How to Do Great Work
paulgraham.com
How to Do Great Work
1–10 of 464 posts
Re: How to Do Great Work
#2"The way to figure out what to work on is by working. If you're not sure what to work on, guess. But pick something and get going."
I very much agree with this sentiment. That's how you find good problems to solve. In general, we don't teach enough about "problem finding" which is arguably harder and more important than problem solving.
Re: How to Do Great Work
#3"The way to figure out what to work on is by working. If you're not sure what to work on, guess. But pick something and get going." I very much agree with this sentiment. That's how you find good problems to solve. In general, we don't teach enough about "problem finding" which is arguably harder and more important than problem solving.
There's another word for this...play?
Re: How to Do Great Work
#4https mirror: https://archive.is/4ZlRl
Re: How to Do Great Work
#5"The way to figure out what to work on is by working. If you're not sure what to work on, guess. But pick something and get going." I very much agree with this sentiment. That's how you find good problems to solve. In general, we don't teach enough about "problem finding" which is arguably harder and more important than problem solving.
There's another word for this...play?
It's not exactly play, it's more like focused exploration. Eg Columbus setting sail without knowing what he would find. You wouldn't say he was playing but you would say he was discovering.
Re: How to Do Great Work
#6> Knowledge expands fractally, and from a distance its edges look smooth, but once you learn enough to get close to one, they turn out to be full of gaps.
It is incredibly easy to get onto untrodden ground just by stepping off the main path a bit. You’re fighting with a lot of smart people to have a new insight about pi and e. But if you focus on application of theory, it’s very easy to do something new. Application is about intersections, and the combinatorics brings novelty right to your nose.
Pick a random combination of tech, domain, and theory and it’s unlikely to have been explored. It’s unlikely to be useful, but that’s what makes it exploration and not farming.
Re: How to Do Great Work
#7> Knowledge expands fractally, and from a distance its edges look smooth, but once you learn enough to get close to one, they turn out to be full of gaps. It is incredibly easy to get onto untrodden ground just by stepping off the main path a bit. You’re fighting with a lot of smart people to have a new insight about pi and e. But if you focus on application of theory, it’s very easy to do something new. Application…
It’s so incredible how deep the rabbit-hole goes when you try to solve a real world problem and you have the capacity to understand and pull information from a vast number of seemingly unrelated works.
I really believe that this is the best time to be a polymath, or at least have a broad spectrum of knowledge and references to look into and pull information from; and that being a true generalist that can dive as deep as needed enables you to build great stuff. But maybe that’s just my experience.
Re: How to Do Great Work
#8> Develop a habit of working on your own projects. Don't let "work" mean something other people tell you to do.
I spend eight hours+ a day supporting my addiction to food and shelter. Why would I spend my free time working toward “greatness” instead of doing hobbies I enjoy and spending time with friends and family?
Any other time I have I’m spending working out and training for runs - neither of which I will ever be great at.
Re: How to Do Great Work
#9also:
- Don't have any chronic diseases or pain that will distract or dull your attention
- Have a stable source of income or enough wealth to let you try and fail at a lot of things
- Have stable family and friends
- Don't have optimism beaten out of you at a young age
etc
Re: How to Do Great Work
#10It's 2023. Why do many websites featured here still not use HTTPS?