Yes and yes: 31 Things I've Learned in 31 Years | Hacker News Reader

Yes and yes: 31 Things I've Learned in 31 Years

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60 pointswmwong11 comments

> 31. Act like you know what you're doing

gold.

I disagree, the people in my life who act like they know what they're doing usually suck at it. There's something to be said for not discounting yourself too much when new to a field, but mostly if you don't know what to do you need to ask someone who does, so that you can actually know what you're doing

This summer I was coaching Congressional debate in Florida. I was effectively new to this form of debate because it was more of a performance than analytical activity. So I wrote a list of the speaking problems I didn't know how to coach, and asked another coach about everyone of them, right in front of the person who hired me. If I had acted like I knew everything already, I never would have asked. But asking allowed me to pull the ideas from coaches with very different backgrounds, and by the end of coaching several kids offered detailed reasons why I was the coach most helpful to improving their speaking skills

I agree with what you're trying to say here, but I'm not sure that's what she means. To me, it feels like it's more about having confidence. Especially from the point of a woman. Our world is still largely geared towards men. A woman who doesn't show confidence could be at a huge disadvantage. I think having confidence is different than pretending you know everything.

Personal edit: "Act like you know what you're doing; most people are just winging it anyway."

my favorite one as well.

There is a saying that the "one who doesn't know speaks and one who knows doesn't" Ever had a situation that someone was talking about sth. that you are an expert at and when you say sth. about it they still insist that day know better or disagree even if they don't know anything about it. After a while I observe those kind of people and don't say anything until they finish their talking. For me, it shows that the person doesn't know anything in the world just acting through the world. So "act like you know what you are doing" doesn't really work.

For all the male-centric things I read everyday, it was actually quite refreshing to read a female's '31 things I've learned in 31 years'.

Sunscreen indoors, questionable.

It's a woman. Aging skin is very important for them.

As a man, I've found that at the age of 31 I look exactly the same as I did when I was 22, except that I'm slightly better-looking due to being more tanned. I don't regret not wearing sunscreen all the time.

(I reserve the right to take this back if I start getting skin cancer)

Also the safety of oxybenzone is in question - a "potential" photocarcinogen. Luckily, if you get kids' sunscreen, it usually isn't included.

17. Don't buy the cheapest version. Buy the second cheapest

Hasn't this been written about many, many times? How restaurants/bars/everywhere-else-on-earth realise people do this, so put an item with a higher profit margin in this spot?

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