Ireland's big school secret: how a year off-curriculum changes teenage lives

Everybody mocks me when I say this. But the most productive people in the world spent their time doing what they thought was fun.

It’s like our biology is smarter than us. If it’s fun our brains are telling us there’s something about it we need. It’s like when you think a girl is cute for the first time. There’s no logic in it to you, but it’s the most logical thing in the world, that’s why it’s fun.

Hans Zimmer used to just like play with all kinds of stuff when he was young just to see what it would sound like.

I listened to an intel exec (after pat came back) and he talked about how he was disassembling and reassembling the house electronics as a kid.

Or me - I would just code for fun and my dad got me some books on it. I hardly ever did any school on it.

If we let kids just do what they want and have fun, I think they would get good at what they love and have fulfilling careers.

If you have to do what your told your whole life - who even wants to live it?

So maybe we just let kids have their freedom. I know it sounds crazy but what if we applied the rights to life liberty and pursuit of happiness to them? I think they would amaze us. Kids are so clever, I think we would have so much creativity our minds would be blown!

To conclude I think that we have a dearth of people who know what to do. So many employees and fewer small businesses. I think if we give kids freedom, the chance to figure out what they like doing, and how to do it, as adults they will be able to start businesses better and manage them.

Just my thoughts!

You haven't accounted for selection bias there. It is quite likely most people don't find a productive activity fun and it is a much better plan to try and be somewhat wealthy doing something that inspires a neutral feeling rather than poor. Much like the girl you find cute on first glance, if you change your mind later then it'd have been a real mistake to over-commit on first impressions.

If there are 10 people who want to be plumbers but the economy is signalling it needs 20 plumbers then it'd be best if 10 people who don't enjoy plumbing all that much do it for the money. If there are 100 people who want to make a living as an artist and only demand for 1 it'd be better if most of them overruled their instincts and found something more useful to do. Paint as a hobby and live as something else.

More succinctly, yes, most successful people do what they love but that doesn’t mean that most people who do what they love will be successful.

When people engage in activities they genuinely enjoy, they're often more motivated and that's true!

Well I think that's the predicament of the mismatch between one's inner predispositions and what society demands.

If it aligns it's cool and you can reach for the stars, but there is a wide scope of activities that won't make a living. Especially given our origins as hunter-gatherers or explorers, for someone with similar predispositions, what can they really do that fits that? Most likely they'd end spending most of their time playing video games to satiate those urges than to

> But the most productive people in the world spent their time doing what they thought was fun.

This is essentially the philosophy of unschooling[0], which the recurse center[1] follows. I definitely agree with you! Pursuing fun and curiosity has led me to my most productive and moments.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unschooling

[1]: https://www.recurse.com/

I want to play video games. I spent my childhood playing games in every waking moment of my free time that I could get away with. I did the same thing in my young adulthood, and now my current life.

As an adult, unfortunately (lol), family and job take priority and I can't just play video games all day, despite my wishes.

I would have approximately zero productivity if I just did what I thought was fun. I'm sure I'm not alone.

If I don't have some sort of exterior structure or motivator, I will literally get nothing done, and I have no desire to.

Your point is completely relevant for today. That said, it's curious to think about how that attention may have been channeled in a world free from such man made stimulation traps.

Likely, I'd just want to do whatever the best man made stimulation trap was at the time