Things "Everyone Knows"

xkcd.com

4 points·pinchyfingers··3 comments

Normally I don't upvote XKCD submissions, because I figure pretty much everyone here on HN would read them.

Ironic, given today's comic.

I love it when there's something cool that I met years or decades ago and which I get to share with someone who hasn't seen it. I love it when I get to see this cool thing afresh, through someone else's eyes, and get the sense of wonder and excitement all over again.

I give talks to schools, and people ask if I ever get bored. Sometimes, yes, because sometimes the kids just don't "get it", and on those occasions we end up trudging through the material.

But when they do "get it", I get to share the excitement of discovery all over again.

And now Munroe has reminded me of that.

I'm fortunate to be in a mentor-type role to several people and have the opportunity to discuss and study things that I've already gone over hundreds or thousands of times, yet when it clicks for the other person, I find myself incredibly excited over these things I should logically gloss over with disinterest. As you put it, I get to share the excitement of discovery all over again. Its one of the best highs I know.

This kind of ignorance is all over the Internet and I'm definitely less likely to be excited and more likely to ignore people. Like the guy who posts Aphex Twin tracks to Reddit 20 years after they were released. I usually discount that guy, but maybe I should be engaging that person and reliving the discovery. Who knows what I've missed out on by dismissing people who don't know stuff that "everybody knows"?

I love watching my kid discover things that I've forgotten or gotten used to.

There is nothing new under the sun, but there's always another newb.

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