[thinkingkong]

So under this definition I too am a polymath but so are most of my colleagues. Some of the smartest engineers Ive ever met have wildly different hobbies outside of engineering or software. Boating. Baking. Triathlons. Music. But the most successful people do one thing, 100% in an all consuming way before flipping into another. Theyre the best bakers. Have sailed the furhest distances, written the best songs, and posted the best times.

Another way to think about it is “you can have anything you want, but not everything you want”. Choose accordingly.

[woofie11]

This is the way to do it. Done well, a 5-year deep dive can make you a world-class expert in most things. Do that, and then move onto the next thing, bringing that skillset along.

It goes faster every time too. It turns out there are lots of overlaps. Linear algebra and differential equations are (roughly) the same in electronic engineering, quantum mechanics, or mechanical engineering, and where they're not is where you often bring in unique insights.

The people who struggle are the ones who go shallow. A half-dozen HN articles a day.

[kiba]

The people who struggle are the ones who go shallow. A half-dozen HN articles a day.

It's not really a half dozen HN articles a day. It's the shallow absorption of HN articles that's only 5 or 10 minutes top per article.

And then you only remembered 10% top of the article you absorbed.

Whereas you select and absorb two HN article for a week, at twenty minutes each article per day, you'll retain more and makes connections you otherwise wouldn't see.

[person_of_color]

> A half-dozen HN articles a day.

Time to block it.