Comment by GhotiFish | Hacker News Reader

Comment by GhotiFish | Hacker News Reader

You know, I wanted to build a garden box for myself as well. I was unwilling to because I didn't think I could do it right. I wanted to set it up on the side of my deck, but what about weight? That's a fair amount of dirt, maybe the weight might compromise the carrying capacity of the deck... Should I pre drill holes for screws? What kinda screws? Is it a factor? I ask because if I mess it up, and I have no idea what I'm doing so it's likely, I'll make a huuuuuge and unsightly mess for me and my neighbours that I wont be able to clean up without replacing things I damaged on my journey. That's more money, and probably expensive help, and a huge headache, and embarrassment. Even if I completely succeed in everything, how do I know this wont violate some strata laws where I placed it, or maybe I'll violate some sort of building code regulation. Maybe my deck already violates some building code regulation and if I bring attention to it I'll lose my deck.

I think if you're telling yourself that nothing could go wrong, that you are not very imaginative.

the same goes with servers,

the same goes with electricity,

the same goes with car repair.

It's just wood, except that the wood was treated with something toxic and now your flowers are dead and you've got a big headache in your backyard.

I used to have a good friend (I moved away) who was a carpenter. One of the things he said that stayed with me the longest was "there's nothing I do that the average Joe Homeowner can't. They're just paying me to get it right the first time."

Try as I might, I simply can't wrap my head around what you say. I'm a pretty imaginative guy but the thought of what could go wrong is rarely more than a speedbump along the way. I honestly don't know how I could get anything done otherwise.

...and a garden box is a perfect example of a thing that can fail the first couple of times without anyone caring much.

Wood is usually a very forgiving material, so it's pretty friendly to experimentation.

The DIY Garden Box That Destroyed A Nation!

You’ve got me wondering about startup culture. When you’re running a startup you presumably invest all your money, borrow from friends and family, get investors, expose yourself to various types of legal liability, sacrifice family time, risk your reputation, and endanger your retirement. A lot of stuff can go wrong. (Based on your garden box of doom example, I’m sure you could enumerate the risks of a startup better than I.) I wonder if people running the typical startup acknowledge the risk and deal with it, or is it mostly a “what could go wrong? / don’t think about it” kinda situation?

as a general rule, people who make fear-driven decisions do not start companies. it's the wrong personality type for a variety of reasons.

see above: plant a garden on my deck --> city will demolish my deck because of a pre-existing code violation --> better not do that.

that is a fear-driven decision. the mind of an entrepreneur works more like this:

i want to plant a garden --> do the research --> implement solution --> have confidence to deal with repercussions because you can --> do the research --> implement solution --> etc.

the problem with having a personality that is afraid of imaginary problems is the domain of potential problems is massive, infinite even. good luck getting anything done if you're afraid of imaginary problems.

There's another side to the entrepreneur.

I used to work at a computer repair shop, one of the clients came in to get their computer serviced. Turns out he was an entrepreneurial type. Jack for the power cable on the power supply had become loose and was occasionally loosing connection and shutting the power down. So he took what he had on hand and jammed it in the side of the socket to hold it in place.

Of course, what he had on hand was an uninsulated piece of copper wire. He actually lived through that mistake, so did the tech who serviced his machine. when the machine was plugged back in the wedged piece of copper bridged the power, melting the power line, destroying the surge protector, and giving everyone in the shop a heart attack.

Now you can turn to me and say "He should of known better"

yah, there's a lot of things you SHOULD know. The domain of problems is massive, maybe even infinite, so are the imaginary ones. So you have to be willing to deal with the consequences.

>I think if you're telling yourself that nothing could go wrong, that you are not very imaginative.

If you think nothing can go wrong because you had someone else do it, you're not very imaginative. All of your disastrous consequences are still possible.

You buy a poorly made planter instead of building it yourself. Or, you buy a well-made planter, but place it on a poorly made deck. Or, you decide not to risk it, and hire a contractor, who informs you that your poorly made deck needs to be removed.

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