←back to thread

Being too ambitious is a clever form of self-sabotage

(maalvika.substack.com)
757 points alihm | 1 comments | 04 Jul 25 21:11 UTC | HN request time: 0.205s | source
Show context
meander_water ◴[05 Jul 25 00:31 UTC] No.44469163[source]▶
> the "taste-skill discrepancy." Your taste (your ability to recognize quality) develops faster than your skill (your ability to produce it). This creates what Ira Glass famously called "the gap," but I think of it as the thing that separates creators from consumers.

This resonated quite strongly with me. It puts into words something that I've been feeling when working with AI. If you're new to something and using AI for it, it automatically boosts the floor of your taste, but not your skill. And you end up never slowing down to make mistakes and learn, because you can just do it without friction.

replies(8): >>44469175 #>>44469439 #>>44469556 #>>44469609 #>>44470520 #>>44470531 #>>44470633 #>>44474386 #
theshrike79 ◴[05 Jul 25 06:30 UTC] No.44470520[source]▶
This is Rick Rubin pretty much. He has 100/100 in taste, but almost 0/100 in skill.

He can't really play an instrument, but he knows exactly what works and what doesn't and can articulate it.

replies(4): >>44471377 #>>44472049 #>>44473802 #>>44474353 #
alistairSH ◴[05 Jul 25 11:42 UTC] No.44472049[source]▶
That’s an odd take for a massively successful person. In the realm of producing hip-hop, his taste and skill are at the top of the industry.

Sort of like saying Bill Belichick has a skill gap because he’s not a top NFL player. AFAIK he never played pro ball at all (and college wasn’t at a top D1 program). Bit, he’s undeniably one of the most successful coaches in the business.

replies(6): >>44472253 #>>44472310 #>>44473153 #>>44473298 #>>44474293 #>>44475021 #
cheschire ◴[05 Jul 25 12:15 UTC] No.44472253[source]▶
You’re saying the same thing as GP. Let me attempt to clarify.

What GP is saying is not that Rick Rubin has no skill anywhere, but that he recognized he has 100/100 taste and instead of trying to become a hip hop artist, instead became a producer for other artists.

In the same way, you’ve described how Bill Belichick recognized his taste in what makes a player good is not enough to make him also a good player, so he positioned himself to take advantage of his 100/100 taste rather than whatever skill value he may have.

replies(1): >>44473471 #
1. dasil003 ◴[05 Jul 25 15:36 UTC] No.44473471[source]▶
It’s weird to frame Belicheck as a talent picker first. Yes, he had a lot of control but he was a coach first, not a GM. The thing that made him extraordinary was not identifying talent it was orchestrating a team system to take advantage of individual talents. Compared to other coaches that had one system and tried to fit players rigidly into it, Belicheck was master of adapting the system to the personnel. Of course he also had Brady and a lot of control on personnel, but it’s ridiculous to speak as if it was primarily his taste that made the Patriots great.