ... what I mean by "luxury of choice" is: of the things you are both _good_ at and _enjoy_.

If you excel at and enjoy working in both healthcare and energy, then pick the idealism and be the humanitarian... if you don't enjoy healthcare or are not good at it, don't bother, you will support humanity as a whole and thus healthcare indirectly by working on the problems you _can_ efficiently solve, all while not torturing yourself.

My above assertions are based on the assumption that you already know you are good at and enjoy one of your choices, if not, you need to explore, otherwise you are choosing based on an even worse aspect (speculation). i.e kids say they want to be a fireman or spaceman but unless you are really stubborn you should choose based on the _processes_ those things involve. End results are just a single moment in time.

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#163

Post by bullen »

hartator wrote: post #123
bullen wrote: post #118

I always knew multiplayer was my passion, so I built a platform that would change multiplayer for the better: http://fuse.rupy.se/about.html It took 20 years, 10 years to learn how I wanted to build it and 10 to actually build it. IMO healthcare is not a solution to anything, good food and people are much better doctors. Energy is not a solution; but the problem of this century, AI is complete baloney. I also learned…

Pretty impressive. Are you working on this full time?

Thx, well I got many other projects, but this is the priority no 1.

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#164

Post by ransom1538 »

jadbox wrote: post #149

"Do what you love" is a common phrase, but I've found an opposite technique. Find the things that bugs you most (that you talk about, focus on, debate about) and allow yourself to become a solution. I've found that the problems I tended to be naturally be bothered by ended up making great career choice(s) for me.

I printed this comment out and will frame it (once the frame is delivered).

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#165

Post by anujsharmax »

> It's a short life, so I want to be careful with this decision, to avoid any future regrets. Because I can't decide on this, I end up not getting anything done. Time continues to march on, while I'm still stuck with not knowing what to do.

I loved most of the advice other people have given you. Follow the advice that you think is the best, but remember, You are more than the work you do.

You are being too hard on yourself - take care of your mental health as well. Talk to someone you trust.

Your life goals and priorities will change throughout your life. In the end, everyone will have some regrets (for different reasons). You just get to choose your own.

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#166

Post by cimmanom »

gtirloni wrote: post #126
Kaveren wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not the mindset that people who achieve anything have. It's a defeatist attitude. Many people have, to use the saying, had it all, and many have fought past roadblocks to get there. People who let life wash over them never get anywhere.

You both are right. The secret is to balance both world views according to your values. It's never a black/white decision.

Yup. Pick the battles that matter to you and that you have a choice of winning.

There will always be forces beyond your control that affect your life - be they natural disasters, other people's decisions (from personal choices like whether to date you and small-scale professional like whether to hire you; to which departments to cut in a major layoff; to enormous political/social upheavals), market forces and scientific breakthroughs that you can't predict, etc. If you don't roll with the punches on those, all you'll accomplish is to make yourself angry all the time.

But there are also choices you can make - such as how to spend/invest your money; what jobs to apply to; whether to start a business, and which one; whom to try to date or ask to marry you; where to buy or rent a home, etc. that will have massive, compounding effects on your stress levels and happiness.

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#167

Post by cmax »

To the degree that you can pursue both or combine them, do so, do not try to live your life like https://www.xkcd.com/761/

To the degree that you have to make decisions under uncertainty, try to minmax.

To the degree that you can't reconcile what different pieces of you want, or that other people want of you, or that you want of other people, learn to negotiate.

To the degree that you are really stuck, the world works a little like Miegakure, changing the question might free you.

To the degree that those don't free you from uncertainty, reduce the scope of planning and relax the goals, expand them as you master the environment.

Not making a decision is itself a decision that guarantees failure and maximizes regret.

Advice can be given, but ultimately, it is a hit or miss that depends on how you tick.

What I would do is, write an essay about it. You need to formulate your arguments, and convince yourself, to your own standard. Answer your own questions, and do any research you might need if you are at a loss of words.

If you reach a question in this same class, apply this comment recursively.

This is the best I can do without attempting to write my own essay.

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#168

Post by jondubois »

My approach has been to only engage in activities where I can get a lot of value out of failure. Personally, I chose to work on Open Source projects because there are a lot of possible upsides:

- It gives you an opportunity to learn a lot about a specific field and become an expert in it.

- Better job opportunities and career security (being the founder of a moderately popular OSS project can help you to build your personal brand).

- You may be able to monetize your project by offering consulting, fremium model or add-ons; OSS can help you get your foot in the door at a lot of companies.

- You can use your own generic open source project as a foundation to create your own commercial projects. If one such project fails financially, it's no big deal, you can just refocus your energy on a different commercial project and still use your OSS work as the foundation so you don't start from scratch.

Also, the cost of participating in OSS are pretty low since it only uses up your time; you don't need to invest any money for marketing. The other thing about OSS is that sooner or later, smart people will figure out that your free solution is superior to commercial alternatives and this will give you an opportunity to form meaningful professional connections with these kinds of people. Better to have a small community of highly involved and intelligent people than a huge community of apathetic people who are only there because of marketing.

Re: Ask HN: How did you decide what problems to solve in your lifetime?

#170

Post by ineedasername »

Given the option, and assuming some equivalence in quality of life by each choice (none is more likely to require insane hours or burdensome travel requirements etc.). And given equal talent in each area: I would recommend choosing the one that most interests you, that inspires the most passion.

You're unlikely to be able to drive yourself as hard and therefore contribute as much to an area you aren't as in interested in. Nor are you as likely to be as happy and content in your life if you are working on problems that bore you, even if their goals are noble.

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