Jonathan_Graehl comments on Distracting wolves and real estate agents - Less Wrong

23 Post author: PhilGoetz 07 July 2011 01:49PM

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Comment author: Jonathan_Graehl 07 July 2011 06:10:46PM 6 points [-]

I still don't think I could do it.

Because you thrive in this environment, it's hard for me to believe you couldn't learn to do such things - but delightful if true.

I don't want to dispense misguided generic advice, but I find I prefer, rather than believing "I (probably) can't do X", to instead tell myself "I expect to perform poorly at X, until I get enough experience really trying". In either case I can avoid ever trying, but with the second I feel better, and am more likely to consider plans where I have to do X, and so may actually get around to some productive trying+failing.

Of course, it may really be correct to think yourself permanently below-par (either in cost to learn or eventual ceiling).

Comment author: fburnaby 09 July 2011 03:29:33PM *  1 point [-]

I would have expected by default that a human would:

  • be good at manipulating people and
  • claim/believe that they are be bad at it.