Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Polymath Playbook

salman.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 70 posts

Re: The Polymath Playbook

#61

Post by Izkata »

notahacker wrote: post #42
croissants wrote: post #37

> When I first began to study polymaths, I was excited to see a template for a life I didn’t know I was living. But when I started to embrace the polymath identity, my inner critics appeared. I wondered whether I’m even qualified to write about polymaths, let alone call myself one. Then why not just go on cultivating diverse interests -- which is really what this blog post is about, and which seems like a fine idea -…

Yep. Indeed you're better off not picking the grand label even if it perfectly suits you, because people are more likely to chuckle at your pomposity if you start describing yourself as one (see also self-described 'intellectuals', 'geniuses' and 'ninjas') than be impressed. It doesn't help that for much of the post the author seems to conflate the concept of the Aristotle-type polymath making breakthroughs in multip…

Between this and that [0], it popped into my head that we should just go further and invent polymodal. Would specifically refer to the other comment's "only one thing" deep dive.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23808478

Re: The Polymath Playbook

#62

Post by BossingAround »

motteboss wrote: post #59

I've always thought of myself as an 80 percenter. I like to throw myself passionately into a sport or activity until I reach about an 80 percent proficiency level. To go beyond that requires an obsession that doesn't appeal to me. Once I reach 80 percent level I like to go off and do something totally different; that probably explains the diversity of the Patagonia product like - and why our versatile, multifaceted c…

> I've always thought of myself as an 80 percenter. I like to throw myself passionately into a sport or activity until I reach about an 80 percent proficiency level.

This is a very difficult thing to grasp as a beginner. As a beginner, you have no idea where you are on the scale. You might be an "80-percenter" in React at your company and discover that you know very little when you start applying for senior front-end positions.

Re: The Polymath Playbook

#63

Post by BossingAround »

albatross wrote: post #55

I have been a generalist my whole life, and have struggled significantly to translate this into a meaningful career. I have thrived in interdisciplinary roles, but have always found myself carving them out once I have forced my way through the door in a more specialized role. Is it simply a disconnect between the hiring process and these sorts of skillsets that is causing this issue, or something else? I worked at a…

> Is it simply a disconnect between the hiring process and these sorts of skillsets that is causing this issue, or something else?

I feel like it's a practicality. I like doing front-end and I can hack together pretty much anything you can design in Photoshop (did some side jobs to test exactly this hypothesis), but my company would rather pay for a specialist in front-end to provide higher quality output, and have me do my expertise where I also provide more overall value.

Generalists are great if the company cannot afford more people (startups, typically, love generalists), or if there's a time pressure and there are no other resources.

Generalists are also great in some specific positions, like consultants, possibly (solution) architects, and one-man freelancers for small projects. Not so much for permanent positions at your Fortune 500 companies.

Re: The Polymath Playbook

#64

Post by BossingAround »

apfreerunner wrote: post #27

It's best to follow a "T" approach, have a broad skillset but with enough depth in one particular trade that can last economic downturns and for which demand is inelastic.

From my experience, "T" approach is a lie. You get people who are just generalists ("-" people).

"T" approach is FAANG's way of forcing people to dedicate 12h a day to their engineering career both before they apply to get in, and after they get in to advance.

Re: The Polymath Playbook

#65

Post by albatross »

vsskanth wrote: post #57
albatross wrote: post #55

I have been a generalist my whole life, and have struggled significantly to translate this into a meaningful career. I have thrived in interdisciplinary roles, but have always found myself carving them out once I have forced my way through the door in a more specialized role. Is it simply a disconnect between the hiring process and these sorts of skillsets that is causing this issue, or something else? I worked at a…

Have you tried looking for Project/Program manager roles, maybe even DoD ? They usually are a good fit for people with your skills

To some degree, yes. However, I've found there is often a chicken/egg problem of needing experience in the role to be hired for it.

That said, it's been a few years since I looked at these,so maybe it's time to reevaluate and maybe pursue a certification of some sort.

Re: The Polymath Playbook

#66

Post by vsskanth »

albatross wrote: post #65
vsskanth wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried looking for Project/Program manager roles, maybe even DoD ? They usually are a good fit for people with your skills

To some degree, yes. However, I've found there is often a chicken/egg problem of needing experience in the role to be hired for it. That said, it's been a few years since I looked at these,so maybe it's time to reevaluate and maybe pursue a certification of some sort.

A friend of mine had the same problem. Got hired into a smaller startup that was willing to take a chance on him and is now a program director

Re: The Polymath Playbook

#67

Post by albatross »

vsskanth wrote: post #66
albatross wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To some degree, yes. However, I've found there is often a chicken/egg problem of needing experience in the role to be hired for it. That said, it's been a few years since I looked at these,so maybe it's time to reevaluate and maybe pursue a certification of some sort.

A friend of mine had the same problem. Got hired into a smaller startup that was willing to take a chance on him and is now a program director

I'll adjust my search parameters. Thanks for the advice!

Re: The Polymath Playbook

#68

Post by swyx »

trentnix wrote: post #5

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. — Robert Heinlein, Ti…

and what did he specialize in, pray tell?

Re: The Polymath Playbook

#69

Post by forgotmypw17 »

croissants wrote: post #36
Icathian wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strongly agree. I've been vegetarian for years, the only exception I'll make is if I go hunting with my family. If you aren't willing to kill it and clean it yourself, at least once in a while, you should probably stick to salad.

> If you aren't willing to kill it and clean it yourself, at least once in a while, you should probably stick to salad. Why? Is the idea that meat has a unique ethical component that a consumer must grapple with up close by killing and butchering? There seem to be many items we consume that have complicated and unethical production processes, but nobody goes around telling people they need to make their own cell phon…

I agree with you. I wouldn't be able to make a cellphone from scratch in a million years, but I have researched where they come from, and have settled on only using secondhand units, so that I am not directly complicit to everything which goes into making one.

I've developed a similar stance to most products, and have largely abandoned spending money, exactly because factory farming is not that much different from making a cheap T-shirt, if not worse, in terms of cruelty and environmental damage.

Re: The Polymath Playbook

#70

Post by _nalply »

emmanueloga_ wrote: post #30
_nalply wrote: post #24

Attention: Nerd Snipe. The Ikigai graph should be painted on a torus because we need to see two additional intersections. Let's try to name them: - What you LOVE and What you can be PAID FOR: Delightful Bullshit Job - What you are GOOD AT and What the world NEEDS: Useful Self-Sacrifice Or do you have a better idea? And: how should we color them to have nice, meaningful shades of colors? Edit: Thanks for BlackFingolfi…

this made me laugh so hard... brilliant observation :-D Here's a pseudo-symmetrical Venn diagram for four sets, as an alternative representation :-) [1] 1: https://www.combinatorics.org/files/Surveys/ds5/VennSymmVari...

Another variant with ovals: https://twitter.com/david_perell/status/1261851180881174529
Post reply on HN