Across four studies, the authors found that participants
scoring in the bottom quartile on tests of humor,
grammar, and logic grossly overestimated their test
performance and ability. Although test scores put them in
the 12th percentile, they estimated themselves to be in
the 62nd.
So, as you learn more, you tend to become less confident in your abilities. This is not great… but I do believe it leads to a good side-effect: as you learn more, you end up with more responsibility, and you tend to be more cautious. Or… you suffer because those under you get promoted because they believe (and convince others) they are more competent.
It’s because of brave souls like these that I honor the
Catholic Church. I understand why many Americans disdain
a church whose leaders are linked to cover-ups and
antediluvian stances on women, gays and condoms — but the
Catholic Church is far larger than the Vatican.
I love his point about the triangle: the good folks are the majority, the bad the minority.
Made in USA, by Paul Graham. His point: we make things fast, other countries make things well. These two positions both have advantages, depending entirely upon the industry.
Cars aren’t the worst thing we make in America. Where the
just-do-it model fails most dramatically is in our
cities— or rather, exurbs. If real estate developers
operated on a large enough scale, if they built whole
towns, market forces would compel them to build towns
that didn’t suck. But they only build a couple office
buildings or suburban streets at a time, and the result
is so depressing that the inhabitants consider it a great
treat to fly to Europe and spend a couple weeks living
what is, for people there, just everyday life.
Graham’s really interesting point from his essay: taste is NOT subjective. Americans generally do not have much taste, valuing price over quality the vast majority of the time, unless they are valuing superficial appearance over quality:
I think most Japanese executives would be horrified at the
idea of making a bad car. Whereas American executives, in
their hearts, still believe the most important thing about
a car is the image it projects. Make a good car? What’s
“good?” It’s so subjective. If you want to know how to
design a car, ask a focus group.
Instead of relying on their own internal design compass
(like Henry Ford did), American car companies try to make
what marketing people think consumers want. But it isn’t
working. American cars continue to lose market share. And
the reason is that the customer doesn’t want what he
thinks he wants.
Successful products show the customer what they want because customers don’t know what they want. This idea is echoed by by Malcolm Gladwell in his TED talk:
If I asked all of you, for example, in this room, what you
want in a coffee, you know what you’d say? Every one of
you would say “I want a dark, rich, hearty roast.” It’s
what people always say when you ask them what they want in
a coffee. What do you like? Dark, rich, hearty roast! What
percentage of you actually like a dark, rich, hearty
roast? According to Howard, somewhere between 25 and 27
percent of you. Most of you like milky, weak coffee. But
you will never, ever say to someone who asks you what you
want — that “I want a milky, weak coffee.”
Oh, and we build ugly houses here in America. Paul Graham:
In America you can have either a flimsy box banged
together out of two by fours and drywall, or a McMansion—
a flimsy box banged together out of two by fours and
drywall, but larger, more dramatic-looking, and full of
expensive fittings. Rich people don’t get better design or
craftsmanship; they just get a larger, more conspicuous
version of the standard house.
I’ve had Graham’s Hackers and Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age on my reading list for years, but I never connected his online essays to that book (never put the names together). After seeing his insights. I’m quite interested in reading that book.
As of 5 minutes ago, I turned in my final case study for physical evaluation II, and I am DONEWITHTHEMOSTDIFFICULTYEAROFDENTALSCHOOL. WOOOOOO!
Never thought I’d get here, frankly. And yet, it’s a beautiful 68° in May, I’m on break for a few weeks until I start in clinic, and life is grand.
There are many people who helped me get here, but nobody put up with more of my ranting, raving, sleepless nights, flashcarding, crying, venting, begging-for-respite than my beautiful, loving wife Mykala.
She’s some kind of saint or something. A married saint.
In anticipation of being done with second year (one final left — tomorrow), I’m working on something completely outside of my usual routine. I’m excited about it. I’m inspired by it. I will not rest until it is beautiful.
To that end, there’s a long way to go (it’s ugly right now).
Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia; I don’t see it, but I could be convinced. We’ve either got a “Pirates of the Carribean” level triumph, or a “Troy” level failure. I don’t think there’s any room for the movie in between.
“The bobcats are expected to grow over the coming months to the size of large dogs — about 22 inches tall and up to 70 pounds — while their adoptive siblings will likely max out around 10 pounds.”
I do not think I have ever been this excited for a semester to be over. It is with profound exhaustion that I welcome our 3 weeks off before we begin treating patients. I just found this out: we had 29 credits this fall, and something similar this past semester. The dental school crams a lot of learning into second year: I talked to a professor who graduated in the 1960s, and he said it has just always been like that in school. Glad to hear I have company. Anyhow, my first clinical case is a complete upper and lower denture for (not simultaneously, of course, since we haven’t the chops yet); and I am extremely excited. To think I’ll be practicing my skills at bringing people back into dental function again; making their lives and chewing abilities better, getting them out of pain. I’m so excited to put push hard against the limits of my abilities and, in doing so, improve my clinical skills, knowledge, and judgement.
It’s funny, I sat down to just write a quick post about how tired I was from this last semester… but it’s surprising to find out how excited I am. I hadn’t realized it until just now.
In Atlanta, a recent pollen count registered 5,733, the
second-highest level ever. The usual bar for high pollen
levels is set at 120, so hitting the thousands is pretty
much through the roof and to the the moon.
