[blowski]

For me, GOATs are not as interesting as "people who are a _bit_ more talented than me, but share the same general set of problems". For example, I'm never going to improve my ability play football by watching Lionel Messi. Better to actually talk with a pretty good local coach.

[tomxor]

I find goats pretty interesting, they have amazing balance and are great at climbing mountains for instance... skills I would like to improve, maybe I can learn from goats? They also make cute noises.

[taylodl]

This is an excellent point and captures the problem well. You're going to learn more from someone who's a couple steps ahead of you than from a GOAT. That's why local meetups can be so valuable.

[pluijzer]

Okay I am super curious now. What is a GOAT?

[benou]

According to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat

> The goat or domestic goat (Capra hircus) is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (C. aegagrus) of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the animal family Bovidae and the tribe Caprini, meaning it is closely related to the sheep.

[groffee]

Greatest Of All Time.

[blowski]

Rockstars, wizards, ninjas, 10x people, etc.

It’s how cool people describe someone who’s a celebrity in their niche because they’re exceptionally good at what they do.

[ARandomerDude]

s/cool people/20 year olds/

[gorjusborg]

I find there is value in both, for me.

Even if Lionel Messi's problems are so far from mine that I can't understand, getting a glimpse into what his set of problems and his mental framework that got him there _could be_ valuable. The mental framework he uses could be something I could use to improve.

I agree, though, that I can't just use advice from someone who is on a whole different level. You can't use a great solution to a problem that doesn't exist in your situation.