I follow a lot of subjects and diverse interests but occasionally I catch myself staring at something I thought I knew and realize I’m not quite there.

Like I managed to get Flash Forth running on a microcontroller and a few basics beyond flashing a LED, but never figured out branching and looping in a way that clicks in my mind.

Or, how I follow a ton of science content from various sources, but feel like an idiot trying to talk about it with anyone IRL.

Does anyone else feel a disconnect from something like a digital mind versus analog life?

  • OpenStars@startrek.websiteEnglish
    201·
    8 months ago

    A TON of people irl have their literal jobs based on / revolving around making a show that they know stuff. Don’t forget that confidence is not the same thing as capability.

    An example is the crowd of people that showed up at the January 6 riot in the USA Capitol - how many of them truly knew what they were doing, or even so much as glanced at the document (the Constitution) that they claimed they were trying to protect?

    At the absolute highest levels of capability, ironically you find the lowest levels of needing to engage in showing off behaviors, e.g. Jon Stewart is at the top of his game, and it shows.

    I will add also: it is worth learning to explain things to people, bc in the process you also should find out that you improve your own knowledge. For one thing, it is a bit like compiling code: you may think it will work, but until you put it into practice, you can never truly be certain. And for another, there is the famous quote most often attributed to Albert Einstein (possibly it wasn’t him but it doesn’t even matter really):

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      • OpenStars@startrek.websiteEnglish
        131·
        8 months ago

        Kubernetes: “I make organizing large computer systems simpler, by getting the computers to manage themselves.” (translation: something something computers, but only the “fancy” ones, so she doesn’t try to get you to fix her Windows XP machine at home that she plays solitaire on:-P)

        Doctors: “I make sick people well”.

        Neurosurgeons: “The human body is so complex, so people specialize, and my area of expertise is the brain.”

        Rocket scientist: “I make things go up properly, rather than boom.”

        There is always a way. You won’t convey enough to get gran to perform any of these tasks, but you can make her feel welcomed into your world just a tiny bit.:-)

        • TheGalacticVoid@lemm.ee
          7·
          8 months ago

          There is always a way if the person on the receiving end genuinely cares. Otherwise, you can’t explain jack.

          • OpenStars@startrek.websiteEnglish
            4·
            8 months ago

            Abso-fragging-lutely. Communication is always a two-way proposition, and it is mandatory for us each to do our part to succeed.