Good ideas are grown, not found.
what about inspiration?
Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life
311–320 of 839 posts
Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life
#312It is impossible to have a thought that does not stem from another thought or your senses (seeing, hearing etc.)
To demonstrate: it is impossible to imagine a color that is not some combination of colors you've already seen before.
Trace any idea to their origin, and you'll realize all ideas are founded upon by what you have already seen, heard etc.
New ideas can only come from discovery via the senses, or are thus simply a new combination of old ideas...
Your reality is limited by what you can sense and remember.
"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world" - Ludwig Wittgenstein
Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life
#313Pursuit of knowledge should be a goal until your last breath. Never stop learning. Learn about new things that aren't necessarily related to your career. Use what you learn as a launching pad to explore even wider areas.
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life
#314This might be super basic, but... assume positive intent. Your parent is not your enemy. Your teacher is not your enemy. Your boss is not your enemy. The other team at work is not your enemy. The corporation is not your enemy. The other political party is not your enemy. Or, more accurately, YOU are not THEIR enemy. At best, you're an NPC in their game. Many of them probably even want to help you, because you are ano…
> assume positive intent. I feel like this is somewhat related to Hanlon's Razor: "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." Maybe the guy driving like an asshole and making a sudden lane change is actually unfamiliar with the area and noticed a bit late that their lane ends or is becoming an exit/turn-only lane.
I like this one, and I read a good follow up for that one on HN recently:
Never attribute to stupidity what can be adequately explained by opportunity costs.
(Hope I'm not butchering the quote)
Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life
#315We may harm ourselves or others around us for nothing but the feeling of control in our lives. I remember reading somewhere that eating disorders were an example of simultaneously losing and gaining control and, though I haven't had an eating disorder before, I could see how the same logic could apply to other actions.
Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life
#316Get angry, but first decide if it matters.
Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life
#317This might be super basic, but... assume positive intent. Your parent is not your enemy. Your teacher is not your enemy. Your boss is not your enemy. The other team at work is not your enemy. The corporation is not your enemy. The other political party is not your enemy. Or, more accurately, YOU are not THEIR enemy. At best, you're an NPC in their game. Many of them probably even want to help you, because you are ano…
My life experiences don't match your mental model, sadly. Maybe it has to do with where and how one grows up? For example, I know with certainty that my parents, teachers, and first bosses were enemies. A lot of people on HN seem to have grown up in safe, nurturing, loving environments. But, remember that most of the world's people didn't. I don't mean to call you out - just saying that I would love to have had your…
Sad reality, adequately explained by game theory: https://ncase.me/trust/
Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life
#318You've only failed if you stop trying. In my case go homeless or die is what it means to fail. edit: granted I'm not trying to split an atom or something crazy like that, but yeah. The fear of failure is always in the back of my mind.(currently means lose job/debt or generally just making an ass of myself eg. in meetings/srum/professional convo)
"Only the one who gives himself up is lost" Hans-Ulrich Rudel "Fun" fact: This guy was a convinced Nazi who basically destroyed two Russian tank divisions alone. I told this quote to an African American friend when he was struggling badly and had to go abroad for a job and it has inspired him ever since. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans-Ulrich_Rudel Beowulf has a similar quote: "fate often enough will spare a man i…
trying to have me use Nazi's as a role model? ha /s
They did build some cool stuff though
Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life
#319This might be super basic, but... assume positive intent. Your parent is not your enemy. Your teacher is not your enemy. Your boss is not your enemy. The other team at work is not your enemy. The corporation is not your enemy. The other political party is not your enemy. Or, more accurately, YOU are not THEIR enemy. At best, you're an NPC in their game. Many of them probably even want to help you, because you are ano…
My life experiences don't match your mental model, sadly. Maybe it has to do with where and how one grows up? For example, I know with certainty that my parents, teachers, and first bosses were enemies. A lot of people on HN seem to have grown up in safe, nurturing, loving environments. But, remember that most of the world's people didn't. I don't mean to call you out - just saying that I would love to have had your…
This mirrors my experience in many ways. People with legitimate ill intention were a lot more common in my youth and when I was in a lower socio-economic position.
Now I live in a world very similar to the one described by the GP. It took me quite a while to adjust, and I still have my moments.
Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life
#320Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot o…
"Dude, sucking at something is the first step towards being sorta good at something." -- Jake the Dog
"The secret to making great barbeque is to make a lot of bad barbeque" ~ Aaron Franklin