Comment by onlyrealcuzzo | Hacker News Reader

Comment by onlyrealcuzzo | Hacker News Reader

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I'm probably going to get downvoted for being elitist, but here goes...

On the flip side, I have found a startling amount of people genuinely don't have many passions / interests. Skills and talents, sure. But passions - no.

Or I guess if eating foods like cereal and McDoland's counts as a food passion, or watching TV, or working a job you don't actually enjoy - if these count as passions - then I suppose everyone does have interests.

I'm just not inclined to think people are really that passionate about these things - and instead, it's just what they do. Sure - anybody who spends 10 hours a day laying bricks - they're obviously infinitely more skilled in that and related things than someone who doesn't. But a lot of people simply exchange their time for money, and don't particularly love what they do. Most of us HN-ers do, and we forget how rare that is.

I think some of us on here forget how close we have it to a life of leisure compared to the average person (ESPECIALLY globally). I know a lot of people that pretty much have no time for anything besides work and family.

And I hope that all people like this LOVE at least their work or their family. But in reality, I know A LOT of people trapped in a life where they genuinely dislike both. And that's pretty much their whole life.

> On the flip side, I have found a startling amount of people genuinely don't really have many passions / interests.

That'd describe Perell well. He doesn't have many passions/interest. He's bowing out of one interest to flee back into his singular comfort zone of unchallenged isolation, where no one "tests" his chops and he can fly on the wings of his self perception to whatever height he desires.

He shuns every passion/interest that does not align with his narrow view of which passions and interests make a person "intellectual". He's the kind of guy who will use his superior training as "guy who writes things on the Internet" to start arguing medicine with me, and then leave the party because few people share his interests and he just can't contribute to theirs. Because we're not as intellectual than him.

... in his narrowly defined niche of what makes a person intellectual.

Hint: being able to cite Plato does not make you in any way, shape, or form, more "intellectual" than the guy at the end of the bar who knows every Man U soccer game score, who scored, against whom, in which game, at what game time, using which strategy.

Having consumed a 500 page book does not make you more intellectual than having consumed 500 episodes of Coronation Street. Consumption, in general, is a low hanging fruit, intellectually. Your love for Doctor Who doesn't make you smarter than someone's fanning over Rihanna.

Intellectuals are rarely lonely. Because true intellectuals see value in information, no matter the sender or matter. Restrictive topic selection is pretty much the definition of anti-intellectualism, in my opinion.

Best comment on page. I hope everyone reads it.

> Hint: being able to cite Plato does not make you in any way, shape, or form, more "intellectual" than the guy at the end of the bar who knows every Man U soccer game score, who scored, against whom, in which game, at what game time, using which strategy.

> Having consumed a 500 page book does not make you more intellectual than having consumed 500 episodes of Coronation Street. Consumption, in general, is a low hanging fruit, intellectually. Your love for Doctor Who doesn't make you smarter than someone's fanning over Rihanna.

> Intellectuals are rarely lonely. Because true intellectuals see value in information, no matter the sender or matter. Restrictive topic selection is pretty much the definition of anti-intellectualism, in my opinion.

Big red flag anytime anyone prefixes something with "true." First you stubbornly deny what an intellectual is, then you redefine its meaning to suit your narrative, with your "true intellectual."

I mean yes, you have described literally the rhetorical techniques they are using to communicate their idea. Would you give them the green flag if they framed it more humbly "I meekly propose my opinion, that if one wants to better define intellect they could consider.. "

> On the flip side, I have found a startling amount of people genuinely don't really have many passions / interests.

Every single time I dig deep to search for someone's passion, I find at least one, and often multiple. In general, I find way more than I initially expected when I was a teenager.

I have also found many people don't think it's socially acceptable to talk about their passion in many situations. This makes it hard to discover these passions when you have only casual interaction with people.

So what if people do not have a "passion"? Is that so wrong?

I think we need to be careful about setting unrealistic expectations for what is normal/desirable (you use the term "elitist" as if having a passion for something is only reserved for the social/economic elite). This echos back to job adverts looking for engineers with "passion" etc.

I would argue that a singular "passion" might actually be a negative trait as it can have a negative impact on other parts of your life (as illustrated by TFA). I'd certainly not want to work with or hang around with person from TFA as they sound like a prick (not much to judge them on I agree, but there you go)

It is 100% ok to just live your life. Interested by something different every few days/weeks/months/years? That is totally ok. Maybe you just like to live your life and enjoy leisure activities? That is totally ok too. Too busy for anything apart from work and family? Totally fine.

I’ve found if you inquire with genuine interest, many metaphorical brick layers have a lot to say about laying bricks, and can get quite impassioned about it. There’s often a lot more depth there than you see at first. (Presumably, most people aren’t genuinely interested enough, so the brick layer doesn’t usually get into it)

Yes but don’t you find that interesting? I find people who have no hobbies or passion so different from myself, in a way I enjoy talking to them.

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