Re:Ask HN: How do you deal with alienation?
by abstractbill on Friday January 16, 2009 @03:52PM
(#437246)
I agree with most of what you said, but:
Most people are very bright and just don't care to apply themselves.
I think it's probably closer to the truth to say most people don't know how to apply themselves. Just about everyone starts off with dreams of doing something great. Most people, no matter how smart, either give up to quickly or (less often) spend their lives working on the wrong thing. Figuring out what to work on, and then not giving up, is way more important than raw intelligence.
Perhaps you've missed this because some people give up so quickly that it appears they never tried at all.
Most people are very bright and just don't care to apply themselves.
I think it's probably closer to the truth to say most people don't know how to apply themselves. Just about everyone starts off with dreams of doing something great. Most people, no matter how smart, either give up to quickly or (less often) spend their lives working on the wrong thing. Figuring out what to work on, and then not giving up, is way more important than raw intelligence.
Perhaps you've missed this because some people give up so quickly that it appears they never tried at all.