study skill not luck | Daily #2

 

i think it is notable that a lot of the books i have studied for english are the authors first novels

this seems to be a recurring theme

right now we're doing frankenstein

i have a theory that this is because they are very easy to analyse

in most first time novels the writers draw heavily from their life

which makes analysing contexts and inferences a whole lot easier

however im not sure how sensible this is

it is all well and good to be able to understand what makes a good novel

but if what makes a good novel, as in the case of frankenstein and the bell jar, is the authors life

not entirely their story telling, 

then why study it?

is the purpose of english not to make students be able to write well?

Not all students have lived such a well read or fascinating life

shouldn't these students be studying books that are purely written well

so they can learn how to write well

otherwise is the subject not practically biographical history

I like to learn from people who have repeatable skills

I don't think there is a crazy amount you can learn from someone who got lucky

of course luck is a spectrum

and a lot of lucky people also have an awful lot to teach

however those who are more skilled than lucky will usually be able to repeat their success. If they have a repeatable formula - that is something to definitely learn

that's why if I was making a curriculum I would study authors who have had more than one hit

I can think of so many

j.k.rowling with all of her harry potters 

dan brown

stephen king

brandon sanderson

I'm sure there are examples of more "literary ones"

unfortunately for every english student out there shakespeare fits into this category too

This principle can be applied across every discipline

in streaming, a content medium which has exploded in the last 5 years

it would be impossible to learn from someone who started 10 years ago

however study someone who became more popular recently

and who didnt get lucky

by being in the right place at the right time

eg. they won in the hard place to win, when everyone was trying to win

I think of Ludwigs lecture on how to become a streamer in 2022

Or learn from dream

who blew up in one of the most competitive things at all

becoming a minecraft youtuber

or elon musk

who has started many companies.

talking of elon musk brings me to my final point 

learn from someone in the area you want to emulate, but dont overstep

if you are trying to learn from someone in regards to business

do that

dont necessarily take their advice in other areas

I would take elon musks advice on starting a business

although he is probably behind the times at this point 

at least behind on starting small bussinesses

but i would certainly not take his relationship advice without a grain of salt

basically i think what this is all about is taking advice carefully

derek sivers wrote about this (beware of advice) and i write about this a bit here