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What I've Learned About Smart People.

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Re: What I've Learned About Smart People.

#71

Post by kmfrk »

Don't get caught writing "very unique" at Harvard. Being unique is binary. :)

I don't like words like "smart" - and "stupid" - but I can recognize some of the qualities associated with them. One of the biggest is to know what you don't know, to not be complacent and arrogant. The people I respect the most are humble people, and I think it comes down to this.

I don't know what the definition of "smart" is, but I think you sound like a smart person for knowing that you don't have it all figured out - and want to fill in the gaps, even though it means telling other people.

Re: What I've Learned About Smart People.

#72

Post by codeonfire »

I think you have to be careful about making blanket statements and whether you are saying that smart people ask questions or are trying to imply that people that ask questions are smart.

It is in the interest of the speaker to claim that audience members who ask questions are in some way smarter. Being asked a question implies that the speaker has knowledge that the audience doesn't. So of course the speaker is going to claim those people are smart.

It is also not a good thing to presume that audience members are not asking questions simply to draw attention to themselves and to impress other audience members. People with awards are more probably than not to be smart, but they needed a lot of visibility to get those awards.

An important question would be to ask, "which non famous person is asking lots of questions, and is that person smart?" Since the author seems to define smart as having won awards and being well known in a field, this question fails immediately.

Personally, unless it is unpublished research, I can get most of my questions answered immediately by surfing along while listening and without disrupting the talk. It's also funny when I pull up wikipedia and it either turns out to have the same content as the talk, or directly contradicts the talk.

Re: What I've Learned About Smart People.

#73

Post by [deleted] »

redschell wrote: post #54
ryanwhitney wrote: post #3

Reminded my of this, from Gladwell's Outliers : "The way you were raised, namely with wealthy or less fortunate parents, also plays a role. Gladwell explains that when wealthy parents drive their children to the doctor, they tell their children things like, “Johnny, now if you have any questions, be sure to ask the doctor. This is your opportunity to talk to him about any health problems you’re having….” And so on. I…

Slightly off-topic, but I'm curious to hear more of what HN thinks about Gladwell. Some writers and scientists I respect, perhaps most notably Steven Pinker, have been vocally opposed to the "shoddy scholarship" of Gladwell's work, while others, including many bloggers I've encountered here, have quoted him with great enthusiasm (I believe Peter Norvig references his "10,000 hours to expertise" figure from Outliers i…

[deleted]

Re: What I've Learned About Smart People.

#74

Post by 75c84fb8 »

ImprovedSilence wrote: post #10
75c84fb8 wrote: post #4

So do they ask questions because they're smart, or are they smart because they ask questions?

I would guess smart because they ask questions. I think there are lots of people out there who just nod to be agreeable. The ones who brave it and ask questions are the ones to gain an understanding. (perhaps this is why nerds are uncool their younger years, they questions things and search for truth, as opposed to just going along with the flow of their peers, thoughts?)

Interesting. And maybe not even just in the younger years. Having worked in a big corporation, where politics flowed thick, there can be a social perception that one who sticks his head up will likely have it cut off. Asking pointed questions is one way to do that.

However I've also noticed—among engineers where solid understanding is perhaps more critical—the culture can be different. There's still a general reluctance to admit you have no clue what a speaker is talking about, but when 'that guy' finally breaks the silence with the questions that were on everyone's mind, you can almost hear the sense of relief spreading through the group.

Re: What I've Learned About Smart People.

#75

Post by kevinalexbrown »

edw519 wrote: post #42

Going to Harvard means I have the very unique opportunity to be around a lot of smart people. Good for you. Even better for you is the fact that you recognize your opportunity. How sad that so many people in your situation never do until it's too late. Now, when I say “smart people,” I don’t mean that guy who always wins trivia night. I mean, blazingly intelligent individuals who are regarded as the pre-eminent schol…

I agree that his post smacked of branding - his first sentence read "Going to Harvard means ..." - and he's clearly impressed by branding - "Based on the research and findings of so many of the students and professors here, it’s clear that this trend is no accident."

But your response seems kind of disproportionate. Even if it did take him a while to learn that asking questions at the risk of seeming dumb is a good thing, and even if it took him observing "pre-eminent scholars" doing it to think it was worthwhile, and yeah, his post is ironically devoid of question-asking, why make fun of someone for learning something?

EDIT: edw wasn't being sarcastic, misread that.

Re: What I've Learned About Smart People.

#76

Post by itmag »

vectorpush wrote: post #69
itmag wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some things that hammered home this understanding for me (in order of reputability): LessWrong.com, Myers-Briggs Type Indicators, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, PUA. These days, I mostly understand that there are always many perspectives and try to see wisdom as the art of picking between perspectives. But sometimes I get stuck in my old ways and search in vain for the "right" opinion/perspective/paradigm/whatever. Th…

But sometimes I get stuck in my old ways and search in vain for the "right" opinion/perspective/paradigm/whatever. Then again, those who are convinced their way is the "right" way are often the ones who have the biggest impact on the world (for better or worse).

Yes, exactly: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3583136

I think the optimum thing would be to have utter Certainty in localized settings, whilst retaining a good check on sanity on the global level. While trying to woo a lady, you don't want to have constant thoughts of doubt. In this situation, it is more beneficial to be "irrationally self-confident". But you don't necessarily want this delusion to seep into everyday life, as it would cause you to become a... well, a general douchebag :)

Re: What I've Learned About Smart People.

#77

Post by mark_h »

kevinalexbrown wrote: post #35

What the article doesn't mention is that the smartest of people perpetually ask themselves questions regarding what they believe they understand. It is remarkably easy to convince yourself you understand something - a mathematical proof, the Halting Problem, advantages of some programming framework/style/language, when you're really just going through the motions and remembering what others have said, kind of memoriz…

I think this is also why "the best way to learn something is to have to teach it", or at least that's what I've found. When you start imagining what questions you might get asked, you begin uncovering all sorts of holes in your understanding, even if it's something you thought you understood but suddenly realise you couldn't explain.

Re: What I've Learned About Smart People.

#78

Post by justincormack »

redschell wrote: post #54
ryanwhitney wrote: post #3

Reminded my of this, from Gladwell's Outliers : "The way you were raised, namely with wealthy or less fortunate parents, also plays a role. Gladwell explains that when wealthy parents drive their children to the doctor, they tell their children things like, “Johnny, now if you have any questions, be sure to ask the doctor. This is your opportunity to talk to him about any health problems you’re having….” And so on. I…

Slightly off-topic, but I'm curious to hear more of what HN thinks about Gladwell. Some writers and scientists I respect, perhaps most notably Steven Pinker, have been vocally opposed to the "shoddy scholarship" of Gladwell's work, while others, including many bloggers I've encountered here, have quoted him with great enthusiasm (I believe Peter Norvig references his "10,000 hours to expertise" figure from Outliers i…

I don't believe 10000 hours is original to Gladwell, although he did popularize it.

Re: What I've Learned About Smart People.

#80

Post by j45 »

pestaa wrote: post #64
j45 wrote: post #23

Truly smart people have always come across to me as not needing to prove how smart they are Smart people don't care to convert me to their way of seeing the world. Be it using Ruby, Apple, or not, they are able to see a bigger, wider picture where everything is possible with the right amount of understanding and well placed effort. Smart people see the patterns and similarities in everything that unite, instead of th…

Bookmarked, thank you. May I ask the source?

Um, I wrote it. Flattered, though, thanks. :)
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