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What Problems to Solve (1966)

(genius.cat-v.org)
460 points jxmorris12 | 2 comments | 25 Jun 25 17:08 UTC | HN request time: 0.606s | source
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cocoa19 ◴[25 Jun 25 19:03 UTC] No.44380792[source]▶
This echoes what I have thought about my career. What to work on.

I've been blessed to have a good paying career in software engineering, but I've never really felt passionate about the products I work on. At the end of the day, my job is a paycheck. I do feel joy solving problems for others, improve society, be able to answer colleagues questions when they "come to my office". My family is happy that I can provide and that I am a role model for them.

I sometimes think I should work on things that make me happier. Sometimes I think that my career path is a mistake, I should work on problems "closer to god", make more meaningful contributions, build the next Kubernetes/ChatGPT/Google/<insert revolutionary product>, advance AI, climate change. I end giving up, I'm not that ambitious or driven.

I'm important to my family and colleagues. That may be good enough.

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apples_oranges ◴[25 Jun 25 19:38 UTC] No.44381113[source]▶
Perhaps it’s not ambition or drive but just curiosity. „I wonder if we can …“ -type of thinking.
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1. Psoodu1313 ◴[26 Jun 25 07:12 UTC] No.44384971[source]▶
I don't think so personally, because if its truly from a place of curiosity, then you're in the BEST of place. You're enamored with a specific problem, have some idea of doing it and will slowly explore nooks and crannies to manifest it into reality. The problem here (again, i think) lies in the fact that we don't often see the grander value of our everyday works and yearn to do SOMETHING grander, more impactful, but we don't know which, or how, and in time it will torment us each time we do our normal work. (sorry for the text wall)
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2. dan00 ◴[26 Jun 25 10:25 UTC] No.44385960[source]▶
> The problem here (again, i think) lies in the fact that we don't often see the grander value of our everyday works and yearn to do SOMETHING grander, more impactful, but we don't know which, or how, and in time it will torment us each time we do our normal work.

I think it's a kind of yearning that can't be satisfied in the outside world. It's an inside problem and can only be solved there.