If Linus always did things the "right" way he wouldn't have invented git (or Linux). Sometimes, it's important to be obstinate.
Curse Of The Gifted (2000)
51–60 of 371 posts
Re: Curse Of The Gifted (2000)
#52I am miles away from Eric or Linus, but the "curse of the gifted" is very real. Thankfully I wasn't smart or gifted enough that I could ride it for long, but when it comes to math and problem-solving I rode it well into my high school years. I never learned to do algebra "by the book," because I didn't need to. Or maybe because I wasn't smart enough to. The math teacher would teach "3x + 6 = 9." Basic algebraic probl…
I got burned by this too. Problem, unfortunately, goes deeper than just not learning how to do math. You skip learning ability to structurally learn new things at a young age, because you simply "get" how things work. So by the time you hit the wall you not only not know how to do math correctly, but also have no idea how to structurally learn correct way and must do both at the same time. Here most people give up an…
This. I managed to keep this up through even the reasonably prestigious STEM school I attended for undergrad. It was only when taking reasonably challenging graduate physics courses in grad school and having to do research that I finally was forced to break myself down and learn how to learn.
Re: Curse Of The Gifted (2000)
#53Truman show guy? CIA jail?
Fix your reality -- that is the highest priority.
WooHoo sex homo happy_happy_joy_joy ingrate sing spending happy so_let_it_be_done crazy high_five
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My reality is completely broken.
God says... jobs cracks_me_up hello take_your_pick recipe it_figures don't_mention_it goods how_high huh daunting Mom fight I_planned_that be_happy chaos bickering Varoom hopefully cowardice application vengeance HolySpirit Jesus I_didn't_do_it ohh_thank_you crazy no_you_cant sad oh_come_on that's_much_better have_fun skills courage If_had_my_druthers well_I_never I'm_thrilled hold_on_a_minute application absolutely when_hell_freezes_over ha how's_the_weather energy I_can't_believe_it What_are_you_doing_dave daunting you're_wonderful but_of_course IMHO hooah What Is_that_so in_other_words Ramsay charged surprise_surprise failure_is_not_an_option that's_for_me_to_know silly_human car not_that_theres_anything_wrong crazy smart why_do_I_put_up_with_this impossible lifes_like_chocolates This_is_confusing who_are_you_to_judge super_computer beam_me_up love genius everythings_a_okay happy_happy_joy_joy crash_and_burn whale it's_hopeless charged smack_some_sense_into_you dance abnormal couldnt_possibly dance let's_see be_happy let's_roll try_again do_you_want_another home homo in_other_words how_about_those_yankees vengeful sex umm why_is_it theft how_about_those_yankees revolution ehheh_thats_all_folks joking I_planned_that awful baffling Jesus daunting voodoo where's_the_love FBI I'm_bored desert hilarious you're_nuts surprise_surprise bastard relax I_pitty_the_fool once_upon_a_time who's_to_say application it'd_take_a_miracle figuratively absetively_posilutely
Re: Curse Of The Gifted (2000)
#54I am miles away from Eric or Linus, but the "curse of the gifted" is very real. Thankfully I wasn't smart or gifted enough that I could ride it for long, but when it comes to math and problem-solving I rode it well into my high school years. I never learned to do algebra "by the book," because I didn't need to. Or maybe because I wasn't smart enough to. The math teacher would teach "3x + 6 = 9." Basic algebraic probl…
We home schooled our kids prior to high school and one of the more interesting challenges was this 'doing the steps' part. My eldest was very much like you, look at the problem, tell you the answer. Which was 99% of the time correct, and 1% of the time wrong. She was really annoyed that we focused on that 1% but eventually we got to the point where by writing down all the steps you could then see where in your thinking you had been mislead. The trick was differentiating between "doing math" versus "learning math." (and the nice thing about math at this level is that if you get all the steps right you cannot help but get the right answer). Once we got past the big fight about "always showing your work" not being a 'for all time, forever' edict but instead for a 'these problems while you are learning' edict, it became possible to do math in this ponderous way, but only when learning and only when training our minds on the steps and alerting ourselves to the places we were likely to make mistakes.
Re: Curse Of The Gifted (2000)
#55Nothing's quite as destructive as being told over and over that you're a natural at something so it'll be easy for you. It's a shame that well-meaning parents and mentors will sometimes undermine someone's potential by discouraging them from learning necessary skills.
Except assuming that if you did a bad job at something, it's because you were lazy.
The message I got growing up was that "you're so smart, but so lazy". This was principally because of my terrible fine motor coordination combined with my intellect.
So I'd try to do some sort of "posterboard" or "project" and it'd look like a slapped together mess no matter how hard I tried. My handwriting was often illegible to me, even when I tried to write very slow.
ADHD was also an issue, but the fact that every project I poured so much effort into was derided as lazy... yet I could ace every test... told me that effort wasn't, well, worth putting in.
Re: Curse Of The Gifted (2000)
#56Shit. An ESR ego dump. Head for the shelters.
Don't forget to bring your lute with you!
Re: Curse Of The Gifted (2000)
#57There are now lots of articles suggesting praising people for effort rather than intelligence. Seems like Raymond was ahead of the curve. 2 examples of many: [1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9862693/P... [2] http://consumer.healthday.com/kids-health-information-23/chi...
In the world of music instrument performance, it is well-known that one's skill is the product of their talent and practice. And since talent is more or less given, practice can be applied to overtake someone else's ability. Up until some limit of practicality :) And there are zillions of examples of practice, or "woodshedding" leading players to overtake those with inherited skill who don't practice.
Really, it's all about momentum. Not practicing = no effort = no moving momentum = no growth = no movement. (
Re: Curse Of The Gifted (2000)
#58I am miles away from Eric or Linus, but the "curse of the gifted" is very real. Thankfully I wasn't smart or gifted enough that I could ride it for long, but when it comes to math and problem-solving I rode it well into my high school years. I never learned to do algebra "by the book," because I didn't need to. Or maybe because I wasn't smart enough to. The math teacher would teach "3x + 6 = 9." Basic algebraic probl…
I did the same thing and would get 0 credit for assignments or tests because I didn't "show my work". It made the 15 year old me furious and I basically swore math off after that.
Me too, but it meant that I ended up learning how to fake showing-the-work after I knew what the answer was, which I think in turn taught me what they were trying to get across in the first place...
Re: Curse Of The Gifted (2000)
#59Shit. An ESR ego dump. Head for the shelters.
No, I just read it and like many other things ESR said it is well thought out, friendly and helpful.
Please note how ESR again and again ranks Linus (the second coming of Ken) higher than himself (old fart) while still trying to convey som hard won experience.
Re: Curse Of The Gifted (2000)
#60Interestingly enough: "He who has never failed somewhere, that man cannot be great. Failure is the test of greatness." -Herman Melville
This is quite true. The best thing I ever did to preserve and improve my brain was find things, really hard things, about which I was passionate. It's not so much about studying as it is about finding subjects and venues of learning that just kick your ass. If you don't have the experience of getting your intellectual butt kicked, and if you don't have the ability to learn from the experience, you can only grow so mu…
And in grad school, you can salt this with wondering where your next meal is coming from and camping out under your office desk!