One time I thought it might be cool to teach homeless people how to code. It wasn't clear to me if that was a useful approach but it seemed like it might be interesting.
I wanted to see if anyone else had tried it so I searched on YouTube and found a video where someone filmed themselves with the same idea.
Most of the video was them politely asking dozens of homeless people if they would like to learn, offering to pay them for their time. Most said no. Maybe they passed on a good deal here? Maybe it was a waste of time?
Eventually they find this guy and he is skeptical but he says yeah sure. They teach him the basics. For loops, if statements, variables and stuff like that. Then they pay him and that's it. The end of the video. I wish they would have kept up with him and tried to help him get a job next. But again who knows might not even be a good path anyway.
My point is, and my takeaway from that video. Even if you have a good deal, and a lot of times we don't even know if we have a good deal exactly. You have to ask dozens maybe hundreds of people before you find someone who is interested.
I think you can cheat this by going to places like SV where there are more founder types. But it mostly just opened my mind about being more willing to be rejected and approach more people rather than ponder why the 3 or 4 people I had asked weren't interested in starting a company or whatever else it might be.
Most people in modern society suffer under learned helplessness. Mostly because in childhood they had to go (or suffer) through schools without having much agency.
If you are constantly told that your own way is the wrong way of doing things then your are less inclined to do something on your own.
It wouldn't surprise me if a certain percentage of every society would be inclined to be this way regardless of the environment. I once read an article in which it was said they believed even in the earliest groups/societies approx 3-4% of people would be inclined to not want to contribute to the group and the rest of the group supported them.
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One time I thought it might be cool to teach homeless people how to code. It wasn't clear to me if that was a useful approach but it seemed like it might be interesting.
I wanted to see if anyone else had tried it so I searched on YouTube and found a video where someone filmed themselves with the same idea.
Most of the video was them politely asking dozens of homeless people if they would like to learn, offering to pay them for their time. Most said no. Maybe they passed on a good deal here? Maybe it was a waste of time?
Eventually they find this guy and he is skeptical but he says yeah sure. They teach him the basics. For loops, if statements, variables and stuff like that. Then they pay him and that's it. The end of the video. I wish they would have kept up with him and tried to help him get a job next. But again who knows might not even be a good path anyway.
My point is, and my takeaway from that video. Even if you have a good deal, and a lot of times we don't even know if we have a good deal exactly. You have to ask dozens maybe hundreds of people before you find someone who is interested.
I think you can cheat this by going to places like SV where there are more founder types. But it mostly just opened my mind about being more willing to be rejected and approach more people rather than ponder why the 3 or 4 people I had asked weren't interested in starting a company or whatever else it might be.
Related Guardian Article:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/nov/02/experie...
Most people in modern society suffer under learned helplessness. Mostly because in childhood they had to go (or suffer) through schools without having much agency.
If you are constantly told that your own way is the wrong way of doing things then your are less inclined to do something on your own.
I think you're right.
It wouldn't surprise me if a certain percentage of every society would be inclined to be this way regardless of the environment. I once read an article in which it was said they believed even in the earliest groups/societies approx 3-4% of people would be inclined to not want to contribute to the group and the rest of the group supported them.
Sounds plausible