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Bad art is easy and plentiful, and it& #39;s easier to create than bad science, so there& #39;s more of it, sure. 2/
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But hey, being literate hardly makes you Toni Morrison or Leo Tolstoy. The best "artsy" folk change the world, while... 3/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
Technical skills make you a mere technician. Hardly the heights of virtuosity. 4/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
If technical skills are all you have, you& #39;re a mediocre scientist. 5/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
Want to be good or great? That takes creativity. What& #39;s that? ...Exactly. 6/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
So instead of disparaging "artsy" inclinations, why don& #39;t you call your frustration what it is? You look down on people who aren& #39;t excellent at what they do. 2 things about that: 7/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
Thing 1: Are you sure they& #39;re not excellent? Maybe you guessed wrong about what they prioritize in life. There& #39;s more to be excellent at than work. 8/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
Thing 2: Why are you wasting your time focusing on the mediocre? There& #39;s plenty of mediocre exemplars of everything. Instead, why not admire the impact people have when they progress past the bare minimum level? 9/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
Otherwise it& #39;s as if you care more about titles than impact. 10/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
We& #39;d all be better off if we focused more on what people actually contribute to society than what their job is called. 11/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
And while we& #39;re at it, let& #39;s also fess up (at least to ourselves) about where we are with how we see our own work identity... 12/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
College: "What are you?" (major)
Entry level: "What are you?" (title)
Getting wiser: "What do you do?" (activities)
Wiser still: "What do you individually contribute?" (impact)
Wisest: "What are you part of?" (contribution through community)
Entry level: "What are you?" (title)
Getting wiser: "What do you do?" (activities)
Wiser still: "What do you individually contribute?" (impact)
Wisest: "What are you part of?" (contribution through community)
Don& #39;t assume that people aspire towards the same thing you aspire to. There& #39;s no "best" thing to be, except the best possible version of yourself. 14/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
If you see a way to play to your strengths and contribute, don& #39;t worry if there& #39;s no name for it yet - make yourself useful and the shiny labels will follow. Maybe you& #39;ll even get to invent your own. 15/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
And don& #39;t be fooled by folks who don& #39;t know what a team is.
Workgroup = people with similar skills organized under one manager. Wastes time competing about who& #39;s the best.
Team = people with complementary skills; stronger together than individually. Mutual appreciation. 16/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">
Workgroup = people with similar skills organized under one manager. Wastes time competing about who& #39;s the best.
Team = people with complementary skills; stronger together than individually. Mutual appreciation. 16/
Confession: This used to be me when I was a baby math geek. I took pure math courses not because they were my passion (turns out I prefer applied math + psychology) but because I wanted to get as far away from "artsy" things as possible. Then I grew up a bit and got over myself.
