Of course, that’s just the flip side of a great thing. A space like this, with tons of driven and talented people, allows for advanced intellectual conversations and remarkable collaborations.
For a while after moving to the bay I really struggled with feelings of laziness and stupidity. This stopped after I went to an outgroup friend’s wedding, where I was obviously the most ambitious person there by a mile, and at least tied smartest. It clicked for me that I wasn’t dumb or lazy, I had just selected for the smartest most ambitious people who would tolerate me, and I’d done a good job. Ever since then I’ve been much calmer about status and social capital, and when I do stress out I see it as a social problem rather than a reflection of me as a person.
I didn’t initially tell my friend about this, because it seemed arrogant and judgemental. A few years later it came up naturally, so I told him. His response: “oh yeah, ever since I met you,” [which was before I got into rationality or EA, and when I look back feel like I was wandering pointlessly] “you were obviously the person I knew who was most likely to be remembered after you died [by the world at large]”.
For a while after moving to the bay I really struggled with feelings of laziness and stupidity. This stopped after I went to an outgroup friend’s wedding, where I was obviously the most ambitious person there by a mile, and at least tied smartest. It clicked for me that I wasn’t dumb or lazy, I had just selected for the smartest most ambitious people who would tolerate me, and I’d done a good job. Ever since then I’ve been much calmer about status and social capital, and when I do stress out I see it as a social problem rather than a reflection of me as a person.
I didn’t initially tell my friend about this, because it seemed arrogant and judgemental. A few years later it came up naturally, so I told him. His response: “oh yeah, ever since I met you,” [which was before I got into rationality or EA, and when I look back feel like I was wandering pointlessly] “you were obviously the person I knew who was most likely to be remembered after you died [by the world at large]”.