[rejectedandsad]

Wow, very impressive! Turns out I've followed your work for a while and never knew your HN username. Makes me wish I had the innate ability to be able to achieve even a fraction of this or have a scrap of the prestige - instead, I'm stuck on a lower rung for good (I blame heritability of intelligence via my parents).

[dekhn]

Huh, OK, I didn't know anybody followed my work! Note that I am not particularly intelligent- I always struggled in school, and had a ton of imposter syndrome. I tried and failed to become a successful scientist and instead pivoted to what I'm actually good at (scientific computing). Most of my drive came from fear of not being able to make enough money to live in the bay area, or from being thought unintelligent.

Never underestimate the power of imposter syndrome!