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0 pointsTameAntelope4y ago0 comments

The whole point of the submission is that even when high IQ is required, you also need to "work hard" to do anything substantial.

The common thread is "work hard", not "be smart", but people obsess over intelligence/natural gifts, and consistently underestimate the "ditch diggers".

Jobs was a ditch digger.

Gates was a ditch digger.

Musk is a ditch digger.

PG is a ditch digger.

Tao is a ditch digger.

Jordan was a ditch digger.

Woods was a ditch digger.

Carlsen is a ditch digger.

Some (all) of them also are naturally gifted, but their success is due to their ability to "work hard", or at least that's what I've read them say over and over again. Maybe I and they are all wrong about it, I'm open to that possibility, but theres a consistent theme that every successful person I can think of repeats when asked, and it's some variation on "work hard".

0 pointsTameAntelope4y ago0 comments

The whole point of the submission is that even when high IQ is required, you also need to "work hard" to do anything substantial.

The common thread is "work hard", not "be smart", but people obsess over intelligence/natural gifts, and consistently underestimate the "ditch diggers".

Jobs was a ditch digger.

Gates was a ditch digger.

Musk is a ditch digger.

PG is a ditch digger.

Tao is a ditch digger.

Jordan was a ditch digger.

Woods was a ditch digger.

Carlsen is a ditch digger.

0 comments

7 comments · 1 top-level

ZephyrBlu4y ago· 6 in thread

You do need both, and therein lies the problem.

If you don't have the IQ, your hard work is meaningless.

TameAntelopeOP4y ago

Yes, you need both to be the best in the world in a given field, but why is that a problem?

ZephyrBlu4y ago

That is not a problem. The problem I see is touting the value of hard work to people who may not have the requisite IQ to go along with it for their desired outcome (Best in the world in their field, for example).

You said, Additionally, I think the obsession over "intelligence" and "natural ability" is vastly overstated, in general".

I think it's actually understated in general. Telling people who don't have the mental horse power to, "work harder", is cruel.

Would you tell someone with an IQ of 100 to "work harder" if they wanted to be a Software Engineer/Lawyer/etc?

3 more replies

fuzzfactor4y ago

I see no reason to downvote, I agree,

>You do need both

This has been proven to me over and over.

>therein lies the problem.

But I see no problem.

>If you don't have the IQ, your hard work is meaningless.

I don't think meaningless if it's well guided, it can still get each person further if they do go there.

ZephyrBlu4y ago

> I don't think meaningless if it's well guided, it can still get each person further if they do go there

Sure, I don't think hard work is a bad thing as long as people temper their expectations.

The issue I have is that hard work often seems to be touted as a magic pill for success.

PartiallyTyped4y ago

That’s absurd. Discoveries are rarely made by lone scientists, progress is made by tens or hundreds of people, each exploiting their comparable advantage, even if that is digging ditches.

fuzzfactor4y ago

>Discoveries are rarely made by lone scientists

Any more.

Because they are not in the mainstream.

To overcome this you better not be intimidated by however hard the work is.

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