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Career Advice from Scott Adams (2007)

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Re: Career Advice from Scott Adams (2007)

#41

Post by jimmydddd »

petke wrote: post #26

That's good advice. Find a niche basically. It don't think it works for every career though. Being good or even being the most skilled at a niche. Musicians and actors, any job that has as much to do with popularity as with skill. Very few make it and the ones that do, don't seem better than most of the ones that dont. I have been listening to enough open mic nights and small time bar gigs to think so. Its sad really…

Reminds me of Tony Horton (P90X dude). He worked for years as a trainer and aspiring actor/standup comedian. He didn't hit it big until he started making exercise videos when in his forties. The acting and comedic skills combined with the trainer skills made him successful.

Re: Career Advice from Scott Adams (2007)

#42

Post by PhasmaFelis »

m52go wrote: post #11
putlake wrote: post #9

Scott Adams is very entertaining. He predicted Trump's staying power way back in the summer when everyone (including me) thought his candidacy was just a joke. In fact, he has predicted a landslide for Trump in the general election. He says it's based on his training as a hypnotist, which gives him an insight into the art of persuasion. Over the years I've learned many things from following Adams' blog. He recommende…

Yeah I think people misread Scott. He's always had crazy ideas, but they've been well-articulated and always delivered with a healthy dose of humility. He doesn't take himself too seriously. Whereas many see him as a troll, I think he's a true contrarian in a sea of fashionable contrarians.

"True contrarian" is just a politer name for troll, though. If you say unpopular things solely because they're unpopular, we have a word for that.

Re: Career Advice from Scott Adams (2007)

#43

Post by autarch »

existencebox wrote: post #8
wging wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no idea whether you're calling this article trolling or good advice.

This article seems to hold up to my personal anecdata, and that of many of the mentor figures I've had over the years. (I'd also note the 2007 publish date) However, I've (as with the parent) read some of his writing recently that made me just shake my head and want to stop, and I say this as a die-hard Dilbert fan. His opinions on trump being some sort of personal-image savant at "hacking psychology" (don't recall t…

Re: his articles on Trump. I'm not sure if he's right, but I do appreciate that he's been willing to make very specific predictions about the future. So far it seems like he's been pretty good at predicting how things will turn out for Trump. Maybe he's entirely wrong about why, of course.

Re: Career Advice from Scott Adams (2007)

#45

Post by aptwebapps »

kelukelugames wrote: post #37
kelukelugames wrote: post #5

Scott Adams used to give great career advice and cartooning tips. I think he got bored a few years ago and decided to become a professional troll. I will write some examples after work.

Okay I'm home now. Let's dissect the most famous example. 1) Adams compares women to children and people with mental disabilities. 2) Claims he didn't and that everyone who thinks that has bad reading comprehension. Also plays the victim card anytime someone accuses him of misogyny. 3) Writes article about hypnosis. Adams says he can convince people that two things are related without doing it directly. Gives example…

I'm not up to date with the Trump stuff but what I thought was particularly disingenuous about the first example was that he said in advance that he was going to write something ambiguous that people would 'misinterpret' and then he made fun of them when it happened.

As far as I'm concerned, if you write something with the goal of communicating a particular idea to a particular audience then that's what you said. It doesn't matter at all what other meanings could be construed and whether they are more logical or not.

If I say something to a few people and I know that one of them will misunderstand it (the reason doesn't really matter) in a way that makes the statement untrue then I've just lied to that person.

Re: Career Advice from Scott Adams (2007)

#46

Post by kelukelugames »

aptwebapps wrote: post #45
kelukelugames wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay I'm home now. Let's dissect the most famous example. 1) Adams compares women to children and people with mental disabilities. 2) Claims he didn't and that everyone who thinks that has bad reading comprehension. Also plays the victim card anytime someone accuses him of misogyny. 3) Writes article about hypnosis. Adams says he can convince people that two things are related without doing it directly. Gives example…

I'm not up to date with the Trump stuff but what I thought was particularly disingenuous about the first example was that he said in advance that he was going to write something ambiguous that people would 'misinterpret' and then he made fun of them when it happened. As far as I'm concerned, if you write something with the goal of communicating a particular idea to a particular audience then that's what you said. It…

On one hand I think he knows exactly what he is doing. He mentions phrasing and word choice in some of his posts.

On the other hand, he might just be completely clueless about race and gender issues. He says things like "If women want to avoid catcalling then why don't they just move? I moved to improve my life."

Maybe a little of column A, and a little of column B.

Re: Career Advice from Scott Adams (2007)

#47

Post by pervycreeper »

kelukelugames wrote: post #5

Scott Adams used to give great career advice and cartooning tips. I think he got bored a few years ago and decided to become a professional troll. I will write some examples after work.

You discovered that your political views differ from his, and now this somehow invalidates his formerly "great advice"?

Re: Career Advice from Scott Adams (2007)

#48

Post by aparadja »

putlake wrote: post #9

Scott Adams is very entertaining. He predicted Trump's staying power way back in the summer when everyone (including me) thought his candidacy was just a joke. In fact, he has predicted a landslide for Trump in the general election. He says it's based on his training as a hypnotist, which gives him an insight into the art of persuasion. Over the years I've learned many things from following Adams' blog. He recommende…

Is the "How to fail at almost everything" book the one about goals and systems thinking? I haven't read it, so it's hard to say just based on the title.

Re: Career Advice from Scott Adams (2007)

#49

Post by bambax »

erobbins wrote: post #32

I'm in the top 25% of quite a few things, and I'm not spending weekends on my 100 foot yacht in the caribbean... probably because I'm in the bottom 25% of motivation. It's good advice, but just a piece of the puzzle.

Same here. But, to be fair to SA, I actually never tried to combine any two of the things I'm good at, I always try to compete/compare myself to people who are the best at one thing and I usually fall short.

Combining talents is an interesting concept.

Re: Career Advice from Scott Adams (2007)

#50

Post by golergka »

kelukelugames wrote: post #37
kelukelugames wrote: post #5

Scott Adams used to give great career advice and cartooning tips. I think he got bored a few years ago and decided to become a professional troll. I will write some examples after work.

Okay I'm home now. Let's dissect the most famous example. 1) Adams compares women to children and people with mental disabilities. 2) Claims he didn't and that everyone who thinks that has bad reading comprehension. Also plays the victim card anytime someone accuses him of misogyny. 3) Writes article about hypnosis. Adams says he can convince people that two things are related without doing it directly. Gives example…

What's "the most famous example" you're talking about?
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