Mastodawn

Arynn Mar 11, 2023

There comes an inevitable point working in #data where you can't figure it out. You waste hours. Maybe days. Maybe weeks. Trying to hack the problem.

And that feeling can leave you shaken and leery to go back to difficult problems. At least that's my experience. It's part of why I have such a hard time getting myself to learn something new.

It's not that I can't. It's not that I don't want to. It's knowing that doing something new leads to a high likelihood of experiencing that "ick" again.

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Exploratory Data Alex Mar 11, 2023

@arynn That feeling of "I can't figure it out in time" is miserable. Every time I hit it, I get agitated and irritable, pace around, and question my life choices. The only thing that keeps me going is the euphoria I feel each time I finally do figure it out.

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Arynn Mar 11, 2023

@alexkyllo I want you to know that this is oddly comforting to me (but also terrible?) that someone as wildly smart as you knows this feeling.

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Exploratory Data Alex

@arynn Thank you, I really don't think I'm terribly smart though, and even if I were, that wouldn't be enough. I think it's mostly about being stubborn and willing to suffer for the sake of self-improvement.