The end is supposedly three months away. I have a plane ticket and everything - June 8th. There ya go. A deadline. I've recently begun thinking about and looking into what comes next in earnest, assisted by a contemplative mood and plenty of evening/weekend free time (and a small amount of urgency to not be an unemployed masters graduate). This weekend, it led me through a series of articles, reddit threads, and TED talks. One TED talk was by Scott Dinsmore; he founded the organization/website Live Your Legend. I'm generally skeptical of the find passion and turn your life around! concept, but having no idea where to start, I took a peek.
First off, I gotta say - watching a bunch of TED talks in a row of inspired, successful people really does a lot to convince you of the possibility of living the life they tout. How deeply happy they seem makes you almost feel guilty about persisting in your lukewarm, comfortable interests. Dinsmore strongly recommends the book StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath of Gallop (yes, the polls people), but there's no ebook version so I can't read it immediately. Rath - using some of the massive amounts of data available to Gallop - broke strengths down into 30-some categories, and includes a quiz that gives your highest five. I'm curious if it's better than many of this sort of quiz, which seem to ask, "What do you enjoy doing that people say you're good at?" and then for the answer tell you, "Here's what you enjoy doing and are good at," (I'm looking at you, Myers-Briggs).
Dinsmore also has a list of questions (link should take you to a PDF). They don't tell you what to do with your answers, but some of the questions make you think about interesting perspectives of the passion/interest/vocation spectrum. I went through and answered the questions; it took a couple hours. If you care to read any of it, I've pasted my answers below. It's very long, though, and I didn't write them with the intent of anyone else seeing it so take that as you will. What are your thoughts on the questions? (Which you should be able to see via the "list of questions" link at the top of this paragraph.) Feel free to comment on the answers, but right now I'm really curious about what you think about the value of the different questions, and if you find any of them particularly intriguing. For a little context, Dinsmore is of the school of thought that, instead of working on strengthening your weaknesses, you should focus on your strengths because you will enjoy it more. This means you will work harder at it than you would on your weaknesses, and thus end up having used your time more productively and have really mastered a certain set of skills instead of being discontentedly mediocre at a larger set.
Live Your Legend - 27 Questions to Find Your Passion
1. What makes you happiest in your life? What excites you?
I am happiest when I spend time with people who are important to me and can do things to please them. I get excited by sharing my skills with others to help them attain their goals (or at least I like the taste of that idea) - by being useful, and when people ask me for help (which shows that they consider me useful).
2. What do you do that makes you feel invincible?
I feel invincible when I'm in good physical shape (e.g. can ride a loaded bike up a mountain pass with no rests), or when I solve tough problems (at least, if they don't take so much effort that they wear me down) - when I succeed.
3. What do people thank you for?
For being considerate, for being helpful/being willing to help. I don't do a huge number of things for which to be thanked.
4. What are you ridiculously good at? What are your precious gifts?
In some subjects, I am very good at learning. I'm not world-class, but I am somewhat high-class in mathematical and scientific thinking. This applies to understanding material, to reframing the material in my own terms, and to systematically thinking through implications of ideas. I am also quite good at listening to two parties that are in disagreement and helping them find the root of the conflict (resolving ambiguity, focusing the topic to where the contension lies). So far I have only used this in philosophical/metaphysical discussions, where ideas are at stake more than emotions. I have a strong ability to understand different sides of an issue, and accept and name the complexities surrounding it.
5. Who do you look up to? Who are you mentors? Who inspires you? Why?
Morally, I look up to my parents - dad's integrity, mom's caring/ability to connect with people. I also look up to their work ethic, though to the degree that I want to contribute more than I take at any given job - I don't have too strong of an ambition to be the best at something. Professionally, I look up to Lee. He treats his lab members very well, and seems to balance ambition, kindness, expectations, and understanding - it's the likes of him that humanize the institution of academia.
Personally - many people. Danny and Saee are hopelessly driven and hopelessly kind. Hope and Drew are caring and downright wonderful. The Sprungers are so very familially welcoming. Nate H. is just solid, and has a great sense of purpose. Scott is so excited about life - about your life and his life. Kaleem is brilliant and gentle. Charles is a silly man with strong, real thoughts. Mitch and Amber are so down-to-earth and warm. Celesta is loyal and sensitive. Bontrager cousins are all relentlessly big-hearted and aware of the complexities of the world, and of relationships and family history. All the Hollenbergs want so much to do the right thing. Natalie has beautiful perspective, and a powerful grip on taking responsibility for living her life. And plenty more.
6. When was the last time you massively over-delivered on something? What was it and why did you work so damn hard?
Tough one. Halfway an answer: the INI Christmas apero, though for that I just set some of the vision and got a lot of other people to work. My best "over-deliveries" in Chicago were probably cleaning-related, because that was one area where I felt able to actually do the work properly. Otherwise? One lab write-up in Differential Equations in college. I worked extra on that 1) on accident (numerically solved problems that only asked for analytical solutions), and 2) because I was turning it in late anyways so I wasn't rushed.
7. When was the last time you were in a state of flow, in the zone and totally lost track of time? What were you doing?
I don't think reddit or Netflix count. A few times working on the thesis - either coding some functions to run analyses, or (more often) doing batch, panicked literature review towards the end to find sources for certain facts. That was panic more than flow, though. On reddit, I often lose track of time giving advice (/r/bicycletouring, etc.), or working on AskScience or ELI5 answers.
8. Imagine you won $158 million in the lottery. It's now three months later. How will you spend tomorrow?
I might enjoy working at a bike shop, preferably one with sales and maintenance work for the same position. I'd like to learn to build bamboo (and other) bikes professionally - to help people get the bike they want. I would also work in a pottery studio. I wouldn't build my own studio - I want the community. I would try to get good enough to sell my wares. I might work on baking bread, or learning to cook new (or improving familiar) food styles. I might spend some time learning more programming.
9. What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
I would probably take on an odd-jobs life, kind of a more urban Al Glick, though I think the handyman life is more feasible in a small town where people have fewer places to look for services. Is there a difference here between succeeding and not failing? I might try something political, or something education-related. Hard to say.
10. If you could have or do anything what would it be?
Do? Not sure. Have? Answers to questions like this, and the other tough questions of life. An engaging job, pets, time to travel and be outdoors, resolution. A home.
11. What topics do you find yourself continuously arguing or defending with others? What beliefs does your stance represent?
I think most arguments come down to how we think the world works, so whatever the topic, I argue about how the world works. Many of my arguments come back to context, and how it does or doesn't translate, or that people's worldviews aren't expansive enough. What do I argue about specifically? Hm. We discuss education, how science should be funded, how science should be conducted, what the most promising path of development is most promising for ideas of future technology (e.g. the best approach to develop a true AI), contradicting whatever Gerick said, agreeing with whatever Tom or Danny said (not always but, let's face it, usually), the boundaries of feminism vs. oversensitivity. A lot of my belief can be summarized as, "I don't know yet." Agnosticism at its finest.
12. What makes you most angry about the state of the world? With unlimited resources how could you fix it?
The system, I think, and how difficult it seems to change it. I understand the reason to make it difficult to change; I think that's good. But now it's gone so rotten that it desperately needs a shakedown, a restructuring. The US should rewrite the constitution; I'm sure of it. Much of it can stay, but some practices and concepts are so dated that they need to be removed, while all we do now is to add on. Maybe it goes deeper than that, though. Maybe it's the entire American culture - little sense of responsibility to a larger collective and bullheaded adherence to outdated ideals. Hah, or maybe it's deeper yet and reaches down into human nature. In essence, I want a world where regions can experiment with new ways of doing things - new policies, new practicies, new tax codes, new subsidies, new laws, new lack of laws - and where people are willing to begin these experiments, willing to admit to being wrong if they do not work, willing to try other people's ideas that have worked, and wiling to not blame others whose ideas did not work. A world where it's okay to be wrong.
13. What are you most afraid of for the next generation, whether you have kids or not?
I worry what the political landscape will look like. I fear it will keep polarizing until no sensible people pay it any mind such that the country is run by the corrupt and the crazy. I worry that the political machine will be so bogged down with additional restrictions (see above re: always adding, never removing) that life is one big trail of paperwork and none of it sensible, that there will never be a push to create an efficient system. It ruins government, health care, litigation, social services... any state-regulated/-run activity. Currently everything is so ponderous that I see no hope for change barring revolutionary action.
14. What do you love helping people with? How do you most commonly help others?
I like helping people understand concepts they didn't previously understand, or fixing something that had been bothering them/running suboptimally. For friends, I enjoy giving small tokens of kindness to make their day better.
15. What's your favorite section in the bookstore? What's the first magazine you'd pick up at the grocery store?
Bookstore? Some scifi/fantasy (Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, and the like), cookbooks, coffee table photo albums of interesting photographers, real-life adventures (like Shackleton's journey) or adventure-based ponderings (a la Krakauer), books of interesting facts (e.g. Devil in the White City, and how-things-work-type things). Magazines? Popular Science and the like, backpacking, biking/bike touring, fishing, Cook's Illustrated.
16. When was the last time you couldn't sleep because you were so excited about what you had to work on? What was it?
Losing sleep because of excitement about work? I'm not sure I've ever done that. I lost sleep a few nights during my thesis because of hamster brain or realizing/thinking I'd made a huge mistake and couldn't rest until I fixed/verified it. But actual excitement
about the work? Hm. I've had to get up a few times through the several years to write down ideas for small side projects - the bamboo bike, various ponderings I have stored on google docs, how to build certain furniture pieces, and the like. Nothing specific, though.
17. If you trusted that your art (your creativity) would support your life, how would you live?
I wouldn't mind living somewhat off artistic pursuits (pottery, perhaps furniture if I cared to get good at woodworking), but I don't want to leave the technical world behind. One kind of creativity I don't have too well that I would like to is mechanical design - to be able to create elegant, simple solutions to everyday problems. Part of the problem is I have not created opportunities to expand my knowledge in this field or to get significant practice. But I also really enjoy working with bright, scientifically minded people.
18. Out of all your current work roles, what would you gladly do for free?
Out of the work I do as a student? Not much. I learn interesting things, but I'm not content to be a keyboard jockey. In Chicago, what might I have done for free? I liked working with the grad students, post-docs, Becca, and Alan to design solutions to problems. Some amount of machine shop work was also fun. But part of it was the enjoyment of working on disparate, new problems, not having to cover every single aspect of a single large project.
19. If you were able to be a member of the audience at your own funeral, what would you want to hear people say?
I want my life to have made the world, and their lives, better. To give more than to take. Maybe to inspire a few people, but I'd be happy if I just brightened their days a little - if they were glad that they knew me.
20. What do you want to be remembered for - what dent do you want to have put in the world?
The more flamboyant version of the ideal: I want the world, or part of it, to have a clearer understanding of what it means to be alive, or at least have a better idea of how to approach that question for themselves. A more reserved ideal: to have created something that makes people's lives better/easier, even if they don't realize it - a fundamentally deep transformation in the world, so deep that most people don't realize that the world could be any other way.
21. What do your friends always tell you you'd be good at, that you should do for a living? If you don't remember, then go ask five of them.
Teaching, cooking/baking, some kind of mentoring/conflict resolution. I don't hear any of that often (well, somewhat often for cooking), but those are what stick out in my memory. Perhaps they would say the same thing of math/science if I wasn't already trying to make a job out of it.
22. What are you naturally curious about?
I'm curious about expanding my experience of the world - of having a large catalog of first-hand experiences of all things across all walks of life. Often I'm curious about how things fundamentally work, or of the best way to make a difference in areas where society often fails, or how to find the best (or least bad) answer to unsolvable problems.
23. If you had a free hour to surf the internet, what would you explore?
According to recent history, reddit. This weekend, more about finding purpose (and a job). Other times: histories of certain regions of the world, taxonomy of certain weird animals I just ate in Korea and the cultural significance of the dish and if I can try to recreate it at home. Sometimes other food stuff, sometimes information about dog breeds, sometimes overviews of machine learning and neuroscience-related subjects that I haven't taken courses on, sometimes reasons to move to Minneapolis.
24. Think back to when you were 5 or 10 years old. What did you want to be when you grew up? Anything goes. What skills and metaphors do these represent (i.e. a pilot may be a symbol for freedom)?
Veterinarian - to interact with animals, to be a caretake, to help people with something that is important to them.
LEGO designer - I really liked LEGOs. I just wanted to play all the time, creating a world more interesting than our own.
I don't recall thinking much as a child about what job I wanted. Those are the only specific ones I remember. I don't remember wanting to be a fireman or an astronaut or a race car driver.
25. If you could write a book to help the world, that is guaranteed to be a best seller, what would the title be? What's it about?
Am I stuck with the knowledge I have now, or will I be the wiser, more experienced ideal of myself that I imagine writing a book? I'd want to write a book that helps people 1) discover the idea of context - of the limits of personal and regional and national egoism, and 2) breaks down people's need for pettiness and taking ownership of their knowledge - convinces them that what you know is limited by your history, and that it's okay for you and other people to be wrong. That would help so much to make progress in creating a world - have people strive to prioritize what is correct, not who is correct.
26. What careers do you find yourself dreaming of? What jobs do others have that you wish were yours?
Not many. I don't really want a traditional job. Maybe R&D at some engineering startup? If I envy someone for their job, I envy them in the context of their passions and interests - that they found a job so well-suited to them.
27. What 3-5 dream jobs or businesses can you imagine that would firmly embody your core beliefs about the world? Sky's the limit.
These are a couple business ideas that embody or act out core beliefs, though I don't know that I'd want to specifically do the associated work.
• Large-scale non-profit in a large city that gets extra leeway from the city to perform experimental social projects, e.g. the group that renovates abandoned houses in the South Side for homeless families to move into, or creating larger scale community gardens that could produce a significant amount of food for the community, particularly for poor neighborhoods, or creates alternative school systems (for poorer neighborhoods?) that aren't restricted to traditional standards/structures
• Soup kitchen that gets members of the served community as food prep workers, and gives them professional training in food preparation, or any program that provides a service/necessity to improve the community and simultaneously helps community members work towards economic success. Need to teach vocational skills (being a chef, IT support, teaching, sports coaching? anything, really) and practical skills (budgeting, scheduling, personal/professional responsibility).
Now, how about actual jobs?
• Variety. Something with variety. Human interaction and providing assistance, mechanical hands-on creation, technical thinking and problem-solving. And I also like dogs and tasty things.
• It could be interesting to work with people in one-on-one (or small groups) scenarios for tutoring-type sessions, or something of the sort.
• One specific dream job, though? I still can't define that.
28. What revolution do you want to lead?
Perhaps a revolution of scientific thinking - of getting people to realize that the path forward is not in certainty but in uncertainty, that good, powerful thought processes are about recognizing uncertainty, naming it, and exploring the extent of it, not about claiming a territory and defending it.
Perhaps a revolution of context - of getting people to recognize the world beyond their own, and that their decisions and opinions should take into account how their context interacts with other contexts.
I'm not so driven to lead a revolution, but I wouldn't mind helping someone who was leading one.
First off, I gotta say - watching a bunch of TED talks in a row of inspired, successful people really does a lot to convince you of the possibility of living the life they tout. How deeply happy they seem makes you almost feel guilty about persisting in your lukewarm, comfortable interests. Dinsmore strongly recommends the book StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath of Gallop (yes, the polls people), but there's no ebook version so I can't read it immediately. Rath - using some of the massive amounts of data available to Gallop - broke strengths down into 30-some categories, and includes a quiz that gives your highest five. I'm curious if it's better than many of this sort of quiz, which seem to ask, "What do you enjoy doing that people say you're good at?" and then for the answer tell you, "Here's what you enjoy doing and are good at," (I'm looking at you, Myers-Briggs).
Dinsmore also has a list of questions (link should take you to a PDF). They don't tell you what to do with your answers, but some of the questions make you think about interesting perspectives of the passion/interest/vocation spectrum. I went through and answered the questions; it took a couple hours. If you care to read any of it, I've pasted my answers below. It's very long, though, and I didn't write them with the intent of anyone else seeing it so take that as you will. What are your thoughts on the questions? (Which you should be able to see via the "list of questions" link at the top of this paragraph.) Feel free to comment on the answers, but right now I'm really curious about what you think about the value of the different questions, and if you find any of them particularly intriguing. For a little context, Dinsmore is of the school of thought that, instead of working on strengthening your weaknesses, you should focus on your strengths because you will enjoy it more. This means you will work harder at it than you would on your weaknesses, and thus end up having used your time more productively and have really mastered a certain set of skills instead of being discontentedly mediocre at a larger set.
Live Your Legend - 27 Questions to Find Your Passion
1. What makes you happiest in your life? What excites you?
I am happiest when I spend time with people who are important to me and can do things to please them. I get excited by sharing my skills with others to help them attain their goals (or at least I like the taste of that idea) - by being useful, and when people ask me for help (which shows that they consider me useful).
2. What do you do that makes you feel invincible?
I feel invincible when I'm in good physical shape (e.g. can ride a loaded bike up a mountain pass with no rests), or when I solve tough problems (at least, if they don't take so much effort that they wear me down) - when I succeed.
3. What do people thank you for?
For being considerate, for being helpful/being willing to help. I don't do a huge number of things for which to be thanked.
4. What are you ridiculously good at? What are your precious gifts?
In some subjects, I am very good at learning. I'm not world-class, but I am somewhat high-class in mathematical and scientific thinking. This applies to understanding material, to reframing the material in my own terms, and to systematically thinking through implications of ideas. I am also quite good at listening to two parties that are in disagreement and helping them find the root of the conflict (resolving ambiguity, focusing the topic to where the contension lies). So far I have only used this in philosophical/metaphysical discussions, where ideas are at stake more than emotions. I have a strong ability to understand different sides of an issue, and accept and name the complexities surrounding it.
5. Who do you look up to? Who are you mentors? Who inspires you? Why?
Morally, I look up to my parents - dad's integrity, mom's caring/ability to connect with people. I also look up to their work ethic, though to the degree that I want to contribute more than I take at any given job - I don't have too strong of an ambition to be the best at something. Professionally, I look up to Lee. He treats his lab members very well, and seems to balance ambition, kindness, expectations, and understanding - it's the likes of him that humanize the institution of academia.
Personally - many people. Danny and Saee are hopelessly driven and hopelessly kind. Hope and Drew are caring and downright wonderful. The Sprungers are so very familially welcoming. Nate H. is just solid, and has a great sense of purpose. Scott is so excited about life - about your life and his life. Kaleem is brilliant and gentle. Charles is a silly man with strong, real thoughts. Mitch and Amber are so down-to-earth and warm. Celesta is loyal and sensitive. Bontrager cousins are all relentlessly big-hearted and aware of the complexities of the world, and of relationships and family history. All the Hollenbergs want so much to do the right thing. Natalie has beautiful perspective, and a powerful grip on taking responsibility for living her life. And plenty more.
6. When was the last time you massively over-delivered on something? What was it and why did you work so damn hard?
Tough one. Halfway an answer: the INI Christmas apero, though for that I just set some of the vision and got a lot of other people to work. My best "over-deliveries" in Chicago were probably cleaning-related, because that was one area where I felt able to actually do the work properly. Otherwise? One lab write-up in Differential Equations in college. I worked extra on that 1) on accident (numerically solved problems that only asked for analytical solutions), and 2) because I was turning it in late anyways so I wasn't rushed.
7. When was the last time you were in a state of flow, in the zone and totally lost track of time? What were you doing?
I don't think reddit or Netflix count. A few times working on the thesis - either coding some functions to run analyses, or (more often) doing batch, panicked literature review towards the end to find sources for certain facts. That was panic more than flow, though. On reddit, I often lose track of time giving advice (/r/bicycletouring, etc.), or working on AskScience or ELI5 answers.
8. Imagine you won $158 million in the lottery. It's now three months later. How will you spend tomorrow?
I might enjoy working at a bike shop, preferably one with sales and maintenance work for the same position. I'd like to learn to build bamboo (and other) bikes professionally - to help people get the bike they want. I would also work in a pottery studio. I wouldn't build my own studio - I want the community. I would try to get good enough to sell my wares. I might work on baking bread, or learning to cook new (or improving familiar) food styles. I might spend some time learning more programming.
9. What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
I would probably take on an odd-jobs life, kind of a more urban Al Glick, though I think the handyman life is more feasible in a small town where people have fewer places to look for services. Is there a difference here between succeeding and not failing? I might try something political, or something education-related. Hard to say.
10. If you could have or do anything what would it be?
Do? Not sure. Have? Answers to questions like this, and the other tough questions of life. An engaging job, pets, time to travel and be outdoors, resolution. A home.
11. What topics do you find yourself continuously arguing or defending with others? What beliefs does your stance represent?
I think most arguments come down to how we think the world works, so whatever the topic, I argue about how the world works. Many of my arguments come back to context, and how it does or doesn't translate, or that people's worldviews aren't expansive enough. What do I argue about specifically? Hm. We discuss education, how science should be funded, how science should be conducted, what the most promising path of development is most promising for ideas of future technology (e.g. the best approach to develop a true AI), contradicting whatever Gerick said, agreeing with whatever Tom or Danny said (not always but, let's face it, usually), the boundaries of feminism vs. oversensitivity. A lot of my belief can be summarized as, "I don't know yet." Agnosticism at its finest.
12. What makes you most angry about the state of the world? With unlimited resources how could you fix it?
The system, I think, and how difficult it seems to change it. I understand the reason to make it difficult to change; I think that's good. But now it's gone so rotten that it desperately needs a shakedown, a restructuring. The US should rewrite the constitution; I'm sure of it. Much of it can stay, but some practices and concepts are so dated that they need to be removed, while all we do now is to add on. Maybe it goes deeper than that, though. Maybe it's the entire American culture - little sense of responsibility to a larger collective and bullheaded adherence to outdated ideals. Hah, or maybe it's deeper yet and reaches down into human nature. In essence, I want a world where regions can experiment with new ways of doing things - new policies, new practicies, new tax codes, new subsidies, new laws, new lack of laws - and where people are willing to begin these experiments, willing to admit to being wrong if they do not work, willing to try other people's ideas that have worked, and wiling to not blame others whose ideas did not work. A world where it's okay to be wrong.
13. What are you most afraid of for the next generation, whether you have kids or not?
I worry what the political landscape will look like. I fear it will keep polarizing until no sensible people pay it any mind such that the country is run by the corrupt and the crazy. I worry that the political machine will be so bogged down with additional restrictions (see above re: always adding, never removing) that life is one big trail of paperwork and none of it sensible, that there will never be a push to create an efficient system. It ruins government, health care, litigation, social services... any state-regulated/-run activity. Currently everything is so ponderous that I see no hope for change barring revolutionary action.
14. What do you love helping people with? How do you most commonly help others?
I like helping people understand concepts they didn't previously understand, or fixing something that had been bothering them/running suboptimally. For friends, I enjoy giving small tokens of kindness to make their day better.
15. What's your favorite section in the bookstore? What's the first magazine you'd pick up at the grocery store?
Bookstore? Some scifi/fantasy (Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, and the like), cookbooks, coffee table photo albums of interesting photographers, real-life adventures (like Shackleton's journey) or adventure-based ponderings (a la Krakauer), books of interesting facts (e.g. Devil in the White City, and how-things-work-type things). Magazines? Popular Science and the like, backpacking, biking/bike touring, fishing, Cook's Illustrated.
16. When was the last time you couldn't sleep because you were so excited about what you had to work on? What was it?
Losing sleep because of excitement about work? I'm not sure I've ever done that. I lost sleep a few nights during my thesis because of hamster brain or realizing/thinking I'd made a huge mistake and couldn't rest until I fixed/verified it. But actual excitement
about the work? Hm. I've had to get up a few times through the several years to write down ideas for small side projects - the bamboo bike, various ponderings I have stored on google docs, how to build certain furniture pieces, and the like. Nothing specific, though.
17. If you trusted that your art (your creativity) would support your life, how would you live?
I wouldn't mind living somewhat off artistic pursuits (pottery, perhaps furniture if I cared to get good at woodworking), but I don't want to leave the technical world behind. One kind of creativity I don't have too well that I would like to is mechanical design - to be able to create elegant, simple solutions to everyday problems. Part of the problem is I have not created opportunities to expand my knowledge in this field or to get significant practice. But I also really enjoy working with bright, scientifically minded people.
18. Out of all your current work roles, what would you gladly do for free?
Out of the work I do as a student? Not much. I learn interesting things, but I'm not content to be a keyboard jockey. In Chicago, what might I have done for free? I liked working with the grad students, post-docs, Becca, and Alan to design solutions to problems. Some amount of machine shop work was also fun. But part of it was the enjoyment of working on disparate, new problems, not having to cover every single aspect of a single large project.
19. If you were able to be a member of the audience at your own funeral, what would you want to hear people say?
I want my life to have made the world, and their lives, better. To give more than to take. Maybe to inspire a few people, but I'd be happy if I just brightened their days a little - if they were glad that they knew me.
20. What do you want to be remembered for - what dent do you want to have put in the world?
The more flamboyant version of the ideal: I want the world, or part of it, to have a clearer understanding of what it means to be alive, or at least have a better idea of how to approach that question for themselves. A more reserved ideal: to have created something that makes people's lives better/easier, even if they don't realize it - a fundamentally deep transformation in the world, so deep that most people don't realize that the world could be any other way.
21. What do your friends always tell you you'd be good at, that you should do for a living? If you don't remember, then go ask five of them.
Teaching, cooking/baking, some kind of mentoring/conflict resolution. I don't hear any of that often (well, somewhat often for cooking), but those are what stick out in my memory. Perhaps they would say the same thing of math/science if I wasn't already trying to make a job out of it.
22. What are you naturally curious about?
I'm curious about expanding my experience of the world - of having a large catalog of first-hand experiences of all things across all walks of life. Often I'm curious about how things fundamentally work, or of the best way to make a difference in areas where society often fails, or how to find the best (or least bad) answer to unsolvable problems.
23. If you had a free hour to surf the internet, what would you explore?
According to recent history, reddit. This weekend, more about finding purpose (and a job). Other times: histories of certain regions of the world, taxonomy of certain weird animals I just ate in Korea and the cultural significance of the dish and if I can try to recreate it at home. Sometimes other food stuff, sometimes information about dog breeds, sometimes overviews of machine learning and neuroscience-related subjects that I haven't taken courses on, sometimes reasons to move to Minneapolis.
24. Think back to when you were 5 or 10 years old. What did you want to be when you grew up? Anything goes. What skills and metaphors do these represent (i.e. a pilot may be a symbol for freedom)?
Veterinarian - to interact with animals, to be a caretake, to help people with something that is important to them.
LEGO designer - I really liked LEGOs. I just wanted to play all the time, creating a world more interesting than our own.
I don't recall thinking much as a child about what job I wanted. Those are the only specific ones I remember. I don't remember wanting to be a fireman or an astronaut or a race car driver.
25. If you could write a book to help the world, that is guaranteed to be a best seller, what would the title be? What's it about?
Am I stuck with the knowledge I have now, or will I be the wiser, more experienced ideal of myself that I imagine writing a book? I'd want to write a book that helps people 1) discover the idea of context - of the limits of personal and regional and national egoism, and 2) breaks down people's need for pettiness and taking ownership of their knowledge - convinces them that what you know is limited by your history, and that it's okay for you and other people to be wrong. That would help so much to make progress in creating a world - have people strive to prioritize what is correct, not who is correct.
26. What careers do you find yourself dreaming of? What jobs do others have that you wish were yours?
Not many. I don't really want a traditional job. Maybe R&D at some engineering startup? If I envy someone for their job, I envy them in the context of their passions and interests - that they found a job so well-suited to them.
27. What 3-5 dream jobs or businesses can you imagine that would firmly embody your core beliefs about the world? Sky's the limit.
These are a couple business ideas that embody or act out core beliefs, though I don't know that I'd want to specifically do the associated work.
• Large-scale non-profit in a large city that gets extra leeway from the city to perform experimental social projects, e.g. the group that renovates abandoned houses in the South Side for homeless families to move into, or creating larger scale community gardens that could produce a significant amount of food for the community, particularly for poor neighborhoods, or creates alternative school systems (for poorer neighborhoods?) that aren't restricted to traditional standards/structures
• Soup kitchen that gets members of the served community as food prep workers, and gives them professional training in food preparation, or any program that provides a service/necessity to improve the community and simultaneously helps community members work towards economic success. Need to teach vocational skills (being a chef, IT support, teaching, sports coaching? anything, really) and practical skills (budgeting, scheduling, personal/professional responsibility).
Now, how about actual jobs?
• Variety. Something with variety. Human interaction and providing assistance, mechanical hands-on creation, technical thinking and problem-solving. And I also like dogs and tasty things.
• It could be interesting to work with people in one-on-one (or small groups) scenarios for tutoring-type sessions, or something of the sort.
• One specific dream job, though? I still can't define that.
28. What revolution do you want to lead?
Perhaps a revolution of scientific thinking - of getting people to realize that the path forward is not in certainty but in uncertainty, that good, powerful thought processes are about recognizing uncertainty, naming it, and exploring the extent of it, not about claiming a territory and defending it.
Perhaps a revolution of context - of getting people to recognize the world beyond their own, and that their decisions and opinions should take into account how their context interacts with other contexts.
I'm not so driven to lead a revolution, but I wouldn't mind helping someone who was leading one.
Thanks for sharing those answers...I've been thinking about a lot of this stuff lately, too, and think I might just go after a formal answering session for myself now. It's fun to get a small peek into your thoughts:) Also, can I just say I giggled when you said in the answer to question 27 that you "like dogs and tasty things"?! I'm thinking there are a few places in the world where you can combine those two loves...awww :( love you
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