I am a professional writer (not in English language), novels published, short stories and the like, some awards, etc, nothing fancy, nothing big. I pay bills writing for corporations and other customers.
I just want to say that some answers here are like when artists talk about engineering, we simply don't understand the topic and it shows.
As someone who has been both an artist and an engineer I could not agree more. It's fascinating reading commentary on the arts from people who have always been STEM types because their entire concept of art is completely different from that of people who consider themselves artists. They constantly conflate creative problem solving and creative expression, which are two fundamentally different processes. I don't want to denigrate anyone here but I do sometimes get depressed by how artless people in the tech world are. I value art (in all its forms) because it connects human beings across space and time through our shared experience of the human condition. The best comment I've seen so far in this thread is the one about how AI art is meaningless because "AI doesn't fear death or loneliness."
It looks to me that because society places more value on STEM, a lot of people in STEM (especially that T, as you can see on this site) end up acting like "gift and talented" children and sprinting away with it. With gifted and talented, the charade falls away by college; not so with Big Tech.
There's a sadistic glee in proclaiming people nothing more than biological machines and acting like a scolding parent whenever any emotion is brought up in any form. I always smile whenever I see comments from one of these types of people explaining how fulfilling they find their lives. Sure, buddy. :)
I am an Economist and I don't especially love my profession, so I'm not going to defend its many, many flaws, because it has a LOT. But this comment section is just a dumpster fire of opinions from many people that you can clearly see that never really touched or studied Economics, beyond some article, book or ideology... You know, Gellman Amnesia and all that.
It's fascinating to me how tech-related discussions are on point here and this site is a gem, but regarding other topics, they tend to get off the road fast and hard, especially social sciences.
I visit HN every day because I am a geek at heart that loves machines since childhood and then I studied people (Economics, Psychology, etc). We know that technology is queen right now and you are on top of the world. Almost everyone here is way, way smarter than me and I know that, but knowledge in one field, no matter how important or powerful it is (like tech right now), does not translate into others, especially social sciences, human behavior, and the like. Despite that, the hubris and the "I'm better than you" attitude on these topics are astonishing.
I love this site, it's really a gold mine of very sharp people and responses, just not on some topics.
That's me, and probably everyone here and everyone who calls themselves human.
I highly recommend the book 4000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman.
The main point is that yes, these sites and activities are terrible and addictive, but let's face it, we partly desire to enter their gates and escape the notion that we are limited beings, in time and energy, with pending important tasks.
Procrastinating is an emotional issue, not a planning issue. On the one hand, it relieves us from the anxiety of the pending task, and on the other hand, wasting hours is a subtle and psychological way to make it seem like we have plenty of time (that's why we "allow" ourselves to waste it), until one day it is too late and the deception has caught up with us.
Facing an important task is the difficult thing to do because it reminds us of our finitude. That's why we do it now, because the clock is ticking and it's now or never. We are doing the right thing, but it's the disturbing thing too. I think that important things always have mixed feelings intertwined.
Sorry for my English, it's not my mother language.
+1. I'm reading it too, great book, very recommended and necessary. His old writing on The Guardian: This column will change your life, never failed to made me think.
Thank you, and you're welcome. Some good can be had from the experience. Empathy, hope, and the drive to always look for joy even in the worst of our days. It's what my wife was known for doing and it's something I have to give myself permission to do every day.
I've been a generalist all my life, I don't think I could be otherwise because I love to learn above all things.
That's a curse and a blessing at my forties.
And I don't know who is more successful, but certainly I can tell that my main disadvantage is the constant, crippling imposter syndrome. Because I know some things about many things, but above all, I know how much I don't know yet.
> I can tell that my main disadvantage is the constant, crippling imposter syndrome.
IMO, that may in fact be an advantage. The biggest pitfall generalists face is Dunning-Krueger. They rush into a new field, think they know everything, and get burned by their overconfidence. Generalists can be very powerful, but only if they understand the boundaries of the unknown unknowns.
That requires a high level of epistemic humility, which often feels like imposter syndrome from the inside.
