Mastodawn

Here's what I've learned: before I try anything important, I do a little homework first—look things up, ask around, figure out how others did it. Then I test it in real life, not just in my head. I see what happens. If it works, great. If it fails, even better—now I have real data. I use that info to think again, adjust, and try again.

This cycle—research, test, learn, repeat—is how I stop guessing and start actually knowing how things work. Without it, I'm just hoping. And hoping isn't the same as knowing.

After doing all this for years, a real question has come up for me: why don't most people I know do this? Why do they seem to prefer fantasy over reality?

#DanielsThought

Show thread

Kyna 1d ago

@writing Because many neurotypical men learn early that confidence is rewarded. Hazarding a guess, while sounding confident, is rewarded. Even if you're wrong, people appreciate that you're trying to help with whatever the issue is.

This flaw, this concept that it's a good idea to "sound confident while guessing" has been programmed into LLMs.

People who are neurodiverse, women, and people who don't sound confident, on the other hand, have all learned early in life that if we don't dot our "I"s and cross our "T"s, we'll get pushback. So we're more likely to make sure we know what we're talking about before opening our mouths.

Show thread

@writing 1d ago

@Kyna Thank you for sharing that perspective—it makes a lot of sense, and I can see how confidence and social conditioning shape how people communicate. I think for me, it's less about neurotype and more about the habit I've built over time: testing things myself rather than just sounding confident. But I appreciate you pointing out the broader dynamics at play.