Re:The Staff Engineer's Path – Book Review
by er4hn on Wednesday May 17, 2023 @03:42PM
(#35980232)
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”
- Calvin Coolidge
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Re:The Staff Engineer's Path – Book Review
by cjsplat on Wednesday May 17, 2023 @05:46PM
(#35981659)
And with Coolidge's great persistence, he helped build the foundation for the Great Depression.
It is possible to "press on" in the wrong direction.
Re:The Staff Engineer's Path – Book Review
by brookst on Wednesday May 17, 2023 @06:12PM
(#35981913)
Yes. Determination is essential for success but does not guarantee success.
Kind of like how virtually all great cooking requires salt, but use of salt goes not guarantee a great dish.
Sure, but we're talking about "persistence" and dedication on the scale of "I built a complex piece of software"
After a good time of reflection, questioning mentors etc… Maybe it’s better to press on (in the wrong direction) and learn from it than do nothing and contemplate what we could do or achieve or debate for hours/weeks/months to know if it’s the right decision.
> The separation of talent and skill is one of the greatest misunderstood concepts for people who are trying to excel, who have dreams, who want to do things. Talent you have naturally. Skill is only developed by hours and hours and hours of beating on your craft.
- Will Smith
My take is that talent is a potential, without practice it is left unrealised and never turns into skill, nor success.
Then people look at success and say "well person P has natural talent, I don't, so I can't do that", which is very sad, because ultimately it's mostly about a shit ton of work, and dedication, and commitment, and persistence.