[CamperBob2]

How do you actually know you're making the world a better place for others, when all you talk about and think about is work?

How do you know s/he's not?

And who asked you? These attitudes toward work-life balance are something we must decide for ourselves, and then live with.

[Frondo]

Who asked me? This is a web forum, the whole point is to say stuff, respond to stuff, and so on.

As for whether the original poster is or isn't making the world a better place for others, you're right, I don't know. After how they described their work in the sibling post to yours (something about making decision-making better), I'm still not sure how what they're doing is any good.

As for why I'm skeptical that they're getting it right (i.e. solving a problem people have) without going out and talking to people about it, my experience tells me that that's pretty tough to get right.

Customer feedback is gold, and putting on your "I only talk about work" blinders is a good way to get something done, but whether it's the right thing, well, how do you know?

Look, I get it, it's fun to geek out and try and "solve problems" and treat life as an engineering exercise, but if you want to do it right, don't just sit at home and think "this is the problem," meet people where they are, and see how your vision and ideas fit with that, and on and on and on.

[Retra]

How does anyone know they're getting something right? Going out and talking to people is largely not the way to do it. Most people don't know anything about how to solve important problems.

You think you can cure cancer by going around making friends with people? Or discover a new algorithm? Or understand how to structure an organization?

I mean, if you just want to make money and be popular, then fine. Go talk to everybody. But if you want to solve an actual problem, that isn't going to help you find a solution unless you're always talking about the problem.

Which is work. I'm 100% ok with talking to people about problems. It's just the other pointless stuff that I don't do. Like talk about music, sports, beer, tv, family, or sex.

[Frondo]

Yes, I do think you can cure cancer by going around making friends with people--especially smart people who are doing other interesting things. I don't think a single-mindedness about problem solving ever works as well as staying focused, but having a broader perspective.

As for not talking about music, sports, beer, tv, family, or sex, hey, if that works for you, that's great. When you spell out all the things you're missing out on (especially family and sex), I'm doubly glad we have different approaches to life.