

Don't be so quick to embrace your own ignorance. - ph0rque
http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/1187-dont-be-so-quick-to-embrace-your-own-ignorance

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swombat
I never bought any of these Dummies books, for a similar reason. I don't think
I'm a dummy, or an idiot, and I take it as a personal insult. If you want to
sell a book to me, don't call me an idiot.

Yes, I know it's just a joke, but to me, it's a poor, insulting, and, most of
all, an idiotic joke. Perhaps the authors think of themselves as idiots. Why
should I read them?

I'd much rather buy from a "For smart people" series. It's a shame no one
publishes that.

~~~
gaius
[http://www.amazon.com/Joe-Celkos-SQL-Smarties-
Programming/dp...](http://www.amazon.com/Joe-Celkos-SQL-Smarties-
Programming/dp/1558605762)

It's socially acceptable, even desirable, to lack technical skills. Witness
the number of people who will happily proclaim they're no good at maths or
whatever. Western culture (presently) doesn't value effort or accomplishment -
you're supposed to succeed "just for being you", like a reality TV star, pop
idol, etc. History will not reward this decadence.

------
LogicHoleFlaw
_While there are probably plenty of geniuses out there, most of the
interesting people I’ve talked to are of average intelligence, but above-
average aspiration. Stop believing in the myth of triple-A people as a
different kind._

Whenever I start feeling frustrated on some endeavor of mine, I try to pause
and remember this principle.

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comatose_kid
This kind of ties in with pg's essay on amateurs.

aside: pretty funny how dhh marks trolls in his comments - a dunce hat with
'troll' written on it. Ouch.

~~~
ashu
Heh, that's very clever. Although one wonders if the trolls feel like they
have been vindicated in some way (by being able to draw attention!)

~~~
LogicHoleFlaw
I rather like the "disemvoweling" used over on BoingBoing. It's a good balance
between just deleting trolls and giving them too much attention.

The color fading used on HN is a good technique too.

~~~
stcredzero
Disemvoweling tends to pique my curiosity. I'd like to puzzle out what's said
and see what they were disemvoweled for. I think the color fading is a better
technique for this reason -- there's no mystery, only muting.

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felixc
I always get a laugh out of the "Income Tax For Canadians (for Dummies)"
whenever I am at the bookstore. It's just a regional version of a generic
book, but the "for Dummies" part is in a pretty small font.

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mattmaroon
I think the "for dummies" is both humorous (as much so as a how-to book can
be) and descriptive. It's good to embrace your ignorance, that's the only way
to cure it.

~~~
ph0rque
I always felt that "for people too busy to spend years" on the subject at hand
would be a more apt description.

~~~
mattmaroon
Too long, and lacking any sort of self-deprecating humor.

~~~
stcredzero
The "Been Too Busy For [X]" books would probably sell well to pointy-haired
boss types who have big egos and just want the "10,000 foot view."

