I don’t really agree with the concepts used here, nor with the conclusion.
The basic idea behind this article is that an increase in responsibility & standards in one field limits one to that field, this is simply untrue, or at least often not true.
For example, an academic might indeed get piegenholed into studying the niche they got good at, but that is only true until tenure.
A financial advisor might indeed be stuck doing boring backhanded deals and attending highhigh-class class NY bars to get access to the best dark polls, but that’s only until they have enough money to quit working.
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In part, the problems you outline are ones regarding how people put less value on freedom as they progress through life. But this is only natural and happens regardless of success levels.
However, given a change in value is possible, transitioning from a field to another should be easier, not harder, with success.
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So the conclusion of putting on baby wheels when learning something new is not one I’d agree with. Indeed, I’d rather push myself much harder than I would push young me, since my previous experience and knowledge is likely to give me a better starting point for many endevours, at least for most of those I could potentially find interesting.
Even if it wouldn’t, the “don’t push yourself too hard” is simply a counter-biasing tool, useful only for saying “Hey, remember that X thing you are really good at, well, Y is completely unrelated to that, so expect to be mediocre at Y and take it slow”.
I don’t really agree with the concepts used here, nor with the conclusion.
The basic idea behind this article is that an increase in responsibility & standards in one field limits one to that field, this is simply untrue, or at least often not true.
For example, an academic might indeed get piegenholed into studying the niche they got good at, but that is only true until tenure.
A financial advisor might indeed be stuck doing boring backhanded deals and attending highhigh-class class NY bars to get access to the best dark polls, but that’s only until they have enough money to quit working.
***
In part, the problems you outline are ones regarding how people put less value on freedom as they progress through life. But this is only natural and happens regardless of success levels.
However, given a change in value is possible, transitioning from a field to another should be easier, not harder, with success.
***
So the conclusion of putting on baby wheels when learning something new is not one I’d agree with. Indeed, I’d rather push myself much harder than I would push young me, since my previous experience and knowledge is likely to give me a better starting point for many endevours, at least for most of those I could potentially find interesting.
Even if it wouldn’t, the “don’t push yourself too hard” is simply a counter-biasing tool, useful only for saying “Hey, remember that X thing you are really good at, well, Y is completely unrelated to that, so expect to be mediocre at Y and take it slow”.