[HN Gopher] 99 Bits of Unsolicited Advice
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99 Bits of Unsolicited Advice
Author : jcs87
Score : 104 points
Date : 2021-04-26 18:26 UTC (4 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (kk.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (kk.org)
| RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote:
| > Money is overrated. Truly new things rarely need an abundance
| of money. If that was so, billionaires would have a monopoly on
| inventing new things, and they don't. Instead almost all
| breakthroughs are made by those who lack money, because they are
| forced to rely on their passion, persistence and ingenuity to
| figure out new ways. Being poor is an advantage in innovation.
|
| Completely disagree. A lot of the great innovations actually came
| from people who were already wealthy enough that they could spend
| time contemplating instead of figuring out where their next meal
| was coming from.
| bena wrote:
| The one I really don't like is "Always say less than necessary."
|
| I've never seen any good come from withholding necessary
| information.
| vageli wrote:
| > The one I really don't like is "Always say less than
| necessary."
|
| > I've never seen any good come from withholding necessary
| information.
|
| Surely being selective with information is advantageous in
| negotiations?
| swyx wrote:
| this one really stuck with me: "The foundation of maturity: Just
| because it's not your fault doesn't mean it's not your
| responsibility."
|
| heck. that's just true. really put into words something i've
| taken a while to learn (and am still learning).
| pachico wrote:
| Well, there's an interesting amount of proof that Mother Teresa
| could indeed make a lot of art, really tons of art, it seems...
| dredmorbius wrote:
| Of fasteners: know the reverse-threading exceptions as well.
|
| https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-a-reverse-threaded-bolt-28...
| Baeocystin wrote:
| Unsolicited advice? Fair enough. Unsolicited comment- the ones
| related to money are spoken like someone who has never actually
| been poor, and are, frankly, insulting.
|
| Even a cursory look at who has developed what over the years
| shows that people who actually had the resources to do whatever
| it was that interested them are the ones in the history books.
| Who knows how many others of equal or greater talent spent their
| whole lives scraping by instead.
| coldtea wrote:
| > _Even a cursory look at who has developed what over the years
| shows that people who actually had the resources to do whatever
| it was that interested them are the ones in the history books._
|
| In areas like startups, where family connections, early
| education, family environment, and fallbacks, matter, yes.
|
| But the 20th century was full of people from poor backgrounds
| (includings immigrants arriving with 0 dollars) making it in
| e.g. arts. So much so, that the "starving artist" is a cliche.
|
| (And of course, starting and succesfully running regular
| businesses - the 99% of businesses kind, from grocery stores
| and restaurants to design studios and software houses, not the
| 0.0001% that is VC-backed startups sold for b/millions).
| SaltyBackendGuy wrote:
| > Advice like these are not laws. They are like hats. If one
| doesn't fit, try another.
|
| Lists like these are full of survivor bias. In fact, it's baked
| into it.
| coldtea wrote:
| On the other hand, survivor bias, when it's not about "to
| make it big, start as a millionaire heir" can also be another
| name for "worked for me, so there's at least a single living
| proof that it can work".
| nine_k wrote:
| The entire concept of evolution is built on survivor bias.
| uoaei wrote:
| I'm not sure what you meant by this but it comes across as
| a quip attempting to be witty and piercing but completely
| missing the point.
| shanecleveland wrote:
| I can't disagree with your point that resources and opportunity
| beget more resources and more opportunity. I don't think that
| is the only path to success.
|
| I also see advice in here that implies he tried and failed at
| many things, and perhaps was most successful when not focused
| so much on money:
|
| * A multitude of bad ideas is necessary for one good idea.
|
| * Most overnight successes -- in fact any significant successes
| -- take at least 5 years. Budget your life accordingly.
|
| * Don't create things to make money; make money so you can
| create things. The reward for good work is more work.
| elric wrote:
| > When playing Monopoly, spend all you have to buy, barter, or
| trade for the Orange properties. Don't bother with Utilities.
|
| This one struck me as being particularly random, even in a list
| of pretty random items. Can anyone with Monopoly mojo expand on
| this?
| compiler-guy wrote:
| https://monopoly.fandom.com/wiki/Orange_Color_Group_Properti...
|
| Statistically, the Orange property set is one of the most
| frequented sets in the game due to the approximately 37% chance
| of landing on one upon the first turn after leaving jail; the
| most visited space on the board. In combination with a
| relatively cheap development cost, the Orange property set can
| be valuable to own.
| shanecleveland wrote:
| * That thing that made you weird as a kid could make you great as
| an adult -- if you don't lose it.
|
| I wish I could have grasped this as a kid, and I wish I could
| explain this to my kids now and have them understand/believe me.
|
| My kids each have their own unique personalities, strengths,
| weaknesses, etc. But they all have to funnel through the same
| general requirements of school and such. It is too easy to fall
| into the trap of getting them to "conform." But I want to be able
| to nurture the "weird" in them!
| bigthymer wrote:
| I found Bezos' last letter inspiring in this regard. Especially
| one of the last sections titled "Differentiation is Survival
| and the Universe Wants You to be Typical".
|
| link here -> https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/15/jeff-bezos-
| releases-final-le...
| shanecleveland wrote:
| I like the analogy he makes here.
|
| There is a balance in here somewhere to learn how to
| navigate, adapt and live within a society/community that
| favors set standards and "normality" without muting out
| uniqueness, personal interests, etc.
| coldtea wrote:
| > _Differentiation is Survival and the Universe Wants You to
| be Typical_
|
| "Oh, and while you differentiate, those of you on my
| warehouses don't forget to work 10 hour shifts and pee in
| bottles, so that I can get a few dollars more per hour from
| each disposable you"
| 01100011 wrote:
| That's a tough one for me. I seem to be stuck on an axis of
| either being nerdy, anti-social, physically unfit and
| intelligent or outgoing, stupid, and physically fit. I've
| varied along the axis throughout my life and never managed to
| be a good nerd while also being mentally and physically
| healthy. I've seen a lot of other people do it, it's just not
| something I've been able to pull off.
|
| I work with a lot of people who remind me of my former self and
| I'm afraid to encourage them to find balance in their lives
| because I don't want them to lose their genius like I feel I
| did. It's tough when you grow up a nerd and find most of your
| self-worth and security in your intellectual superiority and
| then lose it because you thought the grass was greener on the
| other side.
| shanecleveland wrote:
| I think the real revelation comes in understanding that the
| grass will always appear greener on the other side,
| regardless of which side you find yourself on. That is a hard
| thing to understand without having gone through that.
|
| Edit, such this additional advice:
|
| * If you can avoid seeking approval of others, your power is
| limitless.
| abhinuvpitale wrote:
| Great advice. Looking at the headline, I thought this article was
| originally about bit-encoding, since it mentioned 99 bits.
| standardUser wrote:
| I just learned how to tie a bowline knot.
|
| 5 stars
| swyx wrote:
| what have you used it on?
| GloriousKoji wrote:
| It's useful for when you need a loop and a secure knot that
| won't slip or become undone. Basically where you would do a
| regular knot but need more knot strength.
|
| I've used it for securing crab pods, pulling out a small
| tree, hanging decorations from ceiling hooks, as the front
| anchor for strapping down things to the top of my car,
| connecting lines to kites and tying the tea bag string to the
| handle of my coworkers mug as a prank to name a few uses of
| the top of my head.
|
| I've also used it for climbing in certain situations but I
| would highly recommend learning the figure 8 and using that
| for all climbing things related.
| barbazoo wrote:
| Learning how to use knots is just so satisfying, I don't know
| what it is, I can't really put my finger on it.
| RaceWon wrote:
| >> I can't really put my finger on it.
|
| Plus 1
| waynesonfire wrote:
| I agree! I recall a time when I spent an hour in a home depot
| parking lot strapping down lumber to the roof of my car
| practicing the trucker's hitch.
|
| https://www.animatedknots.com/truckers-hitch-knot
| phaemon wrote:
| No matter what use ECC RAM; you may have 99 bits but the problem
| is one.
| nwiswell wrote:
| "I got 99 popcount but the parity ain't one"
| vlmutolo wrote:
| > Be strict with yourself and forgiving of others. The reverse is
| hell for everyone.
|
| I think this is generally good advice, but it's equally important
| to not be too hard on yourself. You have to learn to forgive
| yourself for mistakes.
| mym1990 wrote:
| Some fun, interesting, true, and meh bits of wisdom here!
|
| These 2 stuck out as ironic being back to back:
|
| * I have never met a person I admired who did not read more books
| than I did.
|
| * The greatest teacher is called "doing".
|
| Although without more context, its just a snap judgement.
| Admiring only people who are well read(assuming OP reads a lot)
| seems to leave a bit on the table.
| lostmsu wrote:
| Re: books. Surprisingly I met such a person recently. She does
| not read books at all these days, and haven't been in a while
| (except textbooks in academia years). Got PhD in physics, and
| doing well for herself.
| claudiawerner wrote:
| >* I have never met a person I admired who did not read more
| books than I did.
|
| I think Schopenhauer has good words of advice on this topic
| (and the irony of reading this advice in a book is not lost on
| me; emphasis mine):
|
| >Hence, in regard to reading, it is a very important thing to
| be able to refrain. Skill in doing so consists in not taking
| into one's hands any book merely because at the time it happens
| to be extensively read; such as political or religious
| pamphlets, novels, poetry, and the like, which make a noise,
| and may even attain to several editions in the first and last
| year of their existence. Consider, rather, that the man who
| writes for fools is always sure of a large audience; be careful
| to limit your time for reading, and devote it exclusively to
| the works of those great minds of all times and countries, who
| o'ertop the rest of humanity, those whom the voice of fame
| points to as such. These alone really educate and instruct.
| _You can never read bad literature too little, nor good
| literature too much. Bad books are intellectual poison; they
| destroy the mind._ Because people always read what is new
| instead of the best of all ages, writers remain in the narrow
| circle of the ideas which happen to prevail in their time; and
| so the period sinks deeper and deeper into its own mire.
| quickthrower2 wrote:
| Reading books seems to be put on a pedestal here and in other
| places online. I don't read many I prefer doing and online
| video courses
| einpoklum wrote:
| Uh... you probably want to complete that paragraph with a
| "and still I have achieved XYZ in life", otherwise you're
| just an anonymous commenter :-\
| qsort wrote:
| "Advice like these are not laws. They are like hats. If one
| doesn't fit, try another."
| grey-area wrote:
| I preferred this one:
|
| Un bon mot ne prouve rien.
| dspillett wrote:
| _> Leave a gate behind you the way you first found it._
|
| Not sure this one is generally applicable. When I'm out running
| are walking trails I always close gates unless there appears to
| be specific reason not to. Some people carelessly leave them
| open, some do so accidentally, some mistakenly think it should be
| left open because it was when they went through but there has
| been a steady flow if people leaving it for the next one and the
| first opened it.
| shanecleveland wrote:
| * Compliment people behind their back. It'll come back to you.
|
| Such a hard thing to quantify - and attempting to quantify it
| misses the point - but I think this is such an under appreciated
| point.
|
| I know that I am quick to gossip or talk about other people's
| failings behind their back. Partly, I think it is easy for people
| to relate to each other based on a shared view of someone else.
| And, unfortunately, I think it is easier to come up with negative
| examples to talk about.
|
| Imagine if more of us found opportunities to say something good
| about someone just because.
| uoaei wrote:
| Opportunities of this kind are not found, but made.
| jeppesen-io wrote:
| > * Always cut away from yourself.
|
| I like this link but but I don't know what that means
| notenoughbeans wrote:
| I learned it as:
|
| "Never get yourself bloody. Always cut towards a buddy."
| taejo wrote:
| When using a knife, saw, axe, etc. or other cutting implement
| always make sure the blade is moving away from all parts of
| your body.
| magicalhippo wrote:
| My granddad being a woodworking teacher, I learned that
| lesson early on.
|
| However when redecorating my house there were several
| occasions where it simply was not possible to do that. I
| usually countered my cutting hand with my "free" hand,
| effectively pushing my cutting hand away from my body as I
| performed the cut. At least then I had pretty good control in
| the event my blade were to slip.
| barbazoo wrote:
| My father in law has one rule: Don't get any blood on it.
| jeppesen-io wrote:
| Ahhh - literal. I was thinking figuratively
| dredmorbius wrote:
| Both.
|
| Literal: move the blade / cutting edge away from you.
|
| Figurative: apply hazardous effort in a manner that it
| dissipates in the direction or mode of least harm.
| rednerrus wrote:
| > The worst evils in history have always been committed by those
| who truly believed they were combating evil. Beware of combating
| evil.
| CoastalCoder wrote:
| Am I just showcasing my own ignorance by wanting support for
| this claim?
|
| I've heard it stated elsewhere, but I've never heard a detailed
| argument supporting it. The closest justification I recall
| hearing is a vague reference to the Spanish Inquisition.
| dionidium wrote:
| I think where you really see this is in any case where one
| group identifies another group that they perceive to be their
| oppressor and then having done so, imagine themselves to be
| justified in leveling a retributive response. (The example I
| used in another comment above was the mass enslavement and
| starvation of the kulaks in revolutionary Russia on the
| grounds that they had been oppressors of the proletariat.)
| inglor_cz wrote:
| At the risk of Godwining this thread, Hitler was really,
| really convinced that Jews were evil schemers that dealt in
| betrayal, fraud and conspiracy against innocent and naive
| Gentiles. And that their destruction was a necessary step to
| cleanse the Earth off their evil.
|
| The end result: Auschwitz.
| spijdar wrote:
| It goes back even further, actually, and provides another
| data-point for this aphorism. The Teutonic Order, a sort of
| ... indirect relative/precursor [0] to the German
| Empire/Republic which the Nazis grew in was notorious for
| doing some really horrific things in the name of God, and
| in trying to force convert the lands north of
| Prussia/Poland. The surrounding Christians states didn't
| really approve of this, and eventually pushed them back.
| They seemed to be pretty obsessed themselves with the idea
| that other Christians were backstabbing and betraying their
| cause.
|
| It seems their cause was, originally, in good intentions.
| I'll give them the benefit of the doubt at least. But it's
| clear by the end they fulfilled this aphorism, and became a
| great evil by trying to fight evil.
|
| [0] The Teutonic Order held land, the "Deutschordensstaat".
| When Martin Luther convinced the then-Grand-Master Albert
| to convert, he turned that land into a secular state, the
| Duchy of Prussia, which became the Kingdom of Prussia,
| which became the leading state of the German Empire.
| CJefferson wrote:
| I agree, but I also imagine all those fighting the Nazis
| also thought they were fighting evil. Should they have
| "beware fighting evil"?
| benjohnson wrote:
| Yes. After seeing what the Nazis had done, those that
| fought the Nazis would have been justified in exacting
| immediate justice by killing all of them.
|
| Thankfully - they didn't.
| bena wrote:
| If you believe your enemy is truly and irredeemably evil,
| what tactics are allowed to eradicate that evil?
|
| Technically, anything should be allowed, because removing
| that evil from the world would be an undeniable good. To find
| that evil, you should be allowed to do anything to anyone
| trying to hide that evil from you. As a matter of fact,
| anyone trying to shelter that evil or sides with that evil
| shares some of the guilt as well. They are just as evil as
| the evil you wish to eradicate. So, once again, nothing is
| off limits.
|
| Ridicule? Allowed. Lying to them? Allowed. Stealing from
| them? Allowed. Torture? Allowed. Murder? Allowed.
|
| And if you're allowed to do these things and actually do
| them, at what point are you not just a different flavor of
| the same evil? What separates you from them?
|
| The only thing you needed to become your most depraved self
| was an excuse.
|
| Some actions are wrong. And there are some lines we shouldn't
| cross. No matter how evil you think someone is, that does not
| justify certain actions. And some actions should only be
| reserved for certain circumstances and those circumstances
| never happen to be "I think he's evil".
| fwip wrote:
| Quoth dril, the scholar of our times:
|
| > the wise man bowed his head solemnly and spoke: "theres
| actually zero difference between good & bad things. you
| imbecile. you fucking moron"
|
| https://twitter.com/dril/status/473265809079693312
| the_lonely_road wrote:
| Mother Teresa is likely to be a good example as long as you
| believe she thought she was doing gods work and agree that
| the details of how she did that are reprehensible.
| AnimalMuppet wrote:
| What is reprehensible about how she did what she did?
| _jal wrote:
| As with most things, Wikipedia will get you started:
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Mother_Teresa
|
| A relevant quote from there summarizing some of them:
|
| "caring for the sick by glorifying their suffering
| instead of relieving it, ... her questionable political
| contacts, her suspicious management of the enormous sums
| of money she received, and her overly dogmatic views
| regarding, in particular, abortion, contraception, and
| divorce".
| AnimalMuppet wrote:
| Her "overly dogmatic views regarding, in particular,
| abortion, contraception, and divorce" are, I suspect,
| orthodox Catholic doctrine. As for the rest, critics
| criticize. She sure wasn't using the money she received
| to get personally rich. She was working with/caring for
| people that nobody else was. While less than perfect, I'm
| not seeing "reprehensible" anywhere in the substance of
| the criticism.
|
| (Read the "Responses to criticism" section of that
| article for a decent explanation of why most of the
| criticism is completely missing the point.)
| coliveira wrote:
| This is not the main point of the criticism. The issue is
| that she raised millions in money that was not used for
| her cause of taking care of suffering people in India.
| Instead, the bulk of the money was sent to religious
| causes and to the Vatican.
| tarboreus wrote:
| Think about the people who did the most evil things you can
| think of. Were they really certain they were fighting evil?
| Contrast with people who you think were admirable. Did they
| think they were fighting evil?
|
| These are aphorisms, not essays. You either recognize (high-
| level) wisdom in them, or you don't.
| CoastalCoder wrote:
| > These are aphorisms, not essays.
|
| That's a good observation. I agree that it's reasonable to
| treat them as aphorisms.
|
| But even if we allow for a certain amount of hyperbole in
| aphorisms, I would think there's some threshold of factual
| accuracy that we want before accepting a given aphorism.
|
| That, and simple curiosity, are what motivated my original
| question.
| akomtu wrote:
| "Combating" here likely means doing evil things in order to
| combat other evil things. For example, the "Inferno" movie's
| plot was to release a virus to downsize the population in order
| to combat global warming.
| dionidium wrote:
| I think even that's too generous. It can also mean
| misidentifying and mislabeling (or at the very least,
| overreacting to) the causes of something one thinks is evil.
| One might decide, for example, that the workers in early 20th
| century Russia have been unfairly oppressed by the kulaks and
| then, upon determining therefore that those kulaks meet a
| standard for "evil," sleep soundly carrying out actions that
| result in their mass enslavement and starvation (all in the
| name of fighting oppression).
| a3w wrote:
| * A problem that can be solved with money is not really a
| problem.
|
| I am broke and need X, which no one gives for free. Let's call X
| education, because that and time might solve everything. Is that
| not a problem worth calling so?
| intergalplan wrote:
| If we're being charitable, we could take "can" to include "you
| can (reasonably) afford it", as in "YOU can solve the problem
| with money", not "ONE could solve the problem with money, if
| one had money".
|
| Given the tone of the rest of the piece, I'm not sure being
| that charitable is warranted, though. I'm legitimately having a
| hard time telling whether this list is presented seriously, or
| as some kind of parody.
| a1369209993 wrote:
| > If we're being charitable
|
| Or, in the spirit of taking it as parody, that it's at least
| a 'solved' problem[0] in the sense of the mathematician who
| sees a fire, sees a fire extinguisher, says "Ah, a solution
| exists!", and moves on.
|
| 0: where a solved (note lack of scare quotes) problem isn't
| really a problem.
| v64 wrote:
| My takeaway from it is if the problem requires money to solve,
| at least you are aware of the solution: money. It may be
| difficult or impossible to achieve that end, but at least you
| know it's the direction to go and can possibly make progress
| toward solving.
|
| The worst kind of problem is one you can't see your way out of
| and no option seems to exist to escape it.
| scottlilly wrote:
| The version of this I've always heard is, "Any problem that can
| be solved by writing a check you can afford to write, is not
| really a problem."
|
| So, if your car suddenly needs a $500 repair, and you have
| $2500 in emergency savings, that's not a "problem". It's a
| contingency you were prepared to handle.
| msla wrote:
| > It's a contingency you were prepared to handle.
|
| Which is a better way to phrase it:
|
| A contingency you were prepared to handle is not a problem.
|
| After all, a billionaire can still get lost at sea and die.
| generalizations wrote:
| The version I heard was, "be prepared".
| cabaalis wrote:
| If you can pay someone to do something, that thing you are
| paying for is a problem which has already been solved by
| someone, therefore not a problem.
| coldtea wrote:
| > _A problem that can be solved with money is not really a
| problem._
|
| He means money that you have and can spare.
| bena wrote:
| It's more about recognizing second order effects.
|
| If a problem can be solved with money, your real problem is not
| having the money.
| oh_sigh wrote:
| > Jesus, Superman, and Mother Teresa never made art. Only
| imperfect beings can make art because art begins in what is
| broken.
|
| Spoken like someone who has never done even a cursory glance into
| Mother Teresa.
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(page generated 2021-04-26 23:01 UTC)