Paul Graham: What we wanted to know in high school
January 2005
(I wrote this speech to address graduates of the school. I was not able to speak with her, as the school administration forbade me to invite.)
When I said that I was invited to speak to high school students, my friends were very interested. What could you tell them? I asked them what they would like to hear from a more experienced adult when they were in school? And now I will tell you that we all would like to know even at school.
I will begin the story with something that senior pupils do not need to know: what do you do with your life. People constantly ask you about this, and you think you probably should know the answer to this question. In fact, adults ask him just to start a conversation. They wonder what kind of person you are, besides, it’s pretty easy to start a conversation this way. The same happens when you catch a lost crab and put it in the water with the hope of finding out what it will do.
When I was in school, I would answer this question that first of all you need to understand the initial conditions and possible options. No need to hurry with the choice of activities throughout your life. Much more important to understand what you like. If you want to succeed in something, you should like this business.
')
It may seem that there is nothing easier than to understand what you like, but in reality it is extremely difficult. Partly because it's hard to get a true idea of ​​any profession. For example, in life the work of doctors is very different from what can be seen on TV. Fortunately, you can still watch these doctors by working as a volunteer at the hospital. [one]
But there are such professions that you will not learn from anyone, because as long as they are not there. Many of the tasks that I worked on over the past ten years simply did not exist during my time at school. The world is changing very fast, while the pace of its change is also growing. Today, having clear life plans is not a good idea.
And yet, every year in May, people throughout the country speak Standard Graduation Speeches - the general idea of ​​which is “do not give up on the road to a dream.” I understand that they want to convey, but this is not the best advice, because it means that you have some kind of pre-planned plan. In the IT world there is even a term for this - premature optimization. And usually it is used when everything is very bad. It would be better if these people put it easier - "do not give up."
But what they really wanted to say was “don’t be disheartened”. Do not think that you can not do what others can. I agree that you can not underestimate their potential. Sometimes it may seem that people who are famous for their great deeds are beyond the reach of mere mortals. If you turn to their biographies, this impression only increases. But is it because biographers invariably become loyal fans of their heroes? And, knowing the whole story in advance, they invariably link events into a single chain one after another, and now the life of the hero seems prescribed by fate itself, turns into the next formation of a born genius. I think if sixteen-year-old Shakespeare or Einstein studied with you, they would be amazing, but they would not be much different from you and your friends.
It is difficult to imagine this for self-esteem: if they were the same, therefore, they worked very hard to achieve such greatness. This is one of the reasons why we like to believe in geniuses. So we justify our laziness. After all, if these guys have some magic "Shakespeare" or "Einstein", then it is not our fault that we do not have such achievements. I do not think that geniuses do not exist. But if you choose between two theories, one of which gives you an excuse to do nothing, it’s better to stick with the second.
So, we have already simplified the Standard Graduation Speech with “Do not give up on the way to a dream” to “If someone can do something, you can do it too”. But this is not truthful enough. Our birth abilities are different. Most people overestimate the impact of these differences, but it still exists. If I met a guy twenty meters tall, whose dream is to become an NBA player, the stupidest thing I could say is: “you can do everything if you try very hard”. [2]
It is also necessary to reduce the Standard Graduation Speech to "everything that someone with your abilities can do, you can, too, well, also: do not belittle your abilities." And, as often happens, the more truthful the statement becomes, the less elegant it sounds. We took a concise motivating (but deceitful) slogan, and got minced meat minced. Such a speech is not very inspiring. But, even worse, she does not explain what to do. Someone with the same abilities? What are my abilities?
I think the solution should be sought in a different direction. Instead of starting with setting the final goal, you should look for winning positions. And so do many successful people. For example, if you follow the “tips for graduates,” you must first decide what you want to be in twenty years from now, and then ask yourself: what needs to be done now to come to this? Instead, I propose not to set goals for the distant future, but to build on the opportunities that are here and now, choosing those that give more winning positions.
It’s not so important what you do if you don’t waste time. Develop areas that you are interested in and that increase the space of your opportunities, and leave the decision for later. For example, imagine you - the applicant - choose the direction in the field of mathematics or economics. So, mathematics will give you more space of opportunities: almost any activity. If you get a specialty in mathematics, it is enough just to continue studying in the economic field. The reverse option is much harder.
A good metaphor is paragliding. The paraglider does not have an engine, and you cannot fly upwind without significant loss of height. Consequently, if from good seats the wind blows on you, then you risk, and the further you move away from them, the greater the risk. Therefore, as a rule, you should be from the side where the wind is blowing. I suggest this statement instead of "do not give up on the path to a dream." Stay up from the wind ( Stay upwind ).
But how to achieve this? Let mathematics and "higher in the wind" than economics, how will you - schoolchildren - learn about this? In fact, it is in any way worth understanding. Better strive to find smart people and challenging tasks. Smart people usually get together and form communities, and if you can find one, you should join them. But they are not so easy to find, because there are always a lot of imitators.
For example, the applicant does not see any particular differences between the faculties of a university. Professors, all as on selection, it is impossible clever, and their works are inaccessible for understanding of mere mortals. Yes, in some areas of science, research is always full of complex concepts and not just read them, but in many others such works are specially written in confusing language so that the stated seems extremely important. This may seem like a bold accusation, but there was even a precedent. One physicist suspected a journal on literary theory in the publication of pseudoscientific materials. He specifically wrote an article where, in a manner of scientific presentation, wrote utter nonsense. And it was published.
To save yourself, it is better to always work on complex tasks. Writing novels is hard. Reading novels is not. Difficult means scary: if you are not afraid of getting a bad result or you are not afraid of not understanding what you are studying, it is not difficult enough. Fears must be present.
You may find such a gloomy view of the world. Do I say that you should be afraid? Yes, but in reality it is not so terrible. Overcoming fear gives you a feeling of complete life. One can hardly imagine a happier face than a person who has received a gold medal. Do you know why he is so happy? Relief. I do not want to say that this is the only way to be happy. Just some fears are necessary for us to move forward.
In practice, “stay on the side of the wind” shrinks to “take up hard tasks.” And it is better to start today. I would like to have this knowledge back in school.
Many people like to do something good. In the so-called real world, this is one of the driving forces. But high school students rarely get something from this, because they usually do artificial things. When I was at school, I considered it my job just to be a student at school. It turns out that to do it well, I just had to study well.
If then I was asked what is the difference between a schoolboy and an adult, I would say that an adult should earn a living. Incorrect answer. An adult takes full responsibility for themselves in their hands. And making a living is only a part of it. More importantly, he takes responsibility for his decisions and actions.
If I went back to school, I would treat this as a part-time job. It does not mean nothing to do there. Making a side job doesn’t mean doing it badly. It means not associating yourself with this activity. That is, I would not consider myself a schoolboy just as a musician who works as a waiter does not consider himself a waiter. [3] And when I would not be engaged in a side job, I would be engaged in the present business.
If you ask people what they regret about the school, almost everyone responds: "I regret that I wasted my time." If you are wondering what you will regret in a few years, the answer is likely to be the same. [four]
Some will say that this is the way it should be, because schoolchildren are not yet able to do something worthwhile. I think this is wrong. Proof can be the simple fact that all students are bored. Most likely, you were not bored at eight. When you were eight, you “played” and not “hung around idle”, although the essence is the same. Eight-year-old I was definitely not bored, give me a courtyard and other children, and I was busy all day.
But for the senior classes it became annoying, and, as I now realize, the reason is that I was ready to do something. Childhood is gone.
I do not mean that you should stop talking to your friends, turn into small soulless robots who are constantly busy with some kind of work. Chatting with your friends can be presented as a chocolate cake. When you indulge yourself from time to time, you get much more pleasure than if you ate cakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Even if you really like chocolate cake, you will most likely feel nauseous after a third straight. The high school student experiences the same nausea - satiety of childish “doing nothing”. [five]
Your first decision may be a desire to achieve more than getting good grades. Many will be engaged in other activities. But you must understand that this is often ineffective. Collecting money for charity is considered a good thing, but it is not a difficult task. This activity has no result. When I talk about the results, I mean, for example, to learn to express thoughts on paper, to program computers, to draw a human face from life, or to become an expert on pre-industrial social order. Such skills can rarely be indicated by a beautiful line in your college application.
Tying your life plans to college is not prudent. People who you need to impress for admission, can not be called a sophisticated audience. In most colleges, the decision on admission is not made by professors, but by the selection committee, which cannot even be compared with professors. There are “storage rooms” of the intellectual environment. They cannot even determine your level of knowledge. The very existence of specialized preparatory schools or classes proves this.
Few parents would pay a lot of money for school, which does not increase the chances of enrollment. Actually specialized schools or classes openly declare that this is their task. But if you think carefully, it essentially means that they can deceive the system: take anyone and make him a more attractive candidate than a teenager from a secondary school. [6]
Today, many of you consider admission to college as your primary concern. But this means that you make your life plans with an eye to the process, so senseless that the whole industry wants to eliminate it. No wonder you become cynical. The sensation that you are experiencing is most likely experienced by producers of reality shows or tobacco company executives. But you do not even pay for it.
So what to do? Certainly no need to make revolutions. I tried it and regret it. I felt a terrible trick, some kind of deception that occurs around in front of everyone, but could not explain it and eventually gave up. The world has disappointed me, so why fight? When I discovered that our teacher herself uses Cliff's Notes (short retelling of a literary work with explanations - note of a translator) , what to say about the students in the class. Getting a good grade in such a class means nothing.
From the height of past years, it seems silly. As if, during the game, the footballer said: “Hey, you led me around, it's not fair,” and left the field. Yes, in life we ​​are fingered, and the point is not to lose our mind in such cases. And keep playing. Society has set you up, and you are in this position. And, as you probably guess, the things that you are taught are nonsense. And yes, the college admission process is like a circus. But all this is not someone's evil machinations, but simply the state of things. [7] So keep playing.
Making a revolution is just as stupid as to submit completely. In both cases, you play by someone else's rules. In my opinion, it is best to take the third path. Do not obey and do not rebel. To treat school as a part-time job. If you look at it from such an angle, this is a great option: you can do a little business, and at 15:00 you are already free.
Then what will be your main occupation? If you are not Mozart, then this will need to decide. How to find interesting tasks? Where to find creative people? And most importantly, what is interesting to you? Do not waste time in search of your talents, talents imply innate skills. I think the best talent is an all-consuming interest in some issue, and this interest is most often brought up.
This idea, somewhat modified, is used in popular culture under the term "passion" or "passion." Recently, I saw a vacancy in which we were looking for waiters - “enthusiastic in the service industry”. Let's just say, hardly anyone is experiencing emotions about table service. And the word "passion" is not appropriate here. Curiosity is more appropriate.
Children are curious, but I'm talking a little about something else. Just as a pool is formed, children's curiosity extends to everything, but without depth. They ask why. Adults usually lose this property completely. And this is natural: you cannot manage to do something if you constantly get distracted by everything. But in ambitious adults, curiosity is not completely lost, but becomes narrowly focused. Puddle turns into a well.
Curiosity turns work into a game. Einstein did not consider the theory of relativity a heavy material that must be learned for the exam. It was a mystery that was interesting to solve. Most likely, for him it was much less work than for those who parse it in class.
At school, many absorb the dangerous misconception that great things are not done without discipline and self-control. Most subjects are taught in such a dry and boring manner that colossal discipline is needed to master the material. And what was my surprise when as a student I read a quote from Ludwig Wittgenstein, where he claimed that he did not have self-control and could never refuse anything to himself, even in a cup of coffee.
Now I am already acquainted with many outstanding people who say the same thing. They are not disciplined, they spend a lot of time on useless things and just can’t bring themselves to do uninteresting things. One of them has not yet sent letters of thanks after the wedding - four years have passed. The other has 26,000 emails inbox.
And again, you can hardly avoid problems with zero discipline. I would say that you need the same amount of it as to start a run. It's hard for me to go for a run, but as soon as I started to run, I run as much as I need and I like it. If I do not run for several days, then I feel discomfort. Usually the same thing happens with smart people with affairs. They know that lazing around will be bad, and they force themselves to start work. But as soon as they start, they enter into the necessary rhythm and the discipline is no longer needed here. Do you think Shakespeare diligently, gritting his teeth, wrote his works? Well, I do not. He enjoyed and therefore his works are so good.
So, if you want to get a result, you need to ask important questions, the answers to which promise a win. Einstein found such a question when he saw Maxwell's equations and decided to figure this out properly. One can work on the question for a very long time, and sometimes the very understanding of the issue takes years. Suitable examples can be found, for example, in mathematics. Many people believe that they hate mathematics, although what is called mathematics in school is completely different from the real problems of modern mathematicians.
The great mathematician Godfrey Harold Hardy admitted that he disliked math in school. He became interested in her only because he did better than others. Only with the passage of time, he realized how interesting it was, and began to look for new questions, and not the right answers to existing ones. At school, when my friend could not bring himself to write an essay, his mother told him: "Try to make it interesting for yourself." Try to do just that: look for questions that arouse your interest. Great people live in the same world as everyone around and see the same as others. But they are able to notice the details and riddles, the solution of which changes our lives so much.
And it's not just about intellectual riddles. Henry Ford's great question was: “Why should cars be luxury? Why shouldn't they be accessible to everyone? ” For Franz Beckenbauer, it was: “Why should I remain in my position? Why don't defenders score goals too? ”
If it can take years to understand the question itself, what can you do at sixteen? Take care of his search. Important questions do not appear from nowhere. They gradually thicken in your head. This process is driven by experience, so it makes no sense to sit and think about it, trying to get it. “What discovery should I make?” If it worked, you would already have an answer.
An effective way to get an idea is not to hunt for it, but to invest in an interesting job for you. In the process, try to keep your mind open, this is necessary so that a new idea can take root. Einstein, Ford, Beckenbauer somehow used this method. Each of them knew his region like his own five fingers. Thanks to this, they noticed the moment of birth of the idea, the very necessary question, and they had the determination not to miss it.
You ask, to invest in what and how? Start a project that looks interesting: learn some material, do something with your own hands, or highlight a specific topic. Choose what will take less than a month, and you are sure that you will finish it. This should make you sweat, but so far quite a bit. If you can not choose from two projects, choose a fun one. If the first did not work out, start a new one. Repeat until it starts to remind the internal combustion engine - the process will start supporting itself, and each project will create a new direction. To achieve this, it may take several years.
It is not necessary that this was a school project, if this limits you or bothers you. If desired, attract friends, but selectively, and only if they are interested and able to do business. Friends support the spirit (very few startups are created by one person), but some secrecy has its advantages. In secret projects have their own attractiveness. And you can take more risks, because no one will know about the failure.
No need to worry if the project seems deadlocked or unrelated to any goal. It is impossible to predict possible options for development, allow these options to evolve from the project itself. Much more important - to be involved, the only way you learn something.
Do not discount the motivation, especially its hidden forms. One of the strongest - the desire to be able to do something better than others. Hardy talked about this, and it can only be surprising that he admitted it. Another motivating factor may be the desire to be able to do something that no one would suggest. Overlaps with intimidating risk taking. When you are sixteen years old, no one will think that you are writing novels. So if you try, any result is a plus for you, but the absence of the result will not be able to disappoint anyone. [eight]
Beware of imitation of people with dubious achievements. Especially if they justify laziness. At school, I composed small existential stories, imitating popular writers. There was a primitive plot in them, although the thoughts were rather deep. In this case, it was easier to compose them, because the goal was not to entertain the reader. It was a disturbing sign, in fact, these stories seemed very boring to me, I just wanted to write serious, intellectual things, like those writers.
Today, I have enough experience to realize how worthless those writers were. In fact, the same happens with many famous people. The reason, in short, is that fame is usually achieved not at the expense of the quality of the activity. I should not strive to look cool, but to do what I liked. After all, this is the true way to become cool.
The key task for many projects, sometimes the whole project in itself, is to find good books. Most books are of poor quality. Almost all textbooks are like that. [9] So you shouldn’t hope to learn everything about the necessary topic from the first book that came across. We'll have to try hard to find a small amount of good books.
And yet, the main thing is to finally get out into the world and start doing something. Instead of expecting you to be taught everything, learn yourself. Do not allow employees of the selection committee to determine your life path. Let your own curiosity determine it. This happens in all ambitious people. To do this, you do not need to wait for anything, and even adults do not need to be. There is no internal switch that is triggered at a certain age or at the end of a university. You grow up when you take responsibility for yourself. This can happen at any age. [ten]
It may seem impossible to you. I'm still small, I have no money, I live in the house of parents, I have to obey adults. In fact, many adults at work are under similar restrictions, but at the same time they manage to do something. If you think that being a child is limiting, imagine how it limits the availability of your own children.
The only real difference between an adult and a high school student is that the first is aware that things need to be done, and the second is not. This usually comes to mind at 23. But I decided to reveal a secret to you a little earlier. So proceed. Perhaps you will be the first generation whose school regret will not be about wasted time.
[1] One doctor I know beware that, in this case, the picture will be incomplete: ?
[2] The best method for him would be to become a dictator and get the NBA to let him play. So far, the best has come from the head of the Ministry of Labor. (Most likely, speech about Elaine Chao - a comment of the translator.)
[3] By a part-time job, I mean the work that you do only to pay for your expenses so that at another time you can do exactly what you want, for example, play in a group or invent the theory of relativity.
In fact, such an attitude towards school may even help with academic performance. If the student treats the lessons as a necessary game, he will not lose heart that the subject seems to him to be meaningless.
No matter how bad your lessons are, you need to have a good academic record to get into a decent college. But it is really worth it, because in universities you can find numerous gatherings of smart people.
[4] The second most popular answer was paying attention to unimportant things. Especially what other people think of you.
I think that implies the opinion of random people about you. Adults also think a lot about this, but they, more often, have a certain sample of such people. For example, I have about thirty friends whose opinion is important to me. But the opinion of the rest is unlikely to affect me. The problem for a high school student is that the people around him are determined more by age and location, and not by his own preferences.
[5] The key to wasting time is distraction. Without them, your brain very quickly realizes that it is not used and you become uncomfortable. To understand how you depend on distractions, try this experiment. Take your time on the weekend, sit in a secluded place and just think. All you can have with you is a notebook to write down some thoughts. No TVs, music, phone, messenger, mail, Internet, games, books, newspapers or magazines. Most likely, already after an hour, you will feel a strong desire to distract yourself with something.
[6] I do not want to say that the only purpose of such schools is to work with the selection committee. There you can really get more knowledge. But conduct the following mental experiment: let such schools provide the same improved education, but at the same time the probability of entering a college or university is reduced by a very small amount (conventionally 0.001). How many parents will send children to such schools?
It can also be said that the children of the preparatory have more knowledge, therefore they are the best students. But from experience this is not true. The amount of material that is studied in school compared with the university can be compared with the error of rounding. Yes, children from secondary schools begin in college with some lag, but they completely catch up with the rest in the second year.
(Thus, I want to say that children from general education schools are smarter in any particular college. This is proved by the fact that preparatory schools should increase the chances of children to enroll.)
[7] So why does society set you up? Mostly because of indifference. There are simply no external forces that would make a school good. The flight control system works, because otherwise the planes would crash. Companies will provide good services, otherwise competitors would eat them. But the planes do not break because your school is so-so, and certainly, it has no competitors. The school is not evil, it is just runnable, and such things are usually so-so.
[8] Of course, there is still money. This factor is not entirely for school, because you can hardly do something for others. But many great things were created for the sake of money. Samuel Johnson said: “Everything except boobies write for money.” (Many would like to think that he was exaggerating.)
[9] Even the textbooks at the university are bad. When you get there, you will find that textbooks are almost always written by non-leading experts in the relevant field. Writing these books is a thankless job, mostly done by people who need money. Ungrateful because of the strict control and supervision of publishers over the process, and the author is always hard to agree with the instructions from people who do not understand the question. This phenomenon is even more pronounced in the publishing school textbooks.
[10] Your teachers always tell you to behave like adults. It would be interesting if you started it. After all, children, although noisy and unorganized, are actually quite obedient, unlike adults. If you really began to behave like adults, then it’s as if a group of adults were moved into the bodies of children. Imagine the reaction of an FBI agent, or a taxi driver, or a journalist, if they had to ask permission to go to the restroom and could only be one at a time. If a group of adults suddenly turned out to be schoolchildren, first of all they would have organized a committee to discuss changes in school rules with the administration.
Thanks:
Ingrid Bassett, Trevor Blackwell, Rich Draves, Dan Giffin, Sarah Harlin, Jessica Livingston, Jackie McDonough, Robert Morris, Mark Nitzberg, Lisa Randall, and Aaron Swartz for reading the drafts.
(I wrote this speech to address graduates of the school. I was not able to speak with her, as the school administration forbade me to invite.)
When I said that I was invited to speak to high school students, my friends were very interested. What could you tell them? I asked them what they would like to hear from a more experienced adult when they were in school? And now I will tell you that we all would like to know even at school.
I will begin the story with something that senior pupils do not need to know: what do you do with your life. People constantly ask you about this, and you think you probably should know the answer to this question. In fact, adults ask him just to start a conversation. They wonder what kind of person you are, besides, it’s pretty easy to start a conversation this way. The same happens when you catch a lost crab and put it in the water with the hope of finding out what it will do.
When I was in school, I would answer this question that first of all you need to understand the initial conditions and possible options. No need to hurry with the choice of activities throughout your life. Much more important to understand what you like. If you want to succeed in something, you should like this business.
')
It may seem that there is nothing easier than to understand what you like, but in reality it is extremely difficult. Partly because it's hard to get a true idea of ​​any profession. For example, in life the work of doctors is very different from what can be seen on TV. Fortunately, you can still watch these doctors by working as a volunteer at the hospital. [one]
But there are such professions that you will not learn from anyone, because as long as they are not there. Many of the tasks that I worked on over the past ten years simply did not exist during my time at school. The world is changing very fast, while the pace of its change is also growing. Today, having clear life plans is not a good idea.
And yet, every year in May, people throughout the country speak Standard Graduation Speeches - the general idea of ​​which is “do not give up on the road to a dream.” I understand that they want to convey, but this is not the best advice, because it means that you have some kind of pre-planned plan. In the IT world there is even a term for this - premature optimization. And usually it is used when everything is very bad. It would be better if these people put it easier - "do not give up."
But what they really wanted to say was “don’t be disheartened”. Do not think that you can not do what others can. I agree that you can not underestimate their potential. Sometimes it may seem that people who are famous for their great deeds are beyond the reach of mere mortals. If you turn to their biographies, this impression only increases. But is it because biographers invariably become loyal fans of their heroes? And, knowing the whole story in advance, they invariably link events into a single chain one after another, and now the life of the hero seems prescribed by fate itself, turns into the next formation of a born genius. I think if sixteen-year-old Shakespeare or Einstein studied with you, they would be amazing, but they would not be much different from you and your friends.
It is difficult to imagine this for self-esteem: if they were the same, therefore, they worked very hard to achieve such greatness. This is one of the reasons why we like to believe in geniuses. So we justify our laziness. After all, if these guys have some magic "Shakespeare" or "Einstein", then it is not our fault that we do not have such achievements. I do not think that geniuses do not exist. But if you choose between two theories, one of which gives you an excuse to do nothing, it’s better to stick with the second.
So, we have already simplified the Standard Graduation Speech with “Do not give up on the way to a dream” to “If someone can do something, you can do it too”. But this is not truthful enough. Our birth abilities are different. Most people overestimate the impact of these differences, but it still exists. If I met a guy twenty meters tall, whose dream is to become an NBA player, the stupidest thing I could say is: “you can do everything if you try very hard”. [2]
It is also necessary to reduce the Standard Graduation Speech to "everything that someone with your abilities can do, you can, too, well, also: do not belittle your abilities." And, as often happens, the more truthful the statement becomes, the less elegant it sounds. We took a concise motivating (but deceitful) slogan, and got minced meat minced. Such a speech is not very inspiring. But, even worse, she does not explain what to do. Someone with the same abilities? What are my abilities?
Where the wind blows
I think the solution should be sought in a different direction. Instead of starting with setting the final goal, you should look for winning positions. And so do many successful people. For example, if you follow the “tips for graduates,” you must first decide what you want to be in twenty years from now, and then ask yourself: what needs to be done now to come to this? Instead, I propose not to set goals for the distant future, but to build on the opportunities that are here and now, choosing those that give more winning positions.
It’s not so important what you do if you don’t waste time. Develop areas that you are interested in and that increase the space of your opportunities, and leave the decision for later. For example, imagine you - the applicant - choose the direction in the field of mathematics or economics. So, mathematics will give you more space of opportunities: almost any activity. If you get a specialty in mathematics, it is enough just to continue studying in the economic field. The reverse option is much harder.
A good metaphor is paragliding. The paraglider does not have an engine, and you cannot fly upwind without significant loss of height. Consequently, if from good seats the wind blows on you, then you risk, and the further you move away from them, the greater the risk. Therefore, as a rule, you should be from the side where the wind is blowing. I suggest this statement instead of "do not give up on the path to a dream." Stay up from the wind ( Stay upwind ).
But how to achieve this? Let mathematics and "higher in the wind" than economics, how will you - schoolchildren - learn about this? In fact, it is in any way worth understanding. Better strive to find smart people and challenging tasks. Smart people usually get together and form communities, and if you can find one, you should join them. But they are not so easy to find, because there are always a lot of imitators.
For example, the applicant does not see any particular differences between the faculties of a university. Professors, all as on selection, it is impossible clever, and their works are inaccessible for understanding of mere mortals. Yes, in some areas of science, research is always full of complex concepts and not just read them, but in many others such works are specially written in confusing language so that the stated seems extremely important. This may seem like a bold accusation, but there was even a precedent. One physicist suspected a journal on literary theory in the publication of pseudoscientific materials. He specifically wrote an article where, in a manner of scientific presentation, wrote utter nonsense. And it was published.
To save yourself, it is better to always work on complex tasks. Writing novels is hard. Reading novels is not. Difficult means scary: if you are not afraid of getting a bad result or you are not afraid of not understanding what you are studying, it is not difficult enough. Fears must be present.
You may find such a gloomy view of the world. Do I say that you should be afraid? Yes, but in reality it is not so terrible. Overcoming fear gives you a feeling of complete life. One can hardly imagine a happier face than a person who has received a gold medal. Do you know why he is so happy? Relief. I do not want to say that this is the only way to be happy. Just some fears are necessary for us to move forward.
Ambitions
In practice, “stay on the side of the wind” shrinks to “take up hard tasks.” And it is better to start today. I would like to have this knowledge back in school.
Many people like to do something good. In the so-called real world, this is one of the driving forces. But high school students rarely get something from this, because they usually do artificial things. When I was at school, I considered it my job just to be a student at school. It turns out that to do it well, I just had to study well.
If then I was asked what is the difference between a schoolboy and an adult, I would say that an adult should earn a living. Incorrect answer. An adult takes full responsibility for themselves in their hands. And making a living is only a part of it. More importantly, he takes responsibility for his decisions and actions.
If I went back to school, I would treat this as a part-time job. It does not mean nothing to do there. Making a side job doesn’t mean doing it badly. It means not associating yourself with this activity. That is, I would not consider myself a schoolboy just as a musician who works as a waiter does not consider himself a waiter. [3] And when I would not be engaged in a side job, I would be engaged in the present business.
If you ask people what they regret about the school, almost everyone responds: "I regret that I wasted my time." If you are wondering what you will regret in a few years, the answer is likely to be the same. [four]
Some will say that this is the way it should be, because schoolchildren are not yet able to do something worthwhile. I think this is wrong. Proof can be the simple fact that all students are bored. Most likely, you were not bored at eight. When you were eight, you “played” and not “hung around idle”, although the essence is the same. Eight-year-old I was definitely not bored, give me a courtyard and other children, and I was busy all day.
But for the senior classes it became annoying, and, as I now realize, the reason is that I was ready to do something. Childhood is gone.
I do not mean that you should stop talking to your friends, turn into small soulless robots who are constantly busy with some kind of work. Chatting with your friends can be presented as a chocolate cake. When you indulge yourself from time to time, you get much more pleasure than if you ate cakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Even if you really like chocolate cake, you will most likely feel nauseous after a third straight. The high school student experiences the same nausea - satiety of childish “doing nothing”. [five]
Your first decision may be a desire to achieve more than getting good grades. Many will be engaged in other activities. But you must understand that this is often ineffective. Collecting money for charity is considered a good thing, but it is not a difficult task. This activity has no result. When I talk about the results, I mean, for example, to learn to express thoughts on paper, to program computers, to draw a human face from life, or to become an expert on pre-industrial social order. Such skills can rarely be indicated by a beautiful line in your college application.
Distortion of the essence
Tying your life plans to college is not prudent. People who you need to impress for admission, can not be called a sophisticated audience. In most colleges, the decision on admission is not made by professors, but by the selection committee, which cannot even be compared with professors. There are “storage rooms” of the intellectual environment. They cannot even determine your level of knowledge. The very existence of specialized preparatory schools or classes proves this.
Few parents would pay a lot of money for school, which does not increase the chances of enrollment. Actually specialized schools or classes openly declare that this is their task. But if you think carefully, it essentially means that they can deceive the system: take anyone and make him a more attractive candidate than a teenager from a secondary school. [6]
Today, many of you consider admission to college as your primary concern. But this means that you make your life plans with an eye to the process, so senseless that the whole industry wants to eliminate it. No wonder you become cynical. The sensation that you are experiencing is most likely experienced by producers of reality shows or tobacco company executives. But you do not even pay for it.
So what to do? Certainly no need to make revolutions. I tried it and regret it. I felt a terrible trick, some kind of deception that occurs around in front of everyone, but could not explain it and eventually gave up. The world has disappointed me, so why fight? When I discovered that our teacher herself uses Cliff's Notes (short retelling of a literary work with explanations - note of a translator) , what to say about the students in the class. Getting a good grade in such a class means nothing.
From the height of past years, it seems silly. As if, during the game, the footballer said: “Hey, you led me around, it's not fair,” and left the field. Yes, in life we ​​are fingered, and the point is not to lose our mind in such cases. And keep playing. Society has set you up, and you are in this position. And, as you probably guess, the things that you are taught are nonsense. And yes, the college admission process is like a circus. But all this is not someone's evil machinations, but simply the state of things. [7] So keep playing.
Making a revolution is just as stupid as to submit completely. In both cases, you play by someone else's rules. In my opinion, it is best to take the third path. Do not obey and do not rebel. To treat school as a part-time job. If you look at it from such an angle, this is a great option: you can do a little business, and at 15:00 you are already free.
Curiosity
Then what will be your main occupation? If you are not Mozart, then this will need to decide. How to find interesting tasks? Where to find creative people? And most importantly, what is interesting to you? Do not waste time in search of your talents, talents imply innate skills. I think the best talent is an all-consuming interest in some issue, and this interest is most often brought up.
This idea, somewhat modified, is used in popular culture under the term "passion" or "passion." Recently, I saw a vacancy in which we were looking for waiters - “enthusiastic in the service industry”. Let's just say, hardly anyone is experiencing emotions about table service. And the word "passion" is not appropriate here. Curiosity is more appropriate.
Children are curious, but I'm talking a little about something else. Just as a pool is formed, children's curiosity extends to everything, but without depth. They ask why. Adults usually lose this property completely. And this is natural: you cannot manage to do something if you constantly get distracted by everything. But in ambitious adults, curiosity is not completely lost, but becomes narrowly focused. Puddle turns into a well.
Curiosity turns work into a game. Einstein did not consider the theory of relativity a heavy material that must be learned for the exam. It was a mystery that was interesting to solve. Most likely, for him it was much less work than for those who parse it in class.
At school, many absorb the dangerous misconception that great things are not done without discipline and self-control. Most subjects are taught in such a dry and boring manner that colossal discipline is needed to master the material. And what was my surprise when as a student I read a quote from Ludwig Wittgenstein, where he claimed that he did not have self-control and could never refuse anything to himself, even in a cup of coffee.
Now I am already acquainted with many outstanding people who say the same thing. They are not disciplined, they spend a lot of time on useless things and just can’t bring themselves to do uninteresting things. One of them has not yet sent letters of thanks after the wedding - four years have passed. The other has 26,000 emails inbox.
And again, you can hardly avoid problems with zero discipline. I would say that you need the same amount of it as to start a run. It's hard for me to go for a run, but as soon as I started to run, I run as much as I need and I like it. If I do not run for several days, then I feel discomfort. Usually the same thing happens with smart people with affairs. They know that lazing around will be bad, and they force themselves to start work. But as soon as they start, they enter into the necessary rhythm and the discipline is no longer needed here. Do you think Shakespeare diligently, gritting his teeth, wrote his works? Well, I do not. He enjoyed and therefore his works are so good.
So, if you want to get a result, you need to ask important questions, the answers to which promise a win. Einstein found such a question when he saw Maxwell's equations and decided to figure this out properly. One can work on the question for a very long time, and sometimes the very understanding of the issue takes years. Suitable examples can be found, for example, in mathematics. Many people believe that they hate mathematics, although what is called mathematics in school is completely different from the real problems of modern mathematicians.
The great mathematician Godfrey Harold Hardy admitted that he disliked math in school. He became interested in her only because he did better than others. Only with the passage of time, he realized how interesting it was, and began to look for new questions, and not the right answers to existing ones. At school, when my friend could not bring himself to write an essay, his mother told him: "Try to make it interesting for yourself." Try to do just that: look for questions that arouse your interest. Great people live in the same world as everyone around and see the same as others. But they are able to notice the details and riddles, the solution of which changes our lives so much.
And it's not just about intellectual riddles. Henry Ford's great question was: “Why should cars be luxury? Why shouldn't they be accessible to everyone? ” For Franz Beckenbauer, it was: “Why should I remain in my position? Why don't defenders score goals too? ”
It's time to act
If it can take years to understand the question itself, what can you do at sixteen? Take care of his search. Important questions do not appear from nowhere. They gradually thicken in your head. This process is driven by experience, so it makes no sense to sit and think about it, trying to get it. “What discovery should I make?” If it worked, you would already have an answer.
An effective way to get an idea is not to hunt for it, but to invest in an interesting job for you. In the process, try to keep your mind open, this is necessary so that a new idea can take root. Einstein, Ford, Beckenbauer somehow used this method. Each of them knew his region like his own five fingers. Thanks to this, they noticed the moment of birth of the idea, the very necessary question, and they had the determination not to miss it.
You ask, to invest in what and how? Start a project that looks interesting: learn some material, do something with your own hands, or highlight a specific topic. Choose what will take less than a month, and you are sure that you will finish it. This should make you sweat, but so far quite a bit. If you can not choose from two projects, choose a fun one. If the first did not work out, start a new one. Repeat until it starts to remind the internal combustion engine - the process will start supporting itself, and each project will create a new direction. To achieve this, it may take several years.
It is not necessary that this was a school project, if this limits you or bothers you. If desired, attract friends, but selectively, and only if they are interested and able to do business. Friends support the spirit (very few startups are created by one person), but some secrecy has its advantages. In secret projects have their own attractiveness. And you can take more risks, because no one will know about the failure.
No need to worry if the project seems deadlocked or unrelated to any goal. It is impossible to predict possible options for development, allow these options to evolve from the project itself. Much more important - to be involved, the only way you learn something.
Do not discount the motivation, especially its hidden forms. One of the strongest - the desire to be able to do something better than others. Hardy talked about this, and it can only be surprising that he admitted it. Another motivating factor may be the desire to be able to do something that no one would suggest. Overlaps with intimidating risk taking. When you are sixteen years old, no one will think that you are writing novels. So if you try, any result is a plus for you, but the absence of the result will not be able to disappoint anyone. [eight]
Beware of imitation of people with dubious achievements. Especially if they justify laziness. At school, I composed small existential stories, imitating popular writers. There was a primitive plot in them, although the thoughts were rather deep. In this case, it was easier to compose them, because the goal was not to entertain the reader. It was a disturbing sign, in fact, these stories seemed very boring to me, I just wanted to write serious, intellectual things, like those writers.
Today, I have enough experience to realize how worthless those writers were. In fact, the same happens with many famous people. The reason, in short, is that fame is usually achieved not at the expense of the quality of the activity. I should not strive to look cool, but to do what I liked. After all, this is the true way to become cool.
The key task for many projects, sometimes the whole project in itself, is to find good books. Most books are of poor quality. Almost all textbooks are like that. [9] So you shouldn’t hope to learn everything about the necessary topic from the first book that came across. We'll have to try hard to find a small amount of good books.
And yet, the main thing is to finally get out into the world and start doing something. Instead of expecting you to be taught everything, learn yourself. Do not allow employees of the selection committee to determine your life path. Let your own curiosity determine it. This happens in all ambitious people. To do this, you do not need to wait for anything, and even adults do not need to be. There is no internal switch that is triggered at a certain age or at the end of a university. You grow up when you take responsibility for yourself. This can happen at any age. [ten]
It may seem impossible to you. I'm still small, I have no money, I live in the house of parents, I have to obey adults. In fact, many adults at work are under similar restrictions, but at the same time they manage to do something. If you think that being a child is limiting, imagine how it limits the availability of your own children.
The only real difference between an adult and a high school student is that the first is aware that things need to be done, and the second is not. This usually comes to mind at 23. But I decided to reveal a secret to you a little earlier. So proceed. Perhaps you will be the first generation whose school regret will not be about wasted time.
Notes
[1] One doctor I know beware that, in this case, the picture will be incomplete: ?
[2] The best method for him would be to become a dictator and get the NBA to let him play. So far, the best has come from the head of the Ministry of Labor. (Most likely, speech about Elaine Chao - a comment of the translator.)
[3] By a part-time job, I mean the work that you do only to pay for your expenses so that at another time you can do exactly what you want, for example, play in a group or invent the theory of relativity.
In fact, such an attitude towards school may even help with academic performance. If the student treats the lessons as a necessary game, he will not lose heart that the subject seems to him to be meaningless.
No matter how bad your lessons are, you need to have a good academic record to get into a decent college. But it is really worth it, because in universities you can find numerous gatherings of smart people.
[4] The second most popular answer was paying attention to unimportant things. Especially what other people think of you.
I think that implies the opinion of random people about you. Adults also think a lot about this, but they, more often, have a certain sample of such people. For example, I have about thirty friends whose opinion is important to me. But the opinion of the rest is unlikely to affect me. The problem for a high school student is that the people around him are determined more by age and location, and not by his own preferences.
[5] The key to wasting time is distraction. Without them, your brain very quickly realizes that it is not used and you become uncomfortable. To understand how you depend on distractions, try this experiment. Take your time on the weekend, sit in a secluded place and just think. All you can have with you is a notebook to write down some thoughts. No TVs, music, phone, messenger, mail, Internet, games, books, newspapers or magazines. Most likely, already after an hour, you will feel a strong desire to distract yourself with something.
[6] I do not want to say that the only purpose of such schools is to work with the selection committee. There you can really get more knowledge. But conduct the following mental experiment: let such schools provide the same improved education, but at the same time the probability of entering a college or university is reduced by a very small amount (conventionally 0.001). How many parents will send children to such schools?
It can also be said that the children of the preparatory have more knowledge, therefore they are the best students. But from experience this is not true. The amount of material that is studied in school compared with the university can be compared with the error of rounding. Yes, children from secondary schools begin in college with some lag, but they completely catch up with the rest in the second year.
(Thus, I want to say that children from general education schools are smarter in any particular college. This is proved by the fact that preparatory schools should increase the chances of children to enroll.)
[7] So why does society set you up? Mostly because of indifference. There are simply no external forces that would make a school good. The flight control system works, because otherwise the planes would crash. Companies will provide good services, otherwise competitors would eat them. But the planes do not break because your school is so-so, and certainly, it has no competitors. The school is not evil, it is just runnable, and such things are usually so-so.
[8] Of course, there is still money. This factor is not entirely for school, because you can hardly do something for others. But many great things were created for the sake of money. Samuel Johnson said: “Everything except boobies write for money.” (Many would like to think that he was exaggerating.)
[9] Even the textbooks at the university are bad. When you get there, you will find that textbooks are almost always written by non-leading experts in the relevant field. Writing these books is a thankless job, mostly done by people who need money. Ungrateful because of the strict control and supervision of publishers over the process, and the author is always hard to agree with the instructions from people who do not understand the question. This phenomenon is even more pronounced in the publishing school textbooks.
[10] Your teachers always tell you to behave like adults. It would be interesting if you started it. After all, children, although noisy and unorganized, are actually quite obedient, unlike adults. If you really began to behave like adults, then it’s as if a group of adults were moved into the bodies of children. Imagine the reaction of an FBI agent, or a taxi driver, or a journalist, if they had to ask permission to go to the restroom and could only be one at a time. If a group of adults suddenly turned out to be schoolchildren, first of all they would have organized a committee to discuss changes in school rules with the administration.
Thanks:
Ingrid Bassett, Trevor Blackwell, Rich Draves, Dan Giffin, Sarah Harlin, Jessica Livingston, Jackie McDonough, Robert Morris, Mark Nitzberg, Lisa Randall, and Aaron Swartz for reading the drafts.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/366415/
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