First off, I disagree with Adam's ABC classification 'cause I can't really
think of anyone who fits into any of those categories... *shrug*
However, one thing I have noticed is a strange tendency for most people I
know (myself included) to assume everyone around them is a hell of a lot
smarter and clearer on where they are in life than they are. It's
completely natural to assume that everyone else knows their purpose, and
their strengths and weaknesses because people seem to express themselves in
a way that doesn't make their anxieties clear.
It's a powerful tool to realize that no one is perfect, and no really
completely knows what they're doing. I wish I could remember it all the
time, but I don't. I always assume that everyone around me, or anyone who
has made some sort of decision has perfect info when they did so, and
therefore *must* be right.
At the same time I've noticed people have done the same thing with me
(which scares the hell out of me). This became obvious to me when I had
multiple people telling me that they wanted to invest in companies that I
liked! Hell, *I* won't invest in most companies I like, because I don't
trust myself that much, and here are these other people who don't know me
all that well, who want to take my flawed advice. That's scary.
And, for what it's worth, I've done the same towards Adam. I've never met
Adam. We've emailed back and forth a few times off of FoRK, but I barely
know him. Yet, in my mind, for some reason I see Adam as this great PhD
student from CalTech who "knows his shit"(TM). I still can't see through
that classification, either.
-Mike
Oh yeah, I snipped the entire contents of Adam's message for no particular
reason.