The days are long but the decades are short (2015) • Hacker News Board

Re: The days are long but the decades are short (2015)

#41

Post by mikhmha » Thu, Apr 20, 2023, 12:10 AM UTC

SoftTalker wrote: post #17

angarg12 wrote: post #11

On 5): The most transformative step in my journey up the class ladder was when money stopped being a source of problems and instead became a way to solve problems.

I have plenty of money (relatively speaking, I don't make FAANG money but I don't worry about paying the rent or saving for a rainy day). I have real trouble spending it though. It almost causes me physical pain to spend money on something I don't regard as essential. I don't like to travel, or eat expensive meals, or go to movies, concerts, shows, etc because I hate to spend the money on it. Don't know what the root…

I think feeling it painful to spend when you have lots of money is not a good thing.

I save money by not buying much stuff in general. So when I do have to spend it’s not a big deal. It’s not like saving $80 by not going to a concert would have some profound impact on my future financial situation. Same with vacations or buying clothes. I don’t do that stuff often, so when I do, whatever. Why ruminate so much on it.

I used to be more of your mindset but realized it was stupid. And you end up missing out on opportunities if you’re too frugal just for the sake of it (rather than necessity). People I’ve met on trips, random books I’ve bought, etc have changed my life in lots of positive ways.

Re: The days are long but the decades are short (2015)

#42

Post by fatherzine » Thu, Apr 20, 2023, 12:16 AM UTC

SoftTalker wrote: post #17

angarg12 wrote: post #11

On 5): The most transformative step in my journey up the class ladder was when money stopped being a source of problems and instead became a way to solve problems.

I have plenty of money (relatively speaking, I don't make FAANG money but I don't worry about paying the rent or saving for a rainy day). I have real trouble spending it though. It almost causes me physical pain to spend money on something I don't regard as essential. I don't like to travel, or eat expensive meals, or go to movies, concerts, shows, etc because I hate to spend the money on it. Don't know what the root…

Set aside a fun budget, and then spend it frugally. Just don't carry over from one year to the next. Developing non-monetizable skills is the best kind of fun there is ;)

Re: The days are long but the decades are short (2015)

#43

Post by solveit » Thu, Apr 20, 2023, 12:18 AM UTC

gnulinux wrote: post #30

zamfi wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, implementing this kind of advice is much harder than merely reading it.

This makes about as much sense as saying the same thing for advise on winning the lottery. The "implementing" part you're referring is nothing other than "being lucky" so there really isn't anything to implement nor anything to advise.

> How to succeed: pick the right thing to do (this is critical and usually ignored), focus, believe in yourself (especially when others tell you it’s not going to work), develop personal connections with people that will help you, learn to identify talented people, and work hard. It’s hard to identify what to work on because original thought is hard.

You have to be somewhat lucky to be able to do this, but also you have to actually try. Your comment seems needlessly dismissive as well as inaccurate.

Re: The days are long but the decades are short (2015)

#44

Post by teaearlgraycold » Thu, Apr 20, 2023, 12:21 AM UTC

ZephyrBlu wrote: post #40

atleastoptimal wrote: post #34

Should a prerequisite to every successful tech person advice list include "Be 99th percentile IQ or higher"? All these people go to schools and work environments where they exclusively interact with incredibly intelligent people. Do they really know just how mediocre the average person is? Or is the average person implicitly written off with respect to any sort of prodigious success.

Eh, 95th percentile is probably more reasonable. You don't have to be super smart to be successful. In tech you probably have to be pretty smart, but I think being from a well-off family is more important in most cases.

Or willing to bust your ass every day

Re: The days are long but the decades are short (2015)

#45

Post by selcuka » Thu, Apr 20, 2023, 12:26 AM UTC

solveit wrote: post #43

gnulinux wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This makes about as much sense as saying the same thing for advise on winning the lottery. The "implementing" part you're referring is nothing other than "being lucky" so there really isn't anything to implement nor anything to advise.

> How to succeed: pick the right thing to do (this is critical and usually ignored), focus, believe in yourself (especially when others tell you it’s not going to work), develop personal connections with people that will help you, learn to identify talented people, and work hard. It’s hard to identify what to work on because original thought is hard. You have to be somewhat lucky to be able to do this, but also you h…

It is accurate in the sense that you don't have to implement anything specifically. You should simply act according to the circumstances, and if the circumstances are positive (i.e. you are lucky) you can succeed.

In the hindsight the "act" might look like the thing that made you succeed, but most of the time it's actually the luck. The "strategy" is just a normal reaction. For example:

"I invested half of my money in stock market and half in property. That made me a billionaire. You should do the same."

vs

"I won $1M from the lottery, and I invested half of it in stock market and half in property."

Obviously if you omit the lottery part the advise doesn't make any sense (i.e. you won't be a billionaire by investing half of your minimum wage every fortnight). This may be an extreme example, but demonstrates my point.

Re: The days are long but the decades are short (2015)

#46

Post by selcuka » Thu, Apr 20, 2023, 12:32 AM UTC

SoftTalker wrote: post #17

angarg12 wrote: post #11

On 5): The most transformative step in my journey up the class ladder was when money stopped being a source of problems and instead became a way to solve problems.

I have plenty of money (relatively speaking, I don't make FAANG money but I don't worry about paying the rent or saving for a rainy day). I have real trouble spending it though. It almost causes me physical pain to spend money on something I don't regard as essential. I don't like to travel, or eat expensive meals, or go to movies, concerts, shows, etc because I hate to spend the money on it. Don't know what the root…

> Don't know what the root of that is, [...]

Let me guess: Could it be coming from a poor family?

Re: The days are long but the decades are short (2015)

#47

Post by ilrwbwrkhv » Thu, Apr 20, 2023, 12:35 AM UTC

It all comes down to being in the right network. When his Loopt startup failed he had to be in the right network to fail upwards. Most people lack that network. I think the IQ and the hard work bits are common.

Re: The days are long but the decades are short (2015)

#48

Post by m463 » Thu, Apr 20, 2023, 12:36 AM UTC

SoftTalker wrote: post #17

angarg12 wrote: post #11

On 5): The most transformative step in my journey up the class ladder was when money stopped being a source of problems and instead became a way to solve problems.

I have plenty of money (relatively speaking, I don't make FAANG money but I don't worry about paying the rent or saving for a rainy day). I have real trouble spending it though. It almost causes me physical pain to spend money on something I don't regard as essential. I don't like to travel, or eat expensive meals, or go to movies, concerts, shows, etc because I hate to spend the money on it. Don't know what the root…

I know some people with similar tendencies. One also has trouble getting rid of things.

I wonder if this makes it harder to find a partner?

Also, is it easier to spend money with a credit card than in cash?

Re: The days are long but the decades are short (2015)

#49

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Apr 20, 2023, 12:36 AM UTC

ZephyrBlu wrote: post #40

atleastoptimal wrote: post #34

Should a prerequisite to every successful tech person advice list include "Be 99th percentile IQ or higher"? All these people go to schools and work environments where they exclusively interact with incredibly intelligent people. Do they really know just how mediocre the average person is? Or is the average person implicitly written off with respect to any sort of prodigious success.

Eh, 95th percentile is probably more reasonable. You don't have to be super smart to be successful. In tech you probably have to be pretty smart, but I think being from a well-off family is more important in most cases.

[deleted]

Re: The days are long but the decades are short (2015)

#50

Post by thatguyknows » Thu, Apr 20, 2023, 12:38 AM UTC

atleastoptimal wrote: post #34

Should a prerequisite to every successful tech person advice list include "Be 99th percentile IQ or higher"? All these people go to schools and work environments where they exclusively interact with incredibly intelligent people. Do they really know just how mediocre the average person is? Or is the average person implicitly written off with respect to any sort of prodigious success.

Can you list one invention or idea that Sam has had that requires 99th percentile IQ?