How reading books could (likely will) destroy your career
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The more books you read, the more you learn. However, since most people don't actually read beyond secondary school (and definitely not beyond University) it is quite possible that you will know things that the unread do not know. However, since there are more unread people than people who have actually researched and learned you will be in the minority. And since the minority is aka "The Fringe" your ideas will be considered garbage. And, since the unread mass is a mosh-pit of humanity, it is statistically probable that one of those unread people will be your manager. That manager will tell you what to do and then you will question it since you've read 4 books on the subject. Then you'll argue and say, "but, Ive read 4 books on the subject" That's when the manager will look down his nose and say, "But who's in charge here?" Much better to just sit back and doom scroll. :rolleyes:
Eloquent, imaginative ... a train of thought with all the logic in the loose caboose. !
«The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled» Plutarch
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"2001" and "I Robot" were written by highly talented authors. Asimov wrote the latter, and he was a professional astronomer. Why would you ban such works from being taught? "HAL" in 2001 was a warning simply to not rely heavily on computerization. Clarke was correct. Look at our world today...
Steve Naidamast Sr. Software Engineer Black Falcon Software, Inc. blackfalconsoftware@outlook.com
Steve Naidamast wrote:
Why would you ban such works from being taught?
I am going to guess that Shawn was being sarcastic?
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Steve Naidamast wrote:
Why would you ban such works from being taught?
I am going to guess that Shawn was being sarcastic?
Could be. I just didn't read it that way but I could have misunderstood the nature of his comment...
Steve Naidamast Sr. Software Engineer Black Falcon Software, Inc. blackfalconsoftware@outlook.com
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The more books you read, the more you learn. However, since most people don't actually read beyond secondary school (and definitely not beyond University) it is quite possible that you will know things that the unread do not know. However, since there are more unread people than people who have actually researched and learned you will be in the minority. And since the minority is aka "The Fringe" your ideas will be considered garbage. And, since the unread mass is a mosh-pit of humanity, it is statistically probable that one of those unread people will be your manager. That manager will tell you what to do and then you will question it since you've read 4 books on the subject. Then you'll argue and say, "but, Ive read 4 books on the subject" That's when the manager will look down his nose and say, "But who's in charge here?" Much better to just sit back and doom scroll. :rolleyes:
raddevus wrote:
And since the minority is aka "The Fringe" your ideas will be considered garbage.
Like Fringe (TV Series) (2008) - FilmAffinity[^]? (Very interesting serie the first 2 seasons... afterwards it started to go a bit over the fence)
M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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I've known quite a few teachers who were educated beyond their abilities. They may have read the book, but they sure as hell didn't understand it. :sigh:
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.
Daniel Pfeffer wrote:
I've known quite a few teachers who were educated beyond their abilities
I have known a couple that had to shut up because they could not continue arguing against me and another co-student. One even said sorry and gave me a "you are right" in front of the class (making me speechless, due to the surprise), this one earned my respect and we were in contact even after finishing college for some years.
M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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The more books you read, the more you learn. However, since most people don't actually read beyond secondary school (and definitely not beyond University) it is quite possible that you will know things that the unread do not know. However, since there are more unread people than people who have actually researched and learned you will be in the minority. And since the minority is aka "The Fringe" your ideas will be considered garbage. And, since the unread mass is a mosh-pit of humanity, it is statistically probable that one of those unread people will be your manager. That manager will tell you what to do and then you will question it since you've read 4 books on the subject. Then you'll argue and say, "but, Ive read 4 books on the subject" That's when the manager will look down his nose and say, "But who's in charge here?" Much better to just sit back and doom scroll. :rolleyes:
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Actually, there's a lot of truth to this. To just assume for now that an intelligent person reads... If you're too far on the high end of the intelligence spectrum and speak in a manner that would be commensurate (as defined by whatever markers society tends to agree on insofar as to what intelligence is), then you're going to lose most people. They say genius and crazy are two sides of the same coin. Both are not understood by the average person, so for all intents and purposes it may as well be. Since human relationships are all about a connection, good luck with that. The trick is to learn to communicate with those who do not poses the same markers anyway and just accept the fact the role of a real genius is a lonely one. Maybe you'll get lucky and every now and again run into someone you can fully engage with. Don't hold your breath. The vast, vast majority of folks all assume they're smart.
Jeremy Falcon
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Actually, there's a lot of truth to this. To just assume for now that an intelligent person reads... If you're too far on the high end of the intelligence spectrum and speak in a manner that would be commensurate (as defined by whatever markers society tends to agree on insofar as to what intelligence is), then you're going to lose most people. They say genius and crazy are two sides of the same coin. Both are not understood by the average person, so for all intents and purposes it may as well be. Since human relationships are all about a connection, good luck with that. The trick is to learn to communicate with those who do not poses the same markers anyway and just accept the fact the role of a real genius is a lonely one. Maybe you'll get lucky and every now and again run into someone you can fully engage with. Don't hold your breath. The vast, vast majority of folks all assume they're smart.
Jeremy Falcon
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Actually, there's a lot of truth to this. To just assume for now that an intelligent person reads... If you're too far on the high end of the intelligence spectrum and speak in a manner that would be commensurate (as defined by whatever markers society tends to agree on insofar as to what intelligence is), then you're going to lose most people. They say genius and crazy are two sides of the same coin. Both are not understood by the average person, so for all intents and purposes it may as well be. Since human relationships are all about a connection, good luck with that. The trick is to learn to communicate with those who do not poses the same markers anyway and just accept the fact the role of a real genius is a lonely one. Maybe you'll get lucky and every now and again run into someone you can fully engage with. Don't hold your breath. The vast, vast majority of folks all assume they're smart.
Jeremy Falcon
[Late to this thread, sorry]
Jeremy Falcon wrote:
The vast, vast majority of folks all assume they're smart.
That's because that same vast, vast majority of folks really isn't. I came to a realization at some point in my life: The more you know, the more you realize how little you know. And it only gets worse. Not because you then tend to forget things as you get older, but because you realize there's even more stuff you never knew about. The majority of people remains blissfully ignorant of entire fields. I think it really comes down to being dumb and acknowledging it, and being dumb and not even realizing it. [Edit] "Dumb" might be too harsh. Being ignorant about something doesn't make one dumb. Donald Rumsfeld was onto something when he said something about "known unknowns and unknown unknowns".
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[Late to this thread, sorry]
Jeremy Falcon wrote:
The vast, vast majority of folks all assume they're smart.
That's because that same vast, vast majority of folks really isn't. I came to a realization at some point in my life: The more you know, the more you realize how little you know. And it only gets worse. Not because you then tend to forget things as you get older, but because you realize there's even more stuff you never knew about. The majority of people remains blissfully ignorant of entire fields. I think it really comes down to being dumb and acknowledging it, and being dumb and not even realizing it. [Edit] "Dumb" might be too harsh. Being ignorant about something doesn't make one dumb. Donald Rumsfeld was onto something when he said something about "known unknowns and unknown unknowns".
On my phone so can’t do fancy quotes, but totally agree all fronts. Intelligence requires looking inwards. Which means that dumb / ignorant folks are rarely introspective. As an aside, I don’t define intelligence as being able to regurgitate something read in a book either, with no deeper understanding of the material. That’s just being a fancy parrot.
Jeremy Falcon
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On my phone so can’t do fancy quotes, but totally agree all fronts. Intelligence requires looking inwards. Which means that dumb / ignorant folks are rarely introspective. As an aside, I don’t define intelligence as being able to regurgitate something read in a book either, with no deeper understanding of the material. That’s just being a fancy parrot.
Jeremy Falcon
Jeremy Falcon wrote:
I don’t define intelligence as being able to regurgitate something read in a book either, with no deeper understanding of the material. That’s just being a fancy parrot.
Agreed as well, one can own an impressive library and have read it all, but ultimately if you don't understand the subject matter at least to the point where you can summarize what you just read, it's entirely irrelevant.